"What a Rogue Desires" by Caroline Linden

What a Rogue Desires by Caroline Linden 2007

Description from back of book:
After a wayward youth, David Reece, the youngest scion in a noble family, has been called one of the most scandalous rogues of the ton. What he wants to be called is trustworthy and a true gentleman. To prove he has reformed he's agreed to watch over his absent brother's estate and signet ring. All is going swimmingly until highwaymen waylay his coach and steal that precious ring...
Street orphan Vivian Beecham has grown up a pickpocket, and a very pretty one indeed. NOw she and her brother have reluctantly graduated to highway robbery. And handsome David Reece has become their victim - until he tracks her down and makes her his prisoner. Locked in a spare bedroom, Vivian vows to hate her captor. Instead, she becomes a former rogue's greatest challenge: the object of a passionate seduction. But David and Vivian are playing a dangerous game in which forbidden love is a wild card..."

This is really just a normal, average romance novel. There's not a lot special about it, the characters don't really stand out, and the plot isn't anything fascinating. Actually, it's more than a little bit of a stretch - sons of dukes don't realistically marry pickpockets. But it's a decent read for a rainy afternoon, and I've read worse - that's about the best I can say about it.

RATING:

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING:

"The Fortune Hunter" by Diane Farr

The Fortune Hunter by Diane Farr 2002

Description from back of book:
Desperate and destitute, the devilish Lord Rival has drawn up a list of wealthy women who might be willing to wed - and Lady Olivia Fairfax is one of them. But when he finally meets the mysterious spinster, she is hardly the lonely naif he expected. Her quick wit, sweet temper, and passionate predilection for charity work completely entrance him - and make it most difficult to bring his heartless seduction to its conclusion.

This is a charming book! I loved Lord Rival - completely rakish and yet completely loveable at the same time. You can totally understand WHY the women are all after him - I would be too! Olivia is also a charming character - she's a charity worker without being annoyingly self-righteous. The romance is given plenty of time to build and is fun and believable. I found myself laughing quite a bit throughout this book. Definitely worth reading!

RATING: 1/2

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING: 1/2

"An Affair to Remember" by Karen Hawkins

An Affair to Remember by Karen Hawkins 2002

Description from book:
Saddled with five unruly orphans, the Earl of Greyley, Anthony Elliot, is at his wits' end. Unfortunately, the only person willing to deal with the adorable little terrors is Anna Thraxton, governess extrordinaire - and the one woman Anthony can't abide. She's too outspoken, too opinionated, and far too beautiful for his peace of mind. A woman should be meek and mild - words that perfectly describe his prospective bride, not the flame-haired temptress who haunts his dreams.

Anna knew that this job would be trouble the moment she set foot in the door - but it's Anthony who's the problem, not the children! He's too arrogant, to sure of himself, and far, far too wonderfully big and masculine. The young girl he's courting will never be able to handle him, so someone clearly needs to teach Anthony a few things about women. But when lectures turn to kisses, igniting a passion they can't ignore, how will they resolve the battle between honor and their hearts?

This book just didn't do it for me. It was a bit on the boring side - lots of telling and exposition, and very little action. I didn't really like Anna at all - instead of being a fun character, she was grating and annoying - and I really didn't believe in the romance between the hero and heroine. I just didn't feel it. *shrug* A forgettable book.

RATING:

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING:

"Lord Calthorpe's Promise" by Sylvia Andrew

Lord Calthorpe's Promise by Sylvia Andrew 2002

Description from back of book:
"Lord Adam Calthorpe had been rash to promise to look out for a fellow soldier's sister when he was killed at the battle of Waterloo. Katharine Payne was a golden-eyed virago who flouted Adam's authority at every turn! Maybe taking her to stay with his mother for the Season would absolve him of his responsibilities - that that such a headstrong chit, however endearing, would ever find herself a husband. Only when an unscrupulous man started pursuing her did Adam come to realise that fulfilling his promise might involve marrying the girl himself."

This book has the same basic set-up as Mary Balogh's "Slightly Married." However, Andrew takes it in a completely different direction. This book is charming in its own way, the classic story of how two people who hate each other from the beginning end up loving each other at the end. It's well written and rather clever, although it is important to state that there is no sex whatsoever in this book. And I found it a bit annoying at the end how it went so obviously into the next story instead of ending this one with a nice satisfying sex scene. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading this book, and would pick up the other ones in the series if I see them.

RATING:

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING:

"Under the Mistletoe" by Mary Balogh

Under the Mistletoe by Mary Balogh 2007

Description from back of book:
"Dear Reader, Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, celebrating as it does all that is finest in the human experience - love, generosity, peace, and joy. I am delighted that this volume makes available again five of my novellas. They are love stories in which Christmas is shown to have the power to heal all the wounds of the human heart. "A Family Christmas" brings together a couple estranged since just after their arranged marriage the year before, and gives them the perfect chance to start over. "The Star of Bethlehem" features one betrothal ring lost but three that are mysteriously found as a broken marriage is abundantly mended. "The Best Gift" is the tale of a teacher who has never known family, love, or Christmas - then finds all three when asked to chaperon one of her pupils over the holiday. In "Playing House", a lonely aristocrat and his daughter are drawn to an impoverished young woman and her siblings, who are celebrating their last Christmas together with brave gaiety. An assortment of unhappy travelers stranded by bad weather at an inn on Christmas Eve encounter love after a young couple arrives to find that there is "No Room at the Inn" just as their child is about to be born. I hope you enjoy reading these stories as much as I did writing them. Happy Holidays! Mary Balogh."

This is a charming collection of short stories. My favorite two were "A Family Christmas" and "Playing House." While these are quite good stories, I must say that I prefer her longer novels, where she takes the time to truly go in depth with the relationship between the characters and make their love real to the reader. I think Mary Balogh's true strength lies in doing that, and I think it's obvious in these short stories. While they're enjoyable and worth reading, certainly, the love sometimes seems to pop out of nowhere because it seems she just doesn't have time to develop it properly in sixty pages. Still, I enjoyed this fun holiday collection.

RATING: 1/2

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING:

"A Masked Deception" by Mary Balogh

A Masked Deception by Mary Balogh 1985

Description from dust cover:
"Richard, Earl of Brampton, is under orders from his mother to produce an heir. Dutifully he marries dull, proper Margaret Wells but his heart belongs to a girl he met six years before at a masked ball. All he knows of her is that she was disguised as Marie Antoinette. Richard and Margaret's marriage settles into comfortable boredom, until the myseterious 'Marie Antoinette' appears again. Richard cnnot stop himself from embarking on a passionate love affair with his lost love, but all the while he is tormented by guilt at betraying the wife whom he has come to love with all his heart."

This is Mary Balogh's first book, and I quite enjoyed it. It has much the same feeling as some of her early books, such as "The Secret Pearl" or the "Web" series. In other words, it's quite emotionally bleak, and has quite a sad feel to it. Balogh is good at portraying hopelessness and desperation, and this comes out through Meg's character, who is trapped in a loveless marriage with a man she secretly adores. I quite enjoyed this book!

RATING: 1/2

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING:

"The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever" by Julia Quinn

The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn 2007

Description from back of book:
At the age of ten, Miss Miranda Cheever showed no signs of ever becoming a Great Beauty. Her hair was lamentably brown, her eyes the same muddy colour, and her legs, which were uncommonly long, refused to learn anything which might remotely be called grace. Only, in 1811, the nineteen-year-old Viscount Turner - eldest brother of Miranda's closest friend - had kissed the hand of an awkward ten-year-old girl and promised her that one day she'd be as beautiful as she was clever. Now, eight years later, Miranda is a grown woman, and Turner an embittered widower. But she has never forgotten his kindness. Indeed, it is only in her diary that she confides the truth: she has never stopped loving Turner, and she has never stopped hoping that one day he will see her as more than a naive girl."

As are all of Julia Quinn's books, this one is charming and fun. Miranda is a loveable heroine, and Turner is so nasty and tortured you just have to love him. Although he is certainly attracted to her, and she loves him dearly, you can't help but feel sorry for him when he's forced to marry her - convinced that marriage is evil and that it can never make him happy. Although Quinn turns to a rather overused plot device at the end, it still made me cry and tugged at my heart, so I suppose I can forgive her for using it. This book is cute and witty, like all of her other books, and I look forward to reading more!

RATING: 1/2

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RATING: