What I've Read This Week

What I've Read This Week . . .

Mr. Forster's Fortune by Lizzie Church -- Regency Romance

On the way to Bath, a snowstorm forces Lady Cecily Seymour and her fellow coach passengers to put up at an inn. She spies a handsome young man she wishes to know better but he remains elusive until she joins her relatives in Bath. In Bath, Cecily enjoys shopping for new clothes since her period of mourning for her parents will soon be over. Her frivolous aunt drags Cecily out to call on the most fashionable elite of Bath which includes a Mrs. Franklin. Mrs. Franklin has a sister, Lady Barnham, who happens to be the mother of Mr. Forster, the young man Cecily was so intrigued by at the inn. Cecily becomes friendly with Miss Forster and through her, meets her brother. Cecily hopes he is a man of character as well. Her family wishes her to marry her boring cousin Alfred, yet she can't help but be attracted to the charming, handsome Mr. Forster. Robert Forster and his cousin Tom Franklin are happy to be young men about town yet Robert wishes for more intimacy with his father and more responsibility. He will get his wish soon enough as his sickly father desires to see his family cared for before his death. Once Lord Barnham takes his son into his confidence, there's no other solution for Mr. Forster but to marry. Who he shall marry is up to him. He'll do the right thing no matter what he decides but should he choose his own happiness or the happiness of his family? This quiet little Regency book takes a bit to get started. At first the heroine and hero both seem immature and shallow. I didn't like either of them very much and I was disgusted by the hero's behavior. Halfway through, the story changes and takes a more solemn tone. The story then describes a lot of the seedier aspects of Regency society as the plot moves forward. I found the story from that point on more interesting than the beginning. The characters show more depth and the plot is more interesting. It's different from the standard plots most authors follow but in a good way. The romance develops quickly, yet it's slow paced. It seems based on shallow pretenses but develops into a more once the characters get to know each other. It's a sweet, slow romance. There's nothing more than kisses. I really liked the hero for the most part, except in the beginning and during the misunderstanding. The heroine is rather underdeveloped and I don't know really anything about her except that she's rich, pretty, sweet, and a bit lively. She longs for more than her circumscribed life but she seems to ignore that longing in favor of romance which I didn't like. I could see the romance being the basis for a longer novel or shortening the beginning and then making the story advance a few years before the h/h come together. I found the ending just a bit too rushed for my taste. The author has done extensive research on the Regency era. The descriptions of Bath are excellent but sometimes the research shows up in a forced manner. There are constant references to the streets and where locations the characters are at any given moment, one major stand-out of a fashion trend that clearly comes from a cartoon of the period. I love research and period details and I liked the attention to detail but sometimes it was a bit too much.  My criticism with the story is largely with the writing. The story is told in a rather detached manner. The characters never really come to life nor are they memorable in any way. We're told how Cecily is feeling at any given moment and what she's thinking but it doesn't really show through in the story. The character interaction is bland and the dialogue pointless. I think the author was trying to write in the style of Jane Austen without mimicking it exactly, which I appreciate, but I found the writing style a bit too slow for bedtime reading. I liked the story though. It was free on Amazon the day I bought it so I was nervous about the quality but it was worth the time I spent reading it. The story is better than average and the writing quality is better in the authors more recent novels, she will definitely be one worth reading.  I would recommend it to those who like Jane Austen and some of the slower Regency set novels. 

Courting Trouble by Nonnie St. George -- Regency Romance

This follow-up to The Ideal Bride focuses on the Duke of St. Fell. St. Fell is handsome, titled, and a rake. He has several younger brothers to support (all rakes) and needs to marry a fortune. When his friend, Gabriel St. Carr, introduces him to the wealthy porcelain artist Joseph Swann, St. Fell finds his intended heiress. Swann has two beautiful daughters who have just come to London for the first time. Swann wants his grandson to be a Duke and settles on his eldest, Arabella, for St. Fell. St. Fell thinks all he needs is for Arabella to set eyes on him for her to fall at his feet. He doesn't count on Miss Arabella Swann to lead him a merry dance. Arabella is five and twenty and never been kissed. She's unromantic and refuses to read the silly Minerva Press romances his younger sister and Aunt Ophelia devour. Her sister Diana has fallen head over heels in love with Lord Belcraven, a gawky, penniless ex-soldier. Arabella is convinced Diana is merely infatuated and once she meets Belcraven's formidable aunts she'll change her mind. Diana has a mind of her own and it includes getting her sister married off so she can marry her beloved. When Arabella meets the Duke of St. Fell, she's physically attracted to him but feels it's a mere infatuation. He's arrogant, unromantic and insufferable and she will not marry him... at least not until he declares his undying love for her. Enter Lord Stonehaven, a war hero and rake who writes poetry and remembers Arabella's favorite things. How can St. Fell compete with that? It will be easy if Arabella would just admit she's in love. 

This book is so dreadful I don't even know where to begin. The story takes place during the events of The Ideal Bride but in the first book, Swann says he doesn't believe in marrying his daughter to a Duke, not yet. He seems to be bluffing because he does a 180 degree turn in this book. He spends most of the book either chasing rakes with his walking stick or being drunk. The other adult characters aren't much better. The aunts and St. Fell's mother provide a lot of the humor but the humor is based on innuendo. The main characters are entirely unlikeable. Arabella is a very human heroine and I wanted to like her. She eats bon-bons, cusses (in her head) and turns her nose up at romance novels. Unfortunately, she's also really annoying and immature. For some reason she longs to be a rake and she spends most of the book lusting after St. Fell. St. Fell is irritating. He is so insufferably arrogant. He's almost never serious and like Arabella, I felt like kicking him and throwing books at him. I also wanted to smack him. He annoyed me so much. The romance, if you call it that, consists of two attractive people lusting after each other, wanting to be alone in a dark corner together. Arabella seems to want something she really wouldn't understand. Diana's story is far more interesting. Though she reads silly romances, she's a practical girl who knows what she wants and goes after it; at least in the beginning. By the end I was disappointed in her too. This book makes fun of romance novels both in the Regency era and current bodice rippers but it's not a whole lot better. There's a lot of panting, drooling and bawdy humor. I really didn't like this book and wouldn't recommend it to those who like intelligent, well-written, sweet romances.

What I've Read This Week

]What I've Read This Week

The Ideal Bride by Nonnie St. George -- Regency Romance
Handsome, wealthy Gabriel Carr dislikes a fuss. He has made a life plan (Corinthian until 25 - check, make fortune 25-30 - check, find a wife, set up a nursery by age 30 - not done!) and the only thing left to do is find a wife and set up a nursery. Gabe has three months to find the ideal bride and makes a list of the attributes he wants in a wife. At the top of the list is lady from merchant class. Gabe is used to being chased for his looks and fortune by the ladies of the ton and would prefer a wife who shares his interest in business. He also wants his wife to have a pleasing figure (i.e large bosom). Enter Lady Nola Grenvale, tall, red-haired, flat chested and the daughter of an Earl, most certainly NOT the ideal bride! At 25 and without a fortune, Nola has no intentions of marrying anyone, let alone Gabriel Carr. She is devoted to helping the poor helpless war widows and is determined to set them up in a bazaar where they can sell their handmade wares in a single location instead of running around the city to various merchants. Nola learns that Gabriel Carr is a noted real-estate genius. His latest plan is a sort of early department store/mall, which will leave an empty warehouse in Soho Square just right for the widows' bazaar. However, Gabriel does not see it that way, and wants nothing to do with Nola or her opinions. He's delighted to hear that Nola will be leaving London soon to live with her aunts in the country so he will never have to see her or hear about her widows' bazaar again, but Nola is determined he shall hear her out. Gabe tries to escape to the country but returns to find his mother has invited Nola, her maids, her aunts and her cook to stay at his home! When Gabe is injured and must stay in bed, it's Nola's deaf, old nurse who nurses him! Poor man is surrounded by scheming women determined to push Nola at him and Nola continues to only be interested in Gabe's warehouse, or so he thinks. Nola and Gabe learn to appreciate their mutual interest in business and soon, of course, find each other physically attractive as well, but Gabe stubbornly refuses to give up his list and admit that Nola is the ideal bride for him while his life spirals out of control as Nola and Gabe's relatives and servants meddle until the get the intended results. This is a hilarious romantic comedy. The crazy secondary characters provide a lot of laughs as does Gabe's stubbornness. The romantic plot becomes sensual as Gabe and Nola become more aware of each other. This story may not be for everyone because much of the humor is a bit bawdy and many of the jokes revolve around bosoms. Normally, I find such humor crude and unfunny but I found myself giggling madly through each chapter. The only real fault I found with this novel is that there isn't much depth to the characters. We know what they do and what they're thinking but not why they're so driven or what their pasts were like. This may be a good book to share with a teen who is just becoming interested in the genre due to the rather modern jokes. Does anyone have a copy of the follow-up Courting Trouble I could read?


The Luxe by Anna Godbersen Narrated by Nina Siemaszko -- YA Historical Fiction
It's 1899 and Elizabeth Holland is one of New York's elite society girls, or rather was, for Elizabeth is presumed drowned in the Hudson River a few days before her wedding to society's playboy Henry Schoonmaker! After the initial shocking beginning, the story goes back to the weeks prior to the funeral, when Elizabeth's seemingly perfect life comes to an end with the knowledge that her father died in debt, leaving the family destitute and it's up to Elizabeth to save the family by marrying Henry. Elizabeth has no choice but to agree to the wedding, after all, it will help her family and she is the perfect society girl, but underneath her perfect facade, Elizabeth is hiding secret feelings. Elizabeth is in love with Will the coachman and finds marriage to anyone else unappealing, yet she knows she has no choice. Younger sister Diana, reader of torrid romance novels, thinks being poor would be a grand adventure and doesn't let the news of misfortune dampen her high spirits or her budding feelings for her sister's fiance! Penelope Hays, Elizabeth's best friend, had been, until now, the amour of Henry Schoonmaker and doesn't want to give him up! Meanwhile, the maid, Lina Broud, is becoming increasingly dissatisfied with her position and learns how a little gossip can go a long way. This story plays out like a modern High School drama crossed with a Jane Austen novel with jealous catty girls, clandestine meetings, secret romances and family misfortune. Though it seems like the novel is full of fluff, the characters demonstrate complicated emotions and the difficulties of being a young woman in upper-class society in the 19th century. The historical details are excellent and seem well-researched. I especially enjoyed the interesting newspaper articles, etiquette tips and letters that open each chapter and serve as a teaser as to what the chapter will be about. Though Elizabeth is a passive heroine, never really letting her emotions show or taking steps to control her life, I felt sorry for her being stuck in a difficult situation. Diana is a more appealing character, of course, but she seems too immature to really understand what's happening. She's a typical selfish teen, not caring about anyone except herself. Penelope is the stereotypical "frenemy" but a delicious villain with witty lines and I found myself eager to know what she would do next. This book is a real page-turner and I can't wait to read the next two! The narrator sounds like a young woman and has a pleasing voice though sometimes it was hard to tell who was supposed to be speaking because the narrator doesn't create different voices. Overall though, this is a pretty good audio book and good for long trips.


My Darlin' Clementine by Kristiana Gregory -- Middle Grades Historical Fiction
Based on the popular ballad, Kristiana Gregory provides the story behind the song. The book opens in 1867 just after Clementine Kidd "fell into the foamy brine," with Clementine's younger sister Josie sharing the details of Clementine's disappearance with her father and with the reader. Flash back to 1866 and sixteen year-old Clementine takes up the tale of her life with her parents and younger sister in the mining town of Nugget in Idaho Territory. Life is rough in the small mining town with saloons, opium dens, abandoned mine shafts and vigilante justice. Clementine's Papa is unable to mine due to rheumatism and spends his time drinking, gambling and losing the family's hard-earned money. Clementine's sweet mother does her best to provide for the family and keep them safe but she hints there may be a time when Clementine and Josie have to look after themselves. Also watching out for them is Tall Sing, a Chinese doctor who works for Clementine's family and is devoted to them. Clementine worries about her father and her wild younger sister growing up in a rough environment and longs for a better life. Clementine takes an interest in medicine, helping Tall Sing with his doctoring, and harbors secret dreams of attending a ladies' medical college in Pennsylvania. Clementine's ambitions are tested when Boone Reno, the judge's son begins to court her. Boone is kind and gentle and her family all love him, but Clementine doesn't wish to be rushed into marriage. When the rough and violent ways of their western mining town begin to intrude on Clementine's life, she's forced to choose between her dreams and the welfare of her family. The story is concluded from Josie's point-of-view two years after Clementine is "lost and gone forever" and the reader finally learns what happened to Clementine and what happens next. Gregory has long since been one of my favorite historical fiction writers and I was anxious to read her latest. She does not disappoint with this unusual story. The imagery is so vivid that I can easily picture the wild west and follow Clementine around in my mind. Though the violence of life in a mining town is distasteful, Gregory doesn't shy away from depicting the realities. Clementine is a sympathetic character but I found her almost too easy going. I preferred young Josie, the spunky tomboy as a narrator. Even so, I liked reading Gregory's imaginative take on an old ballad. I would love a sequel!

Dancing Shoes by Noel Streatfeild -- Children's classic
Rachel Lennox is happy living in the English countryside with her mother and adopted sister Hilary. The family is poor but Hilary is a superb dancer and expected to attend the Royal Ballet School and become a star. Rachel's mother dies after a terrible accident, leaving Rachel and Hilary to the care of Rachel's uncle and his wife, Aunt Cora, who runs a dancing school for Mrs. Wintle's Little Wonders. Mrs. Wintle is eager to add Hilary to her troupe but does not expect the girl to upstage her own darling daughter. Rachel is dismayed to learn that the Little Wonders focus more on tap and acrobatics than ballet and pushes Hilary to train ballet so she can fulfill Rachel's mother's dream of Hilary becoming a ballerina with the Royal Ballet. Hilary is lazy and prefers acrobatics to ballet and dreams of becoming a Little Wonder. Rachel hates to dance and feels life as a Little Wonder would be unbearable. Rachel bonds with her teacher, Mrs. Storm, who gives Rachel elocution lessons and sees in the girl promise of something special that Mrs. Wintle can not see. Rachel and Hilary also have to deal with their spoiled cousin Dulcie, who is on her way to stardom. As they grow older, Rachel becomes more despondent and Hilary happier. Finally, they each discover their true places in the theater world and learn to accept each other's decisions. The plot is very similar to Theatre Shoes but not as well done. I felt sorry for Rachel but didn't find her very interesting. Hilary wasn't very likeable either because she was silly and lazy. Dulcie is the typical spoiled girl with a stage mother and the story was pretty predictable. This is not my favorite installment of the series.