strange and random happenstance

Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: 1950
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
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Businessman Benedict Grame bought Sherbroome House from the impoverished Melvin family as a country retreat despite muttered oaths from the local villagers that one day the Melvins would return. Every Christmas he holds a lavish traditional holiday celebration, a true old-fashioned Christmas, where it's an honor to be chosen to attend. These festivities aren't for the locals or the children of the village who would get the most out of it, but the elite. The select few. Those invited must embrace the holiday spirit, with Grame himself even donning the costume of Father Christmas to decorate the tree with everyone's presents on Christmas Eve. Grame has a childlike glee in his playacting with his guests indulging him. The snowstorm brewing will add the final touch to Grame's Christmas trimmings. Mordecai Tremaine is honored to be one of two new additions to the year's guest list. Tremaine would describe himself as an ex-tobacconist who is now rather a social parasite who met Grame through mutual friends. With the inclement but festive weather forcing all the guests to be housebound Tremaine takes a turn about Sherbroome House to met his fellow inmates. On each introduction there arises in him his love of mystery and romance. Who is this person? What is their heart's desire. For the ward of Grame's oldest friend, Jeremy Rainer, Denys Arden, it is clear her heart's desire is Roger Wynton. As a lover of romance novels, this thrills Termaine's heart. But he sees a problem, Rainer is an odd overprotective man who cancelled his plans to go to the States for the holiday season to stay at Sherbroome House and definitely has plans for Denys that don't involve Roger. Then there's the family, "Uncle" Gerald Beechley who loves an inappropriate joke, and Grame's sister Charlotte who behaves like a sour maid with a dark secret whom Tremaine had seen the day previously in Calnford having tea, which she denies. The party is rounded off with Rosalind Marsh who runs a curio shop and paints, Austin Delamere who is an exhausted statesman, neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Napier, the stunning Lucia Tristam, who is possibly a widow with her eyes set on either Benedict or Jeremy, and Professor Ernest Lorring, the other "new" guest and a scientist. Of course Grame's secretary, Nicholas Blaise, is also present. As Tremaine settles in for a long winter's nap he spies Father Christmas on the terrace below him, at first wondering if it is a dream, a fantasy, but of course it is his host setting out to decorate the Christmas tree. The landscape is a three dimensional Christmas card or a shop window, an illusion. An illusion that brought menace when a cloud passed overhead. Malignity and terror were abroad with an expectant atmosphere. When a scream pierces the night Tremaine realizes this is what he'd been expecting. But the body under the tree not being Grame is unexpected. Was the wrong man killed? And will the killer strike again?

Murder for Christmas is a delicious festive work from the Golden Age of Detection. I read a lot of murder mysteries set during the holiday season and rarely has one stood out for such a strong sense of place and an amazing kicker of a conclusion, which any of those other reviewers who marked this book as DNF were robbed of. Seriously, I don't get people who give up early on books, I understand our time on this planet is limited but a book can surprise you in the very last few pages and totally change your view of what came before. And while I was enjoying my entire time at Sherbroome House, damn. But I'm getting ahead of myself because first I wanted to talk about it's sense of place. I don't know if you're like me but I kind of have stock images of country houses in my head. Unless great detail is gone into then they're all basically set in the same place in my mind. Perhaps this is because I watch so many British murder mysteries and they use the same locations over and over again or perhaps it's because back when I used to play MMORPGs every pub was literally the same, which has spilled over into my reading. Literally every pub is the same from Westeros to Temerant. Or, in an egregious example, how in City of Heroes all quests were in office buildings and each and every office building was the same and it ended up being so repetitive that I quickly stopped playing that game despite the fact that I could fly. But Sherbroome House? Damn. I think I could draw this house with the description that Francis Duncan wrote and despite the whole murder aspect, I want to go to there. I want to be in that library with those shelves stacked with books and that golden glow of the tree with the presents hanging from it. I mean, I could do without the corpse, but I can work around that. There's a uniqueness to this place. It felt so real, not just a simulacrum or composite of other houses. This place is as real as the house I'm sitting in right now and I have to applaud the author for that. So few actually succeed at this task. But really, it's the ending that deserves the standing ovation. So, while this book was originally published in 1950 and reprinted in 2017 I'm still giving a spoiler warning because, well, it's the nice thing to do. And yes, sometimes I am not nice and spoil books I hate on purpose without warning, but this isn't one of them. So the big reveal is that these lavish old-fashioned Christmas house parties are mandatory on the part of the participates because Grame is blackmailing them all. This is enforced glee. And while I know many people have a love/hate relationship with the holidays, I personally am the opposite of a scrooge. I'm all about the tree and the trimmings and the baking and the books. So to me, taking something that is supposed to be full of joy and making people do a pantomime of partying is like so deliciously evil I just can't. Francis Duncan is a genius for this perversion of tradition. Well done sir. Well done.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Blackmail, Christmas, City of Heroes, Father Christmas, Francis Duncan, Golden Age of Detection, MMORPGs, Mordecai Tremaine, Murder for Christmas, Murder Most Foul, Romance, Sherbroome House, Stock Imagery

Ruby Spencer's Whisky Year by Rochelle Bilow
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: February 14th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
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The official patter:
"When a thirty-something American food writer moves to a Scottish village for one year to fulfill her dream of writing a cookbook she finds more than inspiration - she meets a handsome Scotsman she can't resist in this charming debut romance.

Ruby Spencer is spending one year living in a small cottage in a tiny town in the Scottish Highlands for three reasons: to write a bestselling cookbook, to drink a barrelful of whisky, and to figure out what comes next. It's hard to know what to expect after an impulse decision based on a map of Scotland in her Manhattan apartment - but she knows it's high time she had an adventure.

The moment she sets foot in Thistlecross, the verdant scenery, cozy cottages, and struggling local pub steal her heart. Between designing pop-up suppers and conversing with the colorful locals, Ruby starts to see a future that stretches beyond her year of adventure. It doesn't hurt that Brochan, the ruggedly handsome local handyman, keeps coming around to repair things at her cottage. Though Ruby swore off men, she can't help fantasizing what a roll in the barley might be like with the bearded Scot.

As Ruby grows closer to Brochan and the tightly held traditions of the charming village, she discovers secret plans to turn her beloved pub into an American chain restaurant. Faced with an impossible choice, Ruby must decide between love, loyalty, and the Highlands way of life."

Can you think of a better way to spend Valentine's Day then with a HEA?

Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: February 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A perfectly wicked debut thriller about an ambitious woman who, after a lifetime of conning alongside her mother, wants to leave her dark past behind and marry the heir to one of the country's wealthiest families.

Like any enterprising woman, Bea knows what she's worth and is determined to get all she deserves - it just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. Filthy rich. After years of forced instruction by her mother in the art of swindling men, a now-solo Bea wants nothing more than to close and lock the door on their sordid partnership so she can disappear safely into old-money domesticity, sealing the final phase of her escape.

When Bea chooses her ultimate target in the fully loaded, thoroughly dull and blue-blooded Collin Case, she's ready to deploy all of her tricks one last time. The challenge isn't getting the ring, but rather the approval of Collin's family and everyone else in their 1 percent tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend, Gale Wallace-Leicester.

Going toe-to-toe with Gale isn't a threat to an expert like Bea, but what begins as an amusing cat-and-mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous pursuit of the grisly truth. Finding herself at a literal life-and-death crossroads with everything on the line, Bea must finally decide who she really wants to be.

Like mother, like daughter?"

Because sometimes grifters need to look within.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: February 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A sumptuous, Gothic-infused story about a marriage that is unraveled by dark secrets, a friendship cursed to end in tragedy, and the danger of believing in fairy tales - the breathtaking adult debut from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi.

Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after - and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.

But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor's extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo's dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife's secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage...or their lives.

Combining the lush, haunting atmosphere of Mexican Gothic with the dreamy enchantment of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a spellbinding and darkly romantic page-turner about love and lies, secrets and betrayal, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive."

You always have to ask yourself, can I keep a promise. If not, you should not take what is offered.

The Collected Enchantments by Theodora Goss
Published by: Mythic Delirium Books
Publication Date: February 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 436 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A wicked stepsister frets over all the ways in which she failed to receive her mother's love. A lost woman travels through an enchanted forest looking for someone who can remind her of her name. A girl must wear down seven pairs of shoes to gain help from a witch. A fox makes a life with a human, but neither can deny their true natures. A young woman returns to her childhood home and the fantastic stories she left there. A man lets himself be taken prisoner by the Snow Queen to prove that the woman who loves him would walk barefoot through the ice to save him. Medusa cuts her hair for love.

The Collected Enchantments gathers retellings of folk and fairy tales in prose and verse from World Fantasy and Locus award-winning author Theodora Goss, creator of The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series. Drawing from her Mythopoeic Award-nominated collections In the Forest of Forgetting and Songs for Ophelia and her Mythopoeic Award-winning tome Snow White Learns Witchcraft, and adding new and uncollected stories and poems, The Collected Enchantments provides a resounding demonstration of how, as Hugo and Nebula award winner Jo Walton writes, Goss provides "a vivid, authentic and important voice" that, in the words of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association Grand Master Jane Yolen, "transposes, transforms, and transcends times, eras, and old tales with ease.""

No one can spin an old tale in a new way like Theodora Goss.

Death of a Traitor by M.C. Beaton
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: February 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sergeant Hamish Macbeth - Scotland's most quick witted but unambitious policeman - is back to investigate the disappearance of a local woman who is more than she seems, in this new mystery in M.C. Beaton's beloved, New York Times bestselling series.

Kate Hibbert is all too eager to lend a hand to her neighbors. Although she has been a resident of the sleepy village of Lochdubh for only a year, in that time Kate has alienated one too many of its residents with her interfering - and not entirely well-intentioned - ways. When Kate's neighbor sees her lugging a heavy suitcase to the bus stop, he hopes that the prying woman is leaving for good. But two weeks later, Kate's cousin arrives in town with the news that Kate has gone missing - and she demands that the local police step in.

Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is called in to investigate the disappearance, and soon he is befuddled by a storm of lies, intrigue, and scandal...and the sneaking suspicion that Kate was someone much more sinister than she claimed. Torn between loyalty to Lochdubh and his job, Hamish begins threading his way through a maze of deceit, quickly finding himself on the trail of a ruthless, treacherous murderer. If he catches the killer, peace can return to the village. If he fails, he will lose everything: his job, his home, and the life he so loves in Lochdubh."

Just the other day I was wondering why they were continuing the Agatha Raisin books but not the Hamish Macbeth ones, well turns out they are!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Raisin, Fairy Tale Retelling, Gothic, Hamish Macbeth, M.C. Beaton, Mystery, R.W. Green, Rachel Koller Croft, Rochelle Bilow, Romance, Roshani Chokshi, Scotland, Theodora Goss, Valentine's Day

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: February 28th, 2006
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Evie Jenner keeps the true horrors of her life hidden from her friends. She can not hide the stutter she has developed from being broken by her mother's family, but she would never tell her friends about the abuse, both physical and mental, because she knows there's nothing they could do about it. All she wants to do is get away from her family and see her father before he dies. But Ivo Jenner runs a gaming hell and it wouldn't be "proper" for Evie to visit him. What's more, her family have their eyes on Ivo's fortune. Evie will be married to her cousin Eustace and then, well, she has a feeling they might do away with her. When the Viscount St. Vincent attempted to marry her friend Lillian Bowman by kidnapping her and running off to Gretna Green Evie realized how desperate the rake was. Desperate enough to swap one heiress for another? Showing up on his doorstep one night Evie tells him of her plan. They are to immediately set out for Gretna Green where they will be married. They will consummate their marriage to make sure it is legally binding in case her relatives have any ideas. They will return to London where Evie will take care of her father until he passes. At which time St. Vincent will get his money and they will live a marriage in name only. He will have his money and she will have her freedom, both getting exactly what they want. The only problem with this plan is that on their long trip to Scotland St. Vincent starts to be intrigued by his future wife. After they consummate their marriage he is shocked to realize how much he still wants Evie. This has never happened to him. Women chase him he will be damned if he will chase after his own wife! But his protective nature that he never knew he had is brought to the fore by Evie. He worries about the long hours she spends at her father's bedside. He has started to worry about the club. In fact he's rather taken with Jenner's and is taking over the business. For someone who has spent their entire life broke, idle, and a womanizer, the arrival of Evie Jenner in his life has changed everything. The question is, will he be able to hold onto it?

Going into Devil in Winter I had two questions that needed to be answered. One was how were they going to make Viscount St. Vincent palatable after he kidnapped and threatened to rape his best friend's fiance? The other was how would the book be structured after the first two books were basically the exact same premise with different wrapping paper? Both were rather quickly answered. The book has a structure all it's own and St. Vincent was desperate but would have never really raped Lillian and would have not even kidnapped her had he realized the depth of his friend's feelings. Yes, this is a bit of backtracking to make St. Vincent that most common of tropes in romance, the domesticated rake, but given as he's the hero it was to be expected. But what's interesting is that Lisa Kleypas doesn't fully reign him in. His reputation with women stands and it's by making Evie's life the worst nightmare that Charles Dickens could ever have dreamed up that St. Vincent is the only option for her. I actually really liked the darkness of Evie's life. With fellow Wallflower Annabelle's story we got a hint of the seedy underbelly that existed in this time period, but it was at a remove. The degradation was happening offstage in another room to her mother. Here Evie is being tormented and tortured by her own family. She literally would probably be better off dead than stay in her current situation so sure, a possible rapist really isn't that bad when she'd be holding the purse strings. By moving beyond St. Vincent and into the gambling den that is Jenner's we stay within this lower echelon while being shown that just because you live in the demimonde you don't need to be the evil that is embodied by Evie's family. You can be good and prosperous, just not of the higher ranks. Though once St. Vincent is done with Jenner's anything is possible. I just loved this story because it had more depth, more of a Deadwood vibe, and just wasn't at all what I expected. Now the question is, can Scandal in Spring surprise me as well?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Abuse, Charles Dickens, Deadwood, Demimonde, Devil in Winter, Evie Jenner, Gambling Hell, Gretna Green, Lisa Kleypas, Rake, Rape, Regency Romp, Romance, Scandal in Spring, The Wallflowers, Viscount St. Vincent

On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: June 27th, 2006
Format: Paperback, 048 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Anthony is the closest thing to a father that Gregory has ever had. So Anthony is giving him some flack. Not only has Gregory arrived late for his sister-in-law's house party but he has apparently made no decision on what he's going to do with his life, maybe he'll marry, or hem and haw about a career to get Anthony to leave him alone for awhile longer. Sure being a forth son has it's limitations, but Gregory has always assumed that whatever life had planned for him he'd know it when he saw it. Just like he knows that one day he'll see the love of his life and the rest will take care of itself. He just didn't expect it to happen right after talking to Anthony. He sees her back, the curve of her neck, the spun gold of her hair, and he is ruined for anyone else. The problem is the woman he has fallen in love with, Hermione Watson, also believes in love at first sight because she experienced it with her father's secretary whom she is hoping her parents will let her eventually marry if her heart remains true. Gregory and Hermione have eerily similar beliefs on love, which Hermione's best friend, Lady Lucinda Abernathy, is shocked to discover. She's not shocked that yet another man has instantly fallen for Hermione, she's seen it a hundred times. She's shocked that she wants to help Gregory. Gregory is the perfect man and Hermione's parents will never let her marry a secretary, so why shouldn't Lucy help Gregory? If he could just behave differently than any of Hermione's previous suitors, perhaps he'll have a chance. And, despite all of Hermione's objections to open up her mind to the possibility of an advantageous match she actually flutters a little for Gregory. The problem is she flutters for Lucy's brother more. So now Hermione is going to be Lucy's sister and Gregory is left brokenhearted. Or at least he should be but he finds that he isn't. He finds himself thinking of Lucy. Only Lucy is engaged to Lord Haselby. An engagement that went from "practically" to "now" faster than she could have wished. But she's always wished for the match with Lord Haselby, why should she be questioning it now? Could it be because of a Bridgerton?

Now that I have officially read all the Bridgerton books I can safely say there is a distinct pattern to how they are written. The first half of the book is the setup, the meet cute, the initial obstacles, and the second half of the book switches up the narrative to move away from the setup to how are these two crazy kids going to work it out and get into bed. Sometimes the bed comes before they work it out, because Bridgertons seem to be OK with being compromised because they know they'll get their happily ever after. Because they are, despite Lucy's observations, in a romance after all. And yes, I'm sure this division of the narrative is common in romances, but here it's very much a blueprint. The problem is sometimes the back end of the book fits perfectly with the front, but sometimes it just don't. Like here. The house party, Lucy and Gregory scheming, all that was wonderful, and then it went off the rails. I mean, in general, romance has a certain level of suspension of disbelief. Not everyone gets a duke and a happy ending, their just aren't enough dukes to go around. But when you compromise the heroine's best friend, find out her own fiance is secretly gay, that her wedding to him is because her future father-in-law is blackmailing the family, and that that ties into selling secrets to the French during the Napoleonic Wars, oh and then she goes through with the marriage only to have it annulled, but first there's kidnapping and drawn pistols, you're left wondering what the hell are you reading. This was all over the place. Seriously, I'm thinking Hyacinth's obsession with finding jewels and Eloise marrying a man she'd never met weren't that far-fetched anymore. I mean, now that I've read the book I can't see it having a different back half, I just wish I could go back to before, before I knew what happened when I was still totally in love with this book and try to think of what I wanted to happen. Yes, I knew there was going to be the wedding and the big Dustin Hoffman moment from The Graduate, but I just wish it had felt less far-fetched. I think maybe I'm taking this too hard because I just so strongly relate to Lucy. I'm always saying "I'm sorry" and doing what's better for others than myself and I have totally been the ignored best friend, so maybe I'm taking it too personally. Or maybe I just need some blackmail and drawn pistols in my life? Oh dear, I hope not.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Arranged Marriage, Bridgerton, Eloise Bridgerton, Gregory Bridgerton, Hermione Watson, Hyacinth Bridgerton, Julia Quinn, Lady Lucinda Abernathy, On the Way to the Wedding, Regency Romp, Romance, The Graduate

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: July 1st, 2002
Format: Paperback, 408 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Yet another season in London. Nothing ever changes and boredom reigns. Lady Whistledown reports on the goings on of the ton, but it doesn't really seem like much is actually going on. Colin Bridgerton has returned from his latest sojourn abroad, but he will never be caught by the scheming mamas, he's too clever, and thus the status quo remains. So Lady Danbury rashly declares a bounty on Lady Whistledown. 1,000 pounds to whomever unmasks the writer! This puts everyone on high alert. Anything you say might be taken as a clue. Any odd behavior could signal you out. The mob mentality holds sway over the ton and Colin is worried. He's worried because he has an inkling he knows who Lady Whistledown is. Given whom Lady Whistledown reports on it's obvious that she, or he, is a member of the ton. What's more Lady Whistledown really does tend to talk about Colin, a lot. Which makes Colin think it has to be someone he knows. His sister Eloise has been acting suspicious. There's no doubt she has the brains and skill to pull this off. In fact all his younger sister are quite devious, it could be any one of them. So he turns to his dear friend Penelope. She's the only one he can think of who will listen to him and not think him insane. But Penelope seems different since his time abroad. She's more assured of herself. It's almost as if he's never really seen her before. Now that he has, the confirmed bachelor has more than just Lady Whistledown on his mind. And when Penelope asks for her first kiss he obliges and everything changes. Colin wants Penelope to be his. But while he's trying to get his mind around this life altering realization the odious Lady Twombley, formerly Cressida Cowper, announces that she is Lady Whistledown. No one believes it. She's too mean, she's too thick, she's too broke. And that's the key, she's scheming because she needs money and if she "unveils" herself who is to contradict her? Will the real Lady Whistledown stand up or will Penelope have her heart broken in more ways than one? Because to think that Lady Whistledown is Cressida breaks Penelope's heart in two. If only there was a Bridgerton to mend it...

You have to applaud Julia Quinn. She drew out the reveal of who Lady Whistledown is until the forth book in her series and yet it didn't feel unnecessarily drawn out. It felt right. So this is the book you've all been waiting for, Colin and Pen and the unmasking of Lady Whistledown. Or if you watched the first season of Bridgerton you already know who Lady Whistledown is. This was the main reason why I wanted to read the books before the series. I wanted to know how the author intended the reveal to happen before it was hastily shoved into the first season of the show because it would be too cruel to make a television audience wait. Because you just know that that was the first change they insisted on making as they mucked up the plot to make it that weird fairy tale amalgam where Dukes are telling young debutantes how to masturbate. In other words, I have issues with the adaptation. And for all my due diligence I was still spoiled on the big reveal. How you ask? Because I stupidly read an article about how the Featheringtons were inspired by the Kardashians and the "real" Lady Whistledown responded to Kim Kardashian and that as we say is that. I mean, it didn't say in big bold letters, THIS IS LADY WHISTLEDOWN, but it still spoiled it. Just another reason to hate the Kardashians. But now that my mini rant is over I'm trying to think how to write this review without spoiling if for those two people who don't know who Lady Whistledown is, because I don't want to be a Kardashian for you! OK, maybe if I ignore the Lady Whistledown reveal altogether and just say that the "hunt" led by Lady Danbury was pure comedy gold. Yes. I can say that because you don't necessarily know who they caught! Yes yes, semantics. But really, it's comedy gold. I love Landy Danbury so much. She reminds me of my grandmother. As for the romance, Colin! Pen! Finally! They are just a perfect couple. The whole friends become lovers trope played right. Because we as readers have always loved Pen and in several instances probably overly identified with her and her unrequited love. To see Colin finally SEE her and understand her and come to love her... Well, it brings me all the happy feels. And isn't that what reading Julia Quinn is all about?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Bounty, Bridgerton, Colin Bridgerton, Eloise Bridgerton, Julia Quinn, Kardashian, Lady Danbury, Lady Whistledown, Penelope Featherington, Regency Romp, Romance, Spoiled, Spoiler, Ton, Unmasking, Writer

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: February 28th, 2006
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Evie Jenner keeps the true horrors of her life hidden from her friends. She can not hide the stutter she has developed from being broken by her mother's family, but she would never tell her friends about the abuse, both physical and mental, because she knows there's nothing they could do about it. All she wants to do is get away from her family and see her father before he dies. But Ivo Jenner runs a gaming hell and it wouldn't be "proper" for Evie to visit him. What's more, her family have their eyes on Ivo's fortune. Evie will be married to her cousin Eustace and then, well, she has a feeling they might do away with her. When the Viscount St. Vincent attempted to marry her friend Lillian Bowman by kidnapping her and running off to Gretna Green Evie realized how desperate the rake was. Desperate enough to swap one heiress for another? Showing up on his doorstep one night Evie tells him of her plan. They are to immediately set out for Gretna Green where they will be married. They will consummate their marriage to make sure it is legally binding in case her relatives have any ideas. They will return to London where Evie will take care of her father until he passes. At which time St. Vincent will get his money and they will live a marriage in name only. He will have his money and she will have her freedom, both getting exactly what they want. The only problem with this plan is that on their long trip to Scotland St. Vincent starts to be intrigued by his future wife. After they consummate their marriage he is shocked to realize how much he still wants Evie. This has never happened to him. Women chase him he will be damned if he will chase after his own wife! But his protective nature that he never knew he had is brought to the fore by Evie. He worries about the long hours she spends at her father's bedside. He has started to worry about the club. In fact he's rather taken with Jenner's and is taking over the business. For someone who has spent their entire life broke, idle, and a womanizer, the arrival of Evie Jenner in his life has changed everything. The question is, will he be able to hold onto it?

Going into Devil in Winter I had two questions that needed to be answered. One was how were they going to make Viscount St. Vincent palatable after he kidnapped and threatened to rape his best friend's fiance? The other was how would the book be structured after the first two books were basically the exact same premise with different wrapping paper? Both were rather quickly answered. The book has a structure all it's own and St. Vincent was desperate but would have never really raped Lillian and would have not even kidnapped her had he realized the depth of his friend's feelings. Yes, this is a bit of backtracking to make St. Vincent that most common of tropes in romance, the domesticated rake, but given as he's the hero it was to be expected. But what's interesting is that Lisa Kleypas doesn't fully reign him in. His reputation with women stands and it's by making Evie's life the worst nightmare that Charles Dickens could ever have dreamed up that St. Vincent is the only option for her. I actually really liked the darkness of Evie's life. With fellow Wallflower Annabelle's story we got a hint of the seedy underbelly that existed in this time period, but it was at a remove. The degradation was happening offstage in another room to her mother. Here Evie is being tormented and tortured by her own family. She literally would probably be better off dead than stay in her current situation so sure, a possible rapist really isn't that bad when she'd be holding the purse strings. By moving beyond St. Vincent and into the gambling den that is Jenner's we stay within this lower echelon while being shown that just because you live in the demimonde you don't need to be the evil that is embodied by Evie's family. You can be good and prosperous, just not of the higher ranks. Though once St. Vincent is done with Jenner's anything is possible. I just loved this story because it had more depth, more of a Deadwood vibe, and just wasn't at all what I expected. Now the question is, can Scandal in Spring surprise me as well?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Abuse, Charles Dickens, Deadwood, Demimonde, Devil in Winter, Evie Jenner, Gambling Hell, Gretna Green, Lisa Kleypas, Rake, Rape, Regency Romp, Romance, Scandal in Spring, The Wallflowers, Viscount St. Vincent

It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: September 27th, 2005
Format: Paperback, 382 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Lillian Bowman and her sister helped her fellow Wallflower Annabelle find true love. The problem is whom she fell for wasn't part of the initial plan. She was to marry a member of the peerage so that she could then sponsor Lillian and Daisy so that they could in turn make the matches their mother and father crave. Instead Annabelle married happily beneath herself to a wealthy industrialist. But that doesn't help the Bowman sisters. So they are back at Lord Westcliff's estate in Hampshire hoping to find someone who will sponsor them for the upcoming season. Lillian isn't personally happy about this arrangement because she finds Lord Westcliff a cold customer. He thinks he's above everyone and has made his dislike of Lillian very clear. The other Wallflowers have their theories about this animosity, but Lillian won't listen. Instead a rather indecent escapade in the garden after she and Westcliff have a blazing row she places on her new perfume. She's rather genius when it comes to mixing scents. Her family manufactures soap and in fact that is why they are at Stony Cross Park, Lord Westcliff wants to go into business with Mr. Bowman because he thinks soap will be a lucrative market in England in the near future. Lillian's new perfume is a scent she created herself with the help of a parfumier that she intended to compliment her own body chemistry. Though there was one secret ingredient. A secret ingredient she thinks is responsible for Lord Westcliff ravishing her in the garden. Obviously, it's magic. Which means that the Wallflowers have to test if this is true. It only works for Lillian and Annabelle though, leading Lillian into another compromising position in the orangery. Though this time she's ready. She declares to Westcliff that unless he convinces his mother, the Countess, to sponsor her and her sister for the coming season she will make their little indiscretion public. Lillian is shocked when this actually works. Though working with the Countess is an excruciating reminder of how American her and her sister are. But what if Westcliff wasn't under some magic spell and was actually falling for this delightful savage? For starters Lillian wouldn't need the Countess's help, but the Countess would definitely have something to say about it!

What I find interesting about It Happened One Autumn is that while it is the second Wallflowers book underneath it all the structure is identical to the first book, Secrets of a Summer Night. We meet our heroine. She goes to a house party at Lord Westcliff's estate, Stony Cross Park, in Hampshire. The hero and heroine fight their attraction but eventually succumb. Everything is fairly low key at the house party despite the sexual tension but then at the very end danger threatens their love but they survive to get their happily ever after. And here's the thing, despite such strong similarities to the first book it was still enjoyable as it's own thing. Perhaps this is because, deep down, all romances are just certain tropes reconfigured to create a new story and Lisa Kleypas went, how about I just reconfigure what already worked once? For me the real reason it works is because I could just read about house parties all the time and I'd be happy. I love Stony Cross Park and it's gardens and forests and walkways. This volume threw in a secret garden that just happens to be a butterfly sanctuary and now I totally want to go to there. Oh, and the humor contained within the elaborate feasts and how as Americans Lillian and Daisy just can't with the calves' heads made me sympathetic and bemused simultaneously. It also made me think seriously about being a vegetarian. I also strongly related to Lillian as a heroine. I'm very, not just opinionated, but stubborn. When Lillian is called a brat I had a visceral reaction, just like she did with the calves' head. While Lillian might be willing to embrace the fact that she can be a brat, I will never deign to allow anyone to say I am one. Especially when they are one. And yes, I'm actually referring to an incident I had in one of my art classes. I should mention that at the time both me and the person who flung the insult at me were in our thirties. But what really didn't work for me was the whole perfume angle in this book. Yes, it makes sense for Lillian to know a lot about scents given her father manufacturers soap, but I don't care. I hate perfume. It's like me being called a brat, it's a whole world of nope. I don't want to be near perfume, I don't want to think about perfume, it stinks, it triggers headaches, just no.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: American, British Country House, Butterflies, It Happened One Autumn, Lillian Bowman, Lisa Kleypas, Lord Westcliff, Perfume, Regency Romp, Romance, Secret Garden, Secrets of a Summer Night, The Wallflowers, Tropes

From hearing the first strains of music as the picture faded in I fell in love with Poldark. The sweeping Cornish coastline coupled with the theme music created an ache in my heart that made me nostalgic for a place I have never been. While I enjoyed the complete series, especially the encroaching Regency fashions, and hope that it will one day return to continue the story when they are older, the first series remains my favorite. This show wallows in star-crossed lovers, from Elizabeth and Ross to Verity and Captain Blamey to Dwight and Keren these are just the tip of the iceberg before Demelza's broody brothers were introduced. But to me what makes the show work is coupling the heart with the humor. The overly melodramatic Ross needs someone as pragmatic and blunt as Aunt Agatha to balance his histrionics. Also George and his fantasies are always blunted by his Uncle, the magnificent Pip Torrens. Though the humor of the series can be summarized in one person, Jud. When Phil Davis left the show they lost a comic genius and one of the checks and balances that kept this show sailing smoothly. There's a reason why the show was good but never quite as good after that first season. George had more depth, the plots seemed more personal, and there was Ross and Demelza falling in love. The way Demelza healed Ross's heart after Elizabeth shredded it to bits (and yes I'm fully ignoring what happened later.) Oh my, be still my heart. The scullery maid got the guy! Yes, she did force his hand a little but he grew to love her and she became his rock. The forth episode of series one might just be ranked among my favorite television episodes of all time. In the episode Demelza and Ross go to Trenwith for Christmas. This could be disastrous. On so many levels. But Demelza shines and not only do the other guests see what Ross saw all along, but Ross also sees Demelza anew and realizes how lucky he is. This was the pinnacle of the Poldark passion and romance for me. The dress, the singing, the pregnancy, the love, oh, I feel a great need to go rewatch the whole first season again and perhaps this episode more than once.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Aunt Agatha, Christmas, Cornish, Cornwall, Demezla, Fifty Years a Masterpiece, George Warleggan, Passion, Phil Davis, Pip Torrens, Poldark, Regency, Romance, Ross Poldark, Scullery Maid, Star-Crossed Lovers, Trenwith

Rebecca
Based on the Book by Daphne Du Maurier
Starring: Emilia Fox, Charles Dance, Faye Dunaway, John Horsley, Jonathan Stokes, Diana Rigg, Tom Chadbon, Geraldine James, Denis Lill, John Branwell, Jonathan Cake, Kelly Reilly, Anthony Bate, Ian McDiarmid, Timothy West, and Lucy Cohu
Release Date: April 13th, 1997
Rating: ★
To Buy

The gregarious Mrs. Van Hopper has hired herself a mousy little companion to accompany her to Monte Carlo. Yet she's put out that the old crowd aren't around and then laid up with a sniffle. Her young companion uses this time to become close to the one person in Monte Mrs. Van Hopper is fascinated with, Maxim de Winter, the inconsolable widow and owner of the great house Manderley. When Mrs. Van Hopper decides to decamp Maxim gives the little mouse a choice, go to New York with her employer or come to Manderley with him as his wife. It isn't a hard choice to embrace being the second Mrs. de Winter, a choice that even Mrs. Van Hopper approves, because at least someone bagged him. Back at his luxurious estate in England Maxim's young new wife feels that the shadow of his first wife, Rebecca, looms large. But even despite the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, and her doom and gloom, nothing can stop the newlyweds love for each other. That is unless Maxim is still in love with Rebecca... the discovery of Rebecca's scuttled boat in the bay will try their relationship, destroying everything or bringing them closer together.

The 1996-1997 season of Masterpiece Theatre was rare for me in that I caught it entirely. I was taking a year off before college and therefore had time to luxuriate in my much loved passions of reading and watching miniseries. The adaptation of Nostromo starring Colin Firth and A Royal Scandal starring Richard E. Grant were highlights that year. In fact when I recently learned A Royal Scandal was an extra on The Queen's Sister I instantly bought the DVD, despite my dislike of The Queen's Sister. Now if they'd just release Nostromo on anything other than VHS I'd be set because I'm seriously dying with only my old taped copy. But what I wasn't looking forward to was the season ending remake of Rebecca. This was at the height of my Hitchcock fanaticism, having taken film classes in high school and planning on taking more in college, and I couldn't comprehend why anyone would remake a classic.

Yes, Hitchcock didn't get it 100% right, but you can not deny that Laurence Olivier IS Maxim de Winter. It won best picture at the Oscars! So I planned to boycott the remake. The problem when living with your parents is that they have their own opinions on what they want to watch and seeing some of Rebecca turned out to be unavoidable. What little I saw made me instantly withdraw from the television room. My mom didn't last very long either, despite her love of Diana Rigg. For almost twenty years I have shunned this adaptation shuddering from the memory of those few glimpses. So I thought perhaps I should give it a second chance. Maybe Diana Rigg could be a superior Mrs. Danvers? Perhaps the beauty of Manderley would be done more justice in color with it's lush abundant floral growth? Or perhaps I should have trusted my gut reaction and avoided this piece of crap entirely.

What is striking about this adaptation is they have assembled some of the most talented actors in the British Isles and beyond and somehow sucked the life out of them. If it weren't for Faye Dunaway and Jonathan Cake I don't think a single line would have been uttered above a dull monotone. Rebecca is full of emotion and passion, both repressed and on full display, and yet here it comes across as the most flat and emotionless story ever. It should be turbulent and forceful like the sea, not fake and false like that shitty shack that was slapped together on the beach. After the first episode my dislike became more and more audible. Three hours and nothing went right. I was visibly cringing at all that they got wrong. The second Mrs. de Winter isn't just shy with a can do attitude but meek! Oh the rage! But even if I hadn't been comparing it to the book, it was awful. I kept making myself step back and think, if I hadn't read the book would I enjoy this? The answer was no time and time again.

While the heavy-handed foreshadowing might have been driving me loopy, if Du Maurier was still alive I know what she'd hate most... they made this adaptation into a romance. Yes, there are romantic elements in Rebecca, but that is NOT what the book is. The moniker of "Romance Writer" hung around Du Maurier's neck like a millstone her entire life. To have her greatest novel reduced to being nothing more than a romance? No. She would have snapped. Plus, I like Charles Dance very much, don't get me wrong, his performance of himself in Jam and Jerusalem, Clatterford stateside, is one of my favorite cameos on TV ever; but to see him groping and pawing awkwardly at Emilia Fox's cheek and sucking her face so that it looks like he's eating her. Eww. The book STRONGLY hints that the de Winters had a sexless marriage and yet here the demonstrative affection is overwhelming. It's the exact opposite of the book, yet oddly passionless. And that lame excuse made for their lack of children? Like Maxim would run into a burning building to save Mrs. Danvers? NO!

Yet, I have to give props where props are due. These go to Diana Rigg and Jonathan Cake, Mrs. Danvers and Jack Favell, Rebecca's maid and blackmailing cousin, respectively. I think these two actually read the source material, which Arthur Hopcraft obviously didn't when adapting this because who would purposefully change the famous introductory chapter and slap it into an upbeat coda? But enough about Arthur Hopcraft because this obviously ended his career if you check out IMDB. As for Hitchcock he proves that even the greats can get it wrong and he just didn't get Mrs. Danvers, and went camp and over the top. Diana Rigg nails it. The sadness that is behind that stiff facade. As for Cake, I don't think I can pay him a higher compliment than saying I really thought he WAS Favell. Rigg and Cake got the menacing down perfectly. Yet they also had the depth Du Maurier demanded of these characters. While they had the menace, they also had the vulnerability, and ultimately the patheticness of these two and how hollow their last act, destroying Manderley, really is.

But in the end, seeing as this miniseries was called Rebecca, you'd think they'd at least get her right? Yet they didn't. It's almost as if Rebecca is an afterthought. She should be front and center, there, oppressing Maxim and his new wife every single second of their time at Manderley, but she's oddly not there. It's like Mrs. Danvers and Jack Favell are the only ones who remember and it's only when they are around that Rebecca still lives. Otherwise it's as if she's long dead and long gone, not "haunting" them as should be the case. But this couldn't very well have been a romance if they concentrated on the Gothic nature of the book with Rebecca haunting Manderley now could it? As for when Rebecca actually appears... she's impressionistic and the camera is just too fucking close to her face. I wouldn't know it was Lucy Cohu, an actress I quite like who stared in the aforementioned movie The Queen's Sister, if it wasn't for the credits. Therefore we can say that like the book, there's a problem with Rebecca. Here it's her irrelevancy, there it's her possession of you body and soul. Let the book possess you and avoid this catastrophe. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adaptation, Charles Dance, Daphne Du Maurier, Diana Rigg, Du Maurier December, Emilia Fox, Hitchcock, Jonathan Cake, Lucy Cohu, Manderley, Masterpiece Theater, Mrs. Danvers, Rebecca, Richard E. Grant, Romance

My Thoughts Exactly by Lily Allen
Published by: Blink Publishing
Publication Date: December 18th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"I'm strong. I can be tough. I've been broken. I'm opinionated. I'm a people-pleaser. I'm spoilt. I'm needy. I contradict myself. I try to do good. I want to do good. I'm impassioned. I'm observant. Most importantly, I tell the truth. And this is my story."

My thoughts are exactly this: Get a better cover.

Not the Duke's Darling by Elizabeth Hoyt
Published by: Forever
Publication Date: December 18th, 2018
Format: Paperback, 496 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Hoyt brings us the first book in her sexy and sensual Greycourt Series!

Freya de Moray is many things: a member of the secret order of Wise Women, the daughter of disgraced nobility, and a chaperone living under an assumed name. What she is not is forgiving. So when the Duke of Harlowe, the man who destroyed her brother and led to the downfall of her family, appears at the country house party she's attending, she does what any Wise Woman would do: she starts planning her revenge.

Christopher Renshaw, the Duke of Harlowe, is being blackmailed. Intent on keeping his secrets safe, he agrees to attend a house party where he will put an end to this coercion once and for all. Until he recognizes Freya, masquerading among the party revelers, and realizes his troubles have just begun. Freya knows all about his sins-sins he'd much rather forget. But she's also fiery, bold, and sensuous-a temptation he can't resist. When it becomes clear Freya is in grave danger, he'll risk everything to keep her safe. But first, he will have to earn Freya's trust...by whatever means necessary."

Isn't it lovely to have a new series to start for the holidays? And there aren't any other books of equal quality coming out this week either!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Autobiography, Elizabeth Hoyt, Lily Allen, My Thoughts Exactly, Not the Duke's Darling, Romance, Tuesday Tomorrow

Murder, Magic and What We Wore by Kelly Jones
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 19th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Miss Annis Whitworth has spent the majority of her life reading gossip columns and advising her friends on what to wear. Her only worries have been the strain her Aunt Cassia is putting on the postal service with her voluminous correspondence and when she might see her father again because he is almost constantly abroad for work. When her father's man of business, Mr. Harrington, arrives one day a rather cryptic greeting reveals that Annis will never see her father again, he has died and left his daughter and his sister destitute. They were completely dependent on his military half-pay and now have nothing, not even his silver pocket watch with his wife's portrait was recovered, only two handkerchiefs which Annis embroidered for his birthday. That watch is an item which could come in handy what with their scarcity of funds, as could access to her father's overseas accounts. Cassia though is practical and has spent her life raising Annis with very unique life lessons in an attempt to make her more self-reliant. Therefore Annis will embrace the horror of shapeless ready-made black mourning gowns and a possible life of employment. Yet Annis knew something about her father she didn't know if it was polite to mention... he was a spy. In fact the handkerchiefs recovered conceal a coded message and she knows that she needs to get them into the hands of the War Office because her father might have died for this intelligence and was possibly murdered for it.

Though Annis shudders to be seen in the black bombazine! Therefore a little tailoring prior to visiting the War Office is necessary... tailoring that her new maid, Millicent O'Leary, points out is actually magic! The best seamstress can't change bombazine to brocade! This gives Annis an idea. What if the War Office could use her skills? What if they need a glamour artist? Then her and Aunt Cassia's life needn't be completely uprooted. A "Mr. Smith" though quickly shuts down Annis's daydreams and instead she must face the bleak future that Cassia is laying out for them, including a trip to an employment agency! Annis would literally chose any future but this, even marrying a man who wears horrid waistcoats! It is Millicent who puts forth the idea of Annis becoming a dressmaker. Though Aunt Cassia and her helpful friend Miss Spencer agree that this would be beyond the pale. Annis would lose her reputation and would never recover. But what if this little experiment were done outside of London and in disguise? A new plan is formed, against Cassia's better judgment. They are to relocate to Flittingsworth, a small town between London and Dover, where Miss Spencer has her own shop, and so soon shall "Madame Martine" the glamour artist! But will Annis have the time to maintain two identities, get all Madame Martine's work done, and solve her father's murder? Perhaps with a little magic.

Murder, Magic and What We Wore is a wonderful addition to the Regency Magic genre. Somehow it complies to all the rules of the genre while simultaneously taking all the building blocks and turning them on their head. Instead of finding a worthy husband when finding herself destitute Annis finds a purpose in an occupation she excels at while sneakily maintaining that ever important reputation. While being the biggest fan of Jane Austen it is a bit depressing that every book is about putting a ring on it. That wasn't a viable option for many women and the whole point about Regency Magic is taking this framework that Austen bequeathed us and making it something more. Yet time and time again while creating this wonderful genre all the stories at the end of the day end with matrimony. As Kelly Jones herself said on my blog "I was craving a Regency fantasy that wasn't a romance. I love romance, but I also love stories about work, and family, and friendship, and responsibilities. I wanted to read about a girl who was too busy with other things to fall in love" and how little did I realize I wanted it too! While there is a possible suitor with Mr. Harrington, he's off to the side, in Annis's rear view mirror. Sure one day she might have time for him, but not right now. Now is Annis's time to shine, to show the world what she can do, not as someone's significant other, but just as herself, for the first time. And Annis is magnificent, and with Aunt Cassia and Millicent we have a comedy of manners that sometimes edges into a level of farce only Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers were capable of.

Yet the humor never detracts from this females first theme that is carried into every aspect of this book. Yes, it might be shocking for some to realize that women can be funny and kick ass at the same time but I defy them to read this book and not come to this conclusion. While being set in 1818 this book is oddly timely with the #MeToo movement. The truth of the matter is #MeToo was a long time coming. Especially in any time period where there are oppressed classes there is a chance for some scum to take advantage. Here it is a rather odious man who happens to be the nephew of a Lady Prippingforth who Millicent worked for, and his habit of taking what he wants from female staff is deplorable. Millie was thankfully spared because he locked her in a cupboard to "save for later" and was able to escape, but many many others weren't so lucky. It just so happens that he is in Flittingsworth and sees Millie and continues his reign of terror. Once Cassia hears of this she helps Millie and Annis learn how to protect themselves from such attacks. If you're a fan of the film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, you know that visceral thrill seeing Lizzy Bennett kick ass. Instead of a well placed gaze to show disgust, Millie can now take him down with a well placed knife. This pro female empowerment in a time period when you don't usually think of it as such is magnificent. Get that rapist out! The truth is a timely tale can be set anywhen, so long as the message is still relevant.

At the heart of this female empowerment is Cassia. While she is very clever to maintain the outward appearance of a very respectable maiden aunt, through her charitable work and her lessons imparted to her niece you grow to love this modern woman who is able to work within the system and get it to work to her advantage. I couldn't help drawing comparisons to another strong female character in literature, that of Margaret Schlegel of Howards End. While separated by almost a hundred years with Margaret firmly in Edwardian not Georgian England they both have the same animating spirit. Here are two women who believe in expanding their minds through literature and music. They have cultural pursuits, humanitarian pursuits, they believe in thinking and speaking and saying what's on their mind while still understanding discretion. They feel deeply yet are able to keep that stiff upper lip. It's very rare to find a complete connection to a character in literature, especially one that lives in another time. You might see a shifting reflection of yourself but never fully understand them. In all Austen's canon I most connect to Elinor and Fanny, but still I have moments where I diverge. The first time I read Howards End by E.M. Forster though, it was like Margaret and I were one. Murder, Magic and What We Wore let me have that experience all over again with Cassia. Maybe I'm not one hundred percent like her, but I want to be, and having that kind of role model, perhaps Cassia can make me a better person.

While there is so much that I love about this book, from how the theme of female employment perfectly melds with the magical system to how Millie starts to channel her inner Cato Fong, there is one thing I felt was underdeveloped, and that's the villainous shenanigans that follow on the heels of the murder of Annis's father. Unlike many Regency Magic books Kelly Jones nails the history, so that isn't were my issues reside. My quibbles are that all this spycraft doesn't really stand on it's own, it's like a shaky house of cards, you try to analyze it too closely and it collapses. Napoleon is trapped on Elba, first this person on this boat is going to free him, than this other person on this other boat is, too many changes with a slew of people whose names I can not for the life of me remember from one second to the next. It's a confusing profusion of underlings. Whereas the Big Bad was too obvious. I read another review that said the villain was so irredeemably evil that they almost became a caricature. I wouldn't say it that harshly... but, that reviewer had a point. Either hide the puppet master a little more efficiently, or straighten out the ranks of his organization so that they do the heavy lifting and he can more easily hide in plain sight. I do like my Napoleonic spycraft, but the wonderful madcap infectious fun of the rest of the book isn't brought to bear on this rather important piece of the puzzle. We know the what, we know the why, we just get muddled along the way but thankfully it's handily resolved and I await another installment in Annis's adventures!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: #MeToo, E.M. Forster, Glamour, Howards End, Kelly Jones, Margaret Schlegel, Murder Magic and What We Wore, Napoleon, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Regency, Regency Magic, Romance, Seamstress, Spies, Spycraft

When planning out theme months I rarely decide to celebrate what a month is known for. December is more likely about Daphne Du Maurier than it is about Christmas. March is more for Magic or shades of the Gothic than Saint Patrick. But for some reason this year I've decided to embrace what February is known for, Valentine's Day. I am almost questioning my sanity in celebrating a holiday that has been more about watching Chick Flicks in my own personal experience than candlelit dinners. But there are so many great romances in literature, from Darcy and Elizabeth to Rochester and Jane, Westley and Buttercup to Anne and Gilbert, everyone has their favorite couples. Therefore this February, let's raise a glass, or devour a couple boxes of chocolate we bought on discount on the fifteenth of the month to these classic couples!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anne of Green Gables, Buttercup, Chick Flick, Chocolate, Classic Couples, Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, February, Gilbert, Jane Eyre, Rochester, Romance, Sweet Reads, Theme Month, Valentine's Day, Westley

Fiction is like the umbrella or tent pole under which almost all other imaginative writing falls, sometimes even biography if we're being honest. So be it science fiction, fantasy, romance, those are just the species under the genus that is fiction. Therefore I could claim that fiction is my most read genre... which isn't actually true, but you get what I'm saying. In fact, in my mind bookstores often just throw a book in fiction if they are at a loss as to where it should go. In my mind Diana Gabaldon should be romance and Gregory Maguire should be fantasy... but do bookstores listen to me? No. Which is why sometimes, yes, I will move the books around while muttering under my breath. But usually only in used bookstores because they don't have computers that would thwart my plans. Oh, and I ALWAYS turn books I love face out. But enough about me and my weird bookstore quirks. I've chosen what I hope will be an interesting cross section of fiction, a little classic, a little modern, and all worlds to get lost in.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Backlog Bonanza, Bookstores, Diana Gabaldon, Fantasy, Fiction, Gregory Maguire, Romance, Science Fiction, Used Bookstores

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: February 9th, 2010
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A mysterious circus terrifies an audience for one extraordinary performance before disappearing into the night, taking one of the spectators along with it . . .

In a novella set two years after the events of American Gods, Shadow pays a visit to an ancient Scottish mansion, and finds himself trapped in a game of murder and monsters . . .

In a Hugo Award-winning short story set in a strangely altered Victorian England, the great detective Sherlock Holmes must solve a most unsettling royal murder . . .

Two teenage boys crash a party and meet the girls of their dreams—and nightmares . . .

In a Locus Award-winning tale, the members of an excusive epicurean club lament that they've eaten everything that can be eaten, with the exception of a legendary, rare, and exceedingly dangerous Egyptian bird . . .

Such marvelous creations and more—including a short story set in the world of The Matrix, and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children's fiction—can be found in this extraordinary collection, which showcases Gaiman's storytelling brilliance as well as his terrifyingly entertaining dark sense of humor. By turns delightful, disturbing, and diverting, Fragile Things is a gift of literary enchantment from one of the most unique writers of our time."

Ok, so I already have this in a signed hardcover edition... so I don't really need this edition... but what if I need an everyday copy to preserve the signed copy? But look, Neil's on the cover, how cool is that. Plus amorphous purple blobby thing. I'm sold!

Embrace the Night Eternal by Joss Ware (aka Colleen Gleason)
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: February 9th, 2010
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Everything they knew is gone.

From the raging fires, five men emerge with extraordinary new powers. They must learn how to survive this dark, ravaged world . . . but they cannot do it alone.

Simon Japp will never forget his violent past. But when civilization is all but destroyed, he sees his chance for redemption. Blessed with a strange "gift," he's determined to help the resistance against the Strangers, the mysterious force that stalks them at every turn. He can't afford to get distracted, even by the stunning, soft-spoken woman fighting by his side . . . Sage Corrigan has learned to be careful where she places her trust. But she sees something good in Simon, even if he can't see it in himself. Posing as lovers to infiltrate a group key to their fight, they find that their staged affection soon develops into a desire that will leave them fighting for their lives in the night eternal . . ."

So, I'm not really a romance girl. But, the thing is, Joss Ware, it's really Colleen Gleason, of the fabulous Gardella the Vampire Chronicles. So I'm willing to give this new series, which started with Beyond the Night, out last month, a shot. Plus, can I just say how relieved I am that Joss Ware is Colleen Gleason, because when she originally did the announcements on her site of her new "writer friend" I was very confused and wondering why this author had a doppelganger. So at least I now know it's her and she doesn't have some weird uber fan who dresses just like her and wants to be her... cause that would be weird... but on the other hand, perhaps a good book?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 1 comments  

Labels: Beyond the Night, Colleen Gleason, Embrace the Night Eternal, Fragile Things, Gardella, Gardella the Vampire Chronicles, Joss Ware, Neil Gaiman, Romance