A Luxe Ending

I picked up The Luxe by Anna Godbersen almost as a joke--it looked SO DRAMATIC and sweeping and historical. Okay, so yeah, the whole series has totally been a soap opera, but it's fun.

The last book is Splendor. Can we give whoever designed the covers of this entire series major props? GORGEOUS. The back cover has more of her dress, too.

Splendor wraps up Elizabeth, Carolina, Penelope and Diana's stories, with varying degrees of success. The girls' lives have each reached a breaking point, where lies will be discovered and truth revealed. And this book, like the others, has major drama: druggings, adultery, European royalty, interrupted weddings, etc. Godbersen does know how to write an entertaining story.

****Spoilers
Let's talk about the ending. I'm happy that Elizabeth and Teddy end up together (finally). Carolina seemed to be more likable in this book, but it took her freakin' long enough to finally start providing for her sister. And is it bad I wanted her to end up with the slimy clerk? Ah well, didn't happen. Penelope sort of got what she deserved--as did Henry. I was never a huge fan of Henry and Diana, mainly because Henry was so spineless (and of course, the whole moral issue of adultery). Diana's ending, though, wasn't satisfactory. Diana runs off to Paris--loves many men ("who all loved differently")--and is an artist? Hmmm.

Overall, the ending felt rushed. I didn't need specific endings for people and the vague descriptions weren't satisfactory (eg., "Carolina and Claire threw lavish parties." Really? Is that all there is to life? Throwing amazing parties?). Yeah, definitely a bleh ending.
****

So The Luxe series is over but it was fun, fluff reading while it lasted. And the book covers are amazing.

Rating: 7/10

Shivery

When I was a teenager, I didn't read too many YA books. Call me a snob, but my attitude was: "I need to be challenged in my reading; forget these 'teen' books--give me Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, the classics. I AM ABOVE YA BOOKS." (Obviously I've done a complete turnaround now--I'm all about YA books now and as for the classics, I try to read one once a month.)


My stuck-up attitude was probably healthy for my emotional growth because dang, if I had read books like Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver when I was in high school, my whole concept of love could've been pretty romanticized and unrealistic.

First up: gorgeous cover, isn't it? The font inside the book matched the deep, dark blue from the cover. Lovely.

Shiver is rich in atmosphere: fall creeping into winter, girl and boy in love. Briefly, the story is about Grace, who was bitten by wolves as a child. But a wolf with yellow eyes saved her from being devoured. For six years, Grace sees her wolf. Then she meets a boy with yellow eyes--and you've got yourself a nice little angsty love story featuring werewolves.

Obviously, it's LOVE the first time they speak. That's one reason why I enjoy YA--people can fall in undying-I'll-do-anything-for-you love immediately. As that's generally not too realistic, it's probably better I read that sort of book as an adult than as an impressionable teen.

Regardless, I enjoyed this light fantasy, with all its high school angst and passion. I'm definitely reading more Maggie Stiefvater.

Rating: 8/10

Re-Reads

When I want a comforting read that I know I'll enjoy, Lauren Willig is a sure bet. In the last week, I've re-read The Temptation of the Night Jasmine and The Seduction of the Crimson Rose. Both are lovely, spy-filled reads. With romance, mystery, history and a bit of adventure, the whole Pink Carnation series is one of my favorites.

Side note: although the books may appear to be just fluff, Willig is very intelligent and knows her history--she has several master's degrees and was (still is?) going after her Ph.D. But she makes history fun to read about it.

So Freakin' Cute

Not too long ago, I read a review by Angie on Jennifer Echols' Going Too Far. She suggested that it'd be a good fit for fans of Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry. Seeing as I adored Perfect Chemistry, I immediately added Going Too Far to my TBR list.

Well, she was right--I loved Going Too Far as well. I couldn't put it down. I started reading it around 9:45 p.m. last night (big mistake). An hour later, I had to force myself to put it down so I could go to bed. Today I thought about it on and off all day, excited to finish it.

The plot is fairly simple: bad teen girl gets in trouble and as punishment, is forced to spend her spring break with a cop during his night shift, driving around their small town and doing police-y work. And they just might end up falling for each other...

But what takes the work above the standard plot is the writing and the characters themselves. I literally laughed out loud at some parts and smiled out of sheer enjoyment at others. Meg and the police officer both have their own issues to work through, but they do and don't let a Big Misunderstanding keep them apart. And did I mention that the book is so freakin' cute? The characters aren't cutesy in themselves but the writing makes the story adorable. Sometimes all you want is a happy, funny story and this fit the bill perfectly.

Rating: 10/10

Fluff

Every now and then I need a fluffy read--one that doesn't stretch my mind but is instead pure enjoyment. Hester Browne's The Finishing Touches is just that--enjoyable, light-hearted fluff.

Lovely cover! Browne does seem to luck out in her covers--they've been classy so far. Anyway, the story: Betsy was abandoned as a baby on the doorstep of a posh finishing school in London. (Quick side note: I really like the word posh--and of course, I'm a fan of Posh from Spice Girls--so I think I'm going to try and use that word in my vocabulary more.) It just happens that the couple that run the finishing couple don't have any children and are thrilled to adopt her. Betsy is very happy growing up at the finishing school, but after the death of her adopted mother, Betsy is asked to help run the school.

The school needs quite a bit of updating, so Betsy's got her work cut out for her. There may also be a bit of romance and who's-my-real-mother-searchin sprinkled in, too. There's also quite a few cute little tips on being a lady spread in throughout the book, which made it a charming read.

All in all, it was a light read and didn't make me mad like her last book.

Rating: 7.5/10

A Roman Book I Like

Years and years ago I read A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers. I loved it. Generally I don't care for books set in Rome, but this one was so well-done and fascinating that I actually liked it. After talking about the book with a friend, I realized I couldn't remember most of it and decided to re-read it.

Voice is about a Jewish (and Christian) slave girl who is captured during the fall of Jerusalem and ends up a slave for a Roman family. She ends up caring deeply for the family (especially the son!) but faces dire consequences for her faith. Tied in with her story is another slave-forced-to-be-a-gladiator. Rivers weaves numerous storylines together so well--it's definitely an epic story.

Rivers is a great writer....for proof of this, my younger sister, who didn't like reading (how are we even related???), read Rivers' Redeeming Love and suddenly discovered she liked reading!

This series is from the early 1990s but it's remained in print since then--clearly people like it. It's book one in a trilogy, so I'll post reviews about books two and three in the months to come.

Rating: 9.5/10

Another week goes by...

Last week I re-read one of my all-time favorites: The Stars for a Light, book one in the Cheney Duvall, M.D. series by Lynn Morris and Gilbert Morris. I love this series....so good. It's about a female doctor in the 1860s.

Rating: 10/10

Also, thanks to Angie's recommendation, I also read Emily Gee's The Laurentine Spy. It's a nicely-done piece of fantasy work...more serious than I prefer, but still enjoyable. Go read her lovely review if you want more details about it...

Rating: 7.5/10

Ah, Poe

Ah, Tap & Gown, with you comes the end of the adventures of Amy and Poe. It's a necessary end, as it'd be hard to continue writing about a college secret society after the main character has graduated, but still, no more Poe is a sad thing. (That being said, Poe did continue on as a patriach, right? Still two patriachs hanging out would be a bit sad.)

Tap mainly deals with the Diggers' trouble rounding up suitable candidates for class D178--and, as it's class D177 doing the picking, of course there's major trouble ahead...and reality hits for Amy and Poe--and everyone else who's graduating.

Rites of Spring (Break) is obviously the gold standard (Poe!!!!), but still I enjoyed this one. Diana Peterfreund has definitely developed as a writer and it's been nice to see how the quality of her writing has progressed. It was a quick read and I'm looking forward to Peterfreund's Rampant. Maybe I'll enjoy killer unicorns as much as I enjoyed Poe?

Rating: 8/10

Get Your Burr On

If you've read much historical romance, then you've most likely heard of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Somehow, I hadn't read it but my (future) brother-in-law bought it for my birthday, so now I can say I've experienced Jamie and Claire.

Here's the description via Amazon: English nurse Claire Beauchamp Randall and husband Frank take a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands in 1945. When Claire walks through a cleft stone in an ancient henge, she's somehow transported to 1743. She encounters Frank's evil ancestor, British captain Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall, and is adopted by another clan. Claire nurses young soldier James Fraser, and the two begin a romance, seeing each other through many perilous, swashbuckling adventures involving Black Jack. Eventually Claire finds a chance to return to 1945, and must choose between Frank and Jamie.

I think the whole two men in her life thing threw me off from reading the series but it truly was an interesting, good read. It was long and full of adventure--and I was actually distraught, thinking there wouldn't be a good ending. It's easy to see why this series is a classic.

Rating: 9/10

Much Better

Maria V. Snyder, you did a much better job with Storm Glass than with Fire Study.

A gorgeous cover like this is a good start, eh? Seriously, I love it--and it's an excellent cover for the book, too. There were lots of glass orbs in this novel and it's nice to have a clear image in your head when you start reading about them.

Storm Glass ties in Opal from Fire Study. She has a gift with magic and glass....but isn't sure what her powers exactly are. Because I'm feeling lazy, here's an edited description from Amazon:

As a glassmaker and a magician-in-training, Opal Cowen understands trial by fire. Now it's time to test her mettle. Someone has sabotaged the Stormdancer clan's glass orbs, killing their most powerful magicians. The Stormdancers require Opal's unique talents to prevent it happening again. But when the mission goes awry, Opal must tap in to a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. With lives hanging in the balance—including her own—Opal must control powers she hadn't known she possessed…powers that might lead to disaster beyond anything she's ever known.

Throw in a little loooooove interest(s) and you've got yourself a good tale. The book does tie in nicely with Yelena's story, too.

I'm being generous giving it an 8, mainly because I was able to guess what was partially going to happen. (I don't like guessing---surprise me, authors!) However, it managed to wipe away the horror of Fire Study so that's a plus.

Rating: 8/10

A Baby Strikes Again

While browsing through the new book shelves at my library, I stumbled across Janet Mullany's The Rules of Gentility. Why it's in the "new" book section, I don't know, as it came out about two years ago, but that sort of thing doesn't concern my library. (Just kidding, kind of, library. I love you!)


It looks like fun, right? Here's the description, courtesy of Amazon: "A delightful marriage of Pride and Prejudice with Bridget Jones's Diary, Janet Mullany's The Rules of Gentility transports us to the days before designer shoes, apple martinis, and speed dating—when great bonnets, punch at Almack's, and the marriage mart were in fashion—and captivates us with a winsome heroine who learns that some rules in society are made to be broken."

To an extent it was as described...except for a plot device that just really bothered me. And it's a slight spoiler, so read at your own caution. The device was a baby....the hero's baby with his mistress. Yikes. It just seemed so bizarre; the hero was actually really into being a father, even wanting his mistress to live on his estate, so he could be near the baby. The heroine seemed totally okay with it all. What woman would honestly be content with her husband's ex-lover living within throwing distance of them? And then I could see all sorts of issues with the hero favoring his firstborn with his legitimate children...goodness.

So the book was fun and light but I fell into the trap of placing myself in the heroine's shoes and found myself wanting to make different decisions than she did.

Rating: 7/10

A week's worth of reading...if I can remember

My last week was a fun, busy one so I didn't do a ton of reading. I finished reading High Adventure in Tibet by David Plymire. High Adventure is a biography of David's father, Victor Plymire, who went over to Tibet in the early 1900s to share about Christianity. Let's just say I'm glad I'm not living in that era--it sounded pretty primitive and rough. The story itself was very interesting, though.

I did pick up Mariana by Susanna Kearsley, too, just for a fun read.

Mariana follows modern-day Julia, who somehow is transported back in time as Mariana. Both women fall in love but Mariana's life is a bit harder...evidently Julia has to work out some issues as Mariana before both women can rest in peace. There were some reincarnation themes, etc. throughout the book to explain all of that. Anyway, the story switched between Julia's story and Julia-as-Mariana. I felt more vested in Julia's story and adored how the story ended for her.

While this isn't my favorite Kearsley, it was still an enjoyable read, mainly because she's such a descriptive and enticing writer.

Rating: 7/10

Weekend = No Reading

I started a new book this weekend but after a hundred pages or so, I said, "Rachel, do you really want to read this book or are you just reading it because you like the cover and think you should read it?" At that moment in time, the answer was a resounding "no, I don't want to read this book." Honestly, the book itself isn't that bad--I just didn't care about the topic matter--so I don't want to mention it by name. Maybe someday I'll give it another read.

I decided to pick up Mary Stewart's Madam, Will You Talk? instead. I first read this about a year ago and in re-reading my blog post about it, yeah, my opinion remains the same. It's a fun, action-packed story featuring numerous chases and a woman who can really drive. Lovely reading.

Was just the sophomore slump?

I'm wondering if Erynn Mangum's Rematch was just a case of sophomore slump, because her third book, Match Point, didn't irritate me at all.

For the following illustration, you should know my parents have two Jack Russell Terriers: Jack (clever name, eh? he's a Humane Society dog, so we didn't name him) is crazy and NEVER STOPS moving/barking/playing while Penny is old and likes to eat and sleep. While Rematch felt as if Jack wrote it, the third book felt as if Penny wrote it, with a few paragraphs written by Jack thrown in.

The third book has the tables turned on Matchmaker Lauren Holbrook: suddenly she's finding herself being set up for looooooooove. Everything turns out fine, with almost more resolution than I needed (for example, two people in the book need a house. They look at one house, decide it'll do just fine and boom! They bought it. Wow.)

Anyway, if you like chick-lit, you'll probably like this book.

Rating: 7/10

Lastly, let's give props to the cover designer. The colors just pop and the designs suit the books perfectly:

Couldn't accept

I read Erynn Mangum's Miss Match about two years ago and remember really enjoying it. It was cheery, bopped along and was pretty relatable to my life: the main character, Lauren Holbrook, is in her early 20s, living at home, loves chocolate and coffee and believes her calling is matchmaking. While I'm not a matchmaker, it was fun reading.

Fast to my present day reading of the second book in the series, Rematch, which didn't enchant me; it bugged me. It was many little things...Lauren only drinks coffee (and the occasional pop) and eats chocolate or junk food. For lunch, she'd have cheesecake. For dinner, it'd be a brownie sundae. AND YET SHE'S STILL SKINNY. Gaaaaaaaaahhhhh. Seriously, if anyone ate like that in real life, they'd weigh 250+ pounds. Perhaps it's because I work so hard to stay in shape and know that I can't overindulge, but I hate reading about people who eat a ton of crappy food and still are so thin. Maybe it's because I've moved on in my life and Lauren hasn't but I think our similarities have ended.

The book just felt like a Jack Russell Terrier wrote it--hyper, hyper, hyper. The dialogue was snappy and the book never seemed to drag; in fact, I wanted it to slow down at times. But again, one aspect that bugged me was that everyone--including people they just met--called each other "honey," "sweetheart," "dear," etc. Random guys would call their female friends "honey"--and they were honestly just friends. Um, that's abnormal. If it was just one person, I could've handled it. But seriously, EVERYONE did it.

And one last complaint: Lauren's dad's new girlfriend, in discussing marriage, says that she didn't meet her first husband until she was 25. In context though (and perhaps I'm just a bit sensitive on this subject), the girlfriend made it seem as though 25 was kind of old to find your mate and that Lauren still had plenty of time, as she was only 22 or 23. GAAAAAAHHH. I'm just praying I'll get married by my late, late 20s. I also read this weekend that a woman's fertility starts to decrease by age 25, so yeah, I'm screwed--old and infertile.

I know the author is young (I think she was 22 or 23 when she wrote the book) so I'm sure that as she matures, her writing and aspects of the plot will, too.

On a positive note, any elements of faith were extremely natural and woven in quite well. Her faith was part of the story. So props on that, Mangum.

I checked out book two and three at the same time, so I will read the third book.

Rating: 6/10

Chemistry? Yeah, Chemistry!

Sometime last year I read a review on The YA YA YAs about Perfect Chemistry. In their words, this is the book: "Simone Elkeles’ Perfect Chemistry is a teen romance full of clichés, melodrama, an unrealistic denouement, and a completely over the top epilogue. And I freaking loved it. Ate it up with a spoon like it was an ice cream sundae."


Perfect Chemistry is about Alex, a Latino gang member, and Brittany, the "perfect" blond cheerleader. Forced to partner in their high school chemistry class, their very-different worlds collide and yes, it's chemistry.

The story is obviously unrealistic but so addictive. The short chapters switch between Alex and Brittany's point of views, which didn't bug me, suprisingly enough. You see their lives and their secrets and how they're meant for each other. And while the epilogue is completely over the top, I adored it.

Basically this book is sheer fun--don't take it seriously and enjoy the chemistry.

Rating: 9/10

What I've been reading

I have been a reading roll, checking off my TBR list. First, it was Snow Angel by Jamie Carie and then The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt (which I bought at a library book sale either this summer or last year? I'm sad that I have no idea).

Snow Angel is Carie's first book and isn't it a pretty cover? Gorgeous colors. Anyway, the story follows Elizabeth, who is determined to mine for gold in Alaska. After being caught in a freak snow blizzard, she's about to freeze to death when she sees a lighted cabin. The cabin belongs to Noah, a hardy (and attractive) farmer/but-how-can-you-be-a-farmer-in-Alaska-so-yeah-I-don't-really-remember-but-he's-not-a-miner. Noah ends up falling in love with her but Elizabeth's secrets and her past hold her back.

The story had a nice faith aspect woven in, too. Connected with Elizabeth's struggle to trust Noah is her struggle to trust in God.

I didn't like it as much as Wind Dancer but Carie has restored some of my enjoyment in the Christian fiction department. I'll definitely read more of her books.

Rating: 7.5/10

I was randomly in the mood for nonfiction, which never happens, but I didn't have any checked out from the library. Thankfully I remembered I had The City of Falling Angels, which I bought because I loved Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Seriously Midnight was one of the first for-fun nonfiction books I ever read and it changed my thinking--nonfiction could be interesting, I realized.

I didn't love City like I did Midnight. It had one problem that I've noticed in nonfiction: a lack of a unifying theme. (And no, I didn't count "Venice" as a theme.) It rambled, examining different incidents and characters of Venice. There was a sort of "theme" in that he followed an arson case but that was truly scattered throughout. Anyway, it's an interesting look at a European city and unlike Savannah, I have no desire to visit it.

Rating: 7/10

A week's worth

Evidently I haven't been in a posting mood. Ah well, inspiration comes in waves. So here's what I've been reading this week:

Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda

Plot, courtesy of Amazon: An ambulance driver during WWI, Jade del Cameron promises a dying soldier that she'll track down his brother. The only problem is that the soldier's mother, whom Jade goes to visit in London, insists that she had only one son. Jade reasons that the missing brother must have been born to another woman, conceived when the now deceased family patriarch was exploring East Africa. So off she goes to Nairobi, where she mingles with the colonial elite, kills a hyena, learns Swahili, fingers a drug smuggler, romances a man twice her age, uncovers a murder and attracts the attentions of a local witch.

My thoughts: Kind of dark with a mystery I wasn't a huge fan of, interesting setting, I'll probably read the next one...

Countdown by Michelle Maddox

Again, courtesy of Amazon: Kira Jordan wakes up in a pitch-black room handcuffed to a metal wall. She has 60 seconds to escape. Thus begins a vicious game where to lose is to die. The man she's been partnered with--her only ally in this nightmare--is a convicted mass murderer. But if he's so violent, why does he protect her? No one to trust. Nowhere to run. And the only hope of survival is working together to beat the COUNTDOWN.

My thoughts: Action-packed, fun, quick reading...it's a SHOMI book and I think I may like the genre.

As Shadows Fade by Colleen Gleason

My thoughts: The last book in the Gardella series...and it had an excellent ending. I am thoroughly satisfied with how Gleason ended the love triangle.

Not envious of a love triangle

Anna Godbersen, your latest Luxe novel, Envy, was strangely addictive. I'm not sure why, either. I wasn't sure I was in the mood for drama but your story sucked me in even though the book focused way too much on Penelope, who everyone hates. She's a schemer, a liar and to be honest, I think she deserves Henry, who is pathetic, weak and a drunk. I know, I know, he only married Penelope to save Diana's reputation but since that clearly didn't lead to anyone's happiness, since now all he does is drink and long after Diana. And Diana wavers between hate and love for Henry and being a slut with Penelope's brother. Ah, love triangles, where no one is happy.

Let's talk about Diana's sister, Elizabeth. All Elizabeth did was puke throughout the entire novel (hello, morning sickness!). She was so faded in the story, letting life roll on by but I was truly surprised by her ending (and Diana's, too).

Carolina's story was fine but I'm not a whole-hearted fan of hers. I still think she's going to end up with Tristan, since she's also a major liar.

The Palm Beach setting was a nice change and kept the action rolling along. I'll definitely read all the books in this series because they're freakin' addictive. Also, all the covers in the series are amazing.

Rating: 7.5/10

Yeah, definitely going to re-read this one a few times...

Last January I fell in love with Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey series. So let me just say, after a year of waiting, I was EX-CI-TED that the third book, Silent on the Moor, finally came out. So excited I read it in one day.


Let me just air this tiny complaint: the cover! It's eye-catching but is a commmmmplete change from the earlier books in the series. The previous covers were tasteful, gorgeous and accurately reflected the mood of the books. This cover makes Silent on the Moor look like a bodice-ripper, which it isn't at all. Why, publishers, why? Why do you do this?

Ok, now on to the book: just as good as the others. Moor focused less on the various mysteries, or at least on solving them, and more on Julia and Brisbane's relationship.

In some ways, their relationship concerns me. Brisbane won't let anything happen between them until he can support her financially but at the same time, he seems so willingly to let her just walk out of his life--he doesn't contact her and after she shows up at his new manor, he consistently tells her to leave. At one point, Julia is told by a wise woman to ignore his words and just read his body language; once she does that, his feelings are pretty darn clear. After I re-read the book, maybe I'll understand his motives better. I know "if it's love, it will wait" but he just seemed so okay with waiting while Julia wasn't content with that at all.

Anyway, the mystery tied nicely to the other books and helped clear up Brisbane's character even more. However, the ending completely surprised me. I knew from the author's blog that this wasn't the last Julia Grey novel, so I wasn't expecting the ending that did happen--but I am so happy with it. I'm thinking book four may be a sort of Busman's Honeymoon-esque book.

I love Raybourn's style of writing. It's the kind that should be savoured, sitting in front of a warm fire, sipping hot tea. Seriously, go read this series.

Rating: 9/10