"The Romantic" by Madeline Hunter

I LOVED THIS BOOK!  I am a sucker for unrequited love stories and that's what this is.  It is the follow-up to "The Sinner" in Hunter's Seducer series and is my very favorite.  Penelope, the Countess of Glasbury, has been separated from her husband for over 10 years, but he is now threatening to use the law to force her back to him and produce his heir.  Desperate to prevent this, she turns to her family's solicitor, Julian Hampton, who had helped her escape from this cruel and depraved man all those years ago.  Julian has known Penelope and her family since childhood and has been in love with her for almost as long.  However, he has never let her or anyone else know his true feelings for her since he was of a lower class and she married the Earl of Glasbury soon after coming out in society.  Now he has the chance to help her force the earl to divorce her by carrying on a public affair.  Will he be able to go through with it even though she only sees him as a close friend and protector?

In the previous Seducer books, Julian was portrayed as a silent and mysterious man who used his knowledge of the law to help his friends and their families.  Penelope has always depended on him to keep secret why she left the earl, and eventually England, but now that she is back and set on forcing a divorce, Julian must decide if his feelings for her can stay hidden through their public affair.  Julian is the perfect hero, in my opinion, because he is strong but does not force his will on Penelope.  He advises her but supports her decisions regarding her life.  He tries very hard not to let his love for her become known because he doesn't believe that she would welcome it after her terrible marriage.  Penelope is a strong woman who has paid a price for marrying the wrong man but is blind to Julian's true feelings for her until a courtroom drama threatens to bring them into the open. Will she reciprocate his love or continue to only see him as her close friend?  You'll have to read it to see!  Highly recommended.  385 pages.

"The Sinner" by Madeline Hunter

"The Sinner" is the next in Hunter's Seducer series after "The Charmer."  Dante Duclairc is the younger brother of a viscount, handsome as sin, and deeply in debt due to a bad night of gambling.  When the trespasser dressed like a man and brandishing a gun on his family's estate turns out to be Fleur Monley, Dante is mortified.  She was courted by his older brother years ago, disappeared from society after their break-up, and is now recovering in Dante's bed after he grazes her with a bullet thinking she was going to shoot him.  On top of that, she claims that her stepfather has kept her imprisoned because he thinks she has an addled mind.

This is only the beginning of Fleur and Dante's relationship.  After she recovers and gets to know him better, she offers him a "white marriage," a chaste marriage of convenience, if he agrees to her unusual terms.  Fleur happens to be rich and in need of protection from her stepfather, and Dante is deeply in debt and doesn't want to be bailed out yet again by his family.  He agrees and so begins a story of two lonely people who end up needing each other for reasons other than they think.

I enjoyed this book as I have the others in the Seducer series, although it was not quite as believable.  Dante is described as "the most charming wastrel in England" yet seems to be tamed by his growing desire for Fleur rather easily.  Fleur trusts him right away, soon after she recovers from being shot, even though she doesn't seem to have any reasons except her intuition.  I still enjoyed the story, for the most part, and would recommend it to historical romance fans.  372 pages.

Firestorm by Iris Johansen

Trask is a man obsessed with fire who has created a lethal weapon harnessing its power. His test subjects are humans who get in the way of him and his "baby". Enter Kerry, a woman with the unusual gift of sensing when arson is at work, and Silver, a man who can hear the thoughts and feel the emotions of those around him. Kerry and Silver race to capture Trask before any more lives are lost. This is a paranormal, psychological thriller that I found hard to put down. 339 pages.

Sophie's Secret by Nancy Rue

I was on a lookout for a series that would appeal to girls who are 7-12 years old who are looking for a literary role model. I chose this book because it has a faith-based message, deals with real issues frequently faced by girls and involves a strong circle of friends. Sophie is a struggling 11-year-old who has low self-esteem and, in this book in the series, retreats to pretending she is an archaeologist on a trek to find hidden historical artifacts to escape from the troubles that surround her. I think girls might have trouble relating to some parts of the book, but it does have a fairly strong ending. This is book 2 in the Sophie faiTHGirlz! series. 128 pages.

Song of the dragon, by Tracy Hickman

I picked this up as I was browsing the audiobooks, figuring I would just give it a casual listen. To my surprise, I wound up enjoying the story and characters. To my chagrin, the story ended just as it was getting really interesting. So now I want to start book 2, and I'm not even sure that the whole series has been written yet.
This story features enslaved humans, interesting races of humanoid peoples, cruel elven masters, and a prophecy. Drakis hears the notes, but does he hear the dragon's song? Is he the one?
audio: 15.25 hours
print: 368 pages

Three Bedrooms, One Corpse by Charlaine Harris

Here is the lovely living room, the fantastic kitchen, large bathrooms, great walk-in closets and as the pièce de résistance the master bedroom comes complete with --- a dead body! What!? Roe just can't seem to escape murders or murderers. As a side adventure, Roe also breaks things off with the comfortable priest she had been dating and starts seeing a dangerous older man. Once again amateur sleuth, former librarian and new heiress Aurora Teagarden is determined to mark this case solved before anyone else gets hurt. This is book three in the series. 240 pages.

Sixkill by Robert B. Parker

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Spenser novel with new temp partner, native American Zebulon Sixkiller,  about 10 killers who don’t stand a chance against these two.  304 pages.

For Sale in Palm Springs by Albert Simon

I chose this book on a whim. The plot sounded good (a real estate agent is mysteriously killed and a retired police detective is called in to help profile the case) and the setting sounded interesting (Palm Springs, California). But, the book was poorly written and I suspect the editing was non-existent. Don't waste your time on this one. 393 pages - digital version

Nemesis, by Agatha Christie

Miss Marple is old. Her joints complain, her memory is not what it used to be, and she spends more of her time sitting and resting than she cares to. Why, then, should she receive a summons calling her to investigate an incident that occurred many years ago? Moreover, why would that summons come from a friend after his death? And how is it he seems to be pulling the puppet strings from the grave?
Miss Marple has a pretty little problem to solve, but she has precious little information to go on. Yet that is by design, and she has been chosen for a very important reason: She is ruthless in finding the truth.
Quaint English villages, manors and gardens abound in this story, but the end of it lies the brutal truth, and Miss Marple pursues it unflinchingly.
print: 271 pages

The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin

(Posted for Ann Roberts)

I decided to read The Dispossessed after viewing the ReadMOre interview with the author Ursula Le Guin and former Center for the Book board president, Mark Tiedemann. Never being a real “sci-fi nerd”, I wasn’t particularly interested in reading this book, but after listening to Le Guin discuss the work, I realized that hers is a great mind and certainly one worthy of my small attention.  The Dispossessed is not so much science fiction as it is a study of human relationships and socio-political issues.  Although the main character in this novel travels through space between planets, the story is not of the grandeur of the traveling ships (we barely get a glimpse of that) or of bizarre creatures encountered on his travels, but of his inner struggle to remain loyal to his planet and its ideals, while being recognized for his achievements in the other world. This is the story of a temporal physicist, Shevek, living on the anarchistic, utopian planet of Annares, a colony of Urras. In his mathematical research, Shevek has created a formula for a faster-than-light communications device, allowing instantaneous, free communication between all worlds.  While there may be no formal ownership or formal authority on Annares, it becomes clear that power structures do exist and Shevek’s ideas are kept unpublished by his fellow physicists.  However, Shevek’s ideas are intriguing to the capitalists on the planet Urras and he is invited to go there as an honored guest of the state, and chooses to go, in spite of how it reflects upon his status in his own world. Contrasting a capitalistic society filled with the excesses of the rich and the poverty of the destitute against a society where all men have equal wealth and share in the common labors is a task in  itself.  Le Guin goes beyond this contrast to show us the underlying corruption in each of the worlds, including the seemingly virtuous society in which all men are, on the surface equal, but in reality corruption and the suppression of art and ideas exist.  Tying all of this together is a compelling story of human relationships, the pursuit of idealism, and conflict between worlds.  There are no little green men in this tale-just wonderful characters, skillfully drawn. View the video on the ReadMOre website and see if your interest is piqued, as well.

Paperback, 318 pages

Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker by James McManus

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

 

An American game brought over to the New Orleans region before the Louisiana Purchase and much refinement over the years. A game played by Union soldiers, American presidents, gamblers on the Mississippi River, Mark Twain, and Frederick Remington, to name a few.  528 pages.

"The Charmer" by Madeline Hunter

Another winning historical romance by Madeline Hunter, who's becoming one of my favorite authors.  Sophia Raughley has been living in France for the past eight years when the death of her father makes her the Duchess of Everdon.  Adrian Burchard has been charged with bringing her back to England so she can take her place among her peers.  But Sophia has reasons for wanting to stay away, reasons that prove dangerous to both of them.  Intrigue and a scandalous twist kept me interested until the end.  Sophia's menagerie of pets added to my enjoyment.  366 pages.

Lie Down in Green Pastures by Debbie Viguie

This is book three in the Psalm Mysteries series, centered around Psalm 23. Church secretary Cindy and Rabbi Jeremiah once again stumble upon a murder. This time, though, they have to outwit the criminals in order to save a group of teens on a retreat at Green Pastures. There are enough red herrings in this book to stock a small pond. The characters seemed to be more of a caricature in nature than the previous two books. Still, it was a good read and I will likely continue with the series. 263 pages.

Welcome to Bordertown, edited by Holly Black & Ellen Kushner

A new anthology of short stories and poems exploring Bordertown, the area where the human world and Elfin realm intersect. The original Borderland series was created by Terri Windling in 1986, and represented a new direction for fantasy literature. Many well-known YA authors are represented here, some veterans such as Jane Yolen and Patricia McKillip as well as the newer voices of Neil Gaiman and Cory Doctorow. It's a fun concept, with most of the stories written from the viewpoint of the human characters, who are trying to either run away from the world or seeking new adventures. Of course, there's no 'happily ever after' in Bordertown, a quirky netherland where magic and the real world mix in unpredictable ways. I particularly enjoyed Shannon's Law by Cory Doctorow, in which 17 year old Shannon Klod brings the internet to Bordertown. 516 pages.

Until Again and Blue by Lou Aronica

Until Again (72 pages) and Blue (378 pages) combine to bring us the touching story of Becky, a youth who is confronted with the reality of cancer and the divorce of her parents. When the real world has no answers for her, will she find solutions in the fantasy world of Tamarisk? People complained about the inability to change the font size on the digital versions, but I didn't find this to be an insurmountable problem. I was looking for a well-written fantasy and this series delivered.

Dexter is delicious, by Jeff Lindsay

Poor Dexter. He's trying to forge a new life after the birth of his daughter. A new life of human empathy and emotions, but without "the passenger". But circumstances just aren't making it easy. A new killer is on the loose, his charges don't give him any rest, and his brother has shown up and invited himself back into Dexter's life.
Dexter struggles for a while, but relapses to his former ways. But he has stopped a gang of cannibals, so it's okay. Right?
The sheer weirdness of the characters and the descriptions of what goes through their minds intrigued me, though the story is certainly gruesome in parts.
audio: 11.25 hours
print: 368 pages

"Four Dukes and a Devil" by Cathy Maxwell, Elaine Fox, Jeaniene Frost, Sophia Nash, and Tracy Anne Warren

This anthology of five short stories features what the title says, four dukes and a devil.  Three are historical romances and two are paranormal romances set in the present.  The former featured dukes in Regency England.  I did not enjoy these as much as the two latter stories, one of which featured a dog named Duke and the ghost of a dead duke.  The other revolved around an ordinary man who gets help from powerful vampires to exorcise the killer demon inside of him.  That story was by Jeaniene Frost, and I'd like to read more by her.  388 pages.

"The Seducer" by Madeline Hunter

This is yet another book that I picked up at the DBRL book sale last month.  I've really enjoyed the other novels that I've read by Madeline Hunter, and this was no exception.  Diane Albret is an orphan being raised at a private school in France.  Daniel St. John is her mysterious benefactor who has paid for her education since she was found abandoned years ago.  Now an adult, Diane moves in with Daniel and his invalid sister, who will introduce her as their cousin in the hopes of finding her a job with a good family as a governess.  But there are dangerous secrets surrounding the St. Johns related to Diane.  Can her and Daniel's attraction blossom into lasting love, or will these secrets tear them apart forever?  This was an intriguing story - another winner by Madeline Hunter.  419 pages.

How to survive a robot uprising, by Daniel H. Wilson

I don't know if I was just in the wrong mood for this short book, but it just didn't work for me.
There were some iteresting descriptions of the capabilities of various robots currently in existence or in development (or in the imaginations of writers). But then it tried to give advice about how to counter attacks from these various robots by playing to the weaknesses of its sensory or processing arrays. This might have been funny, if perhaps the author had given more (or maybe less) thought to it.
print: 176 pages
audio: 3 hours

Treason at Lisson Grove, by Anne Perry

This spy thriller takes us on an adventure Victorian London, Dublin and the Isle of Wight in pursuit of the man who framed the head of Special Branch and plans revolution by any means possible. Will our heroes be in time to restore stability to the country? To save the monarch herself?

audio: 11 hours
print: 320 pages
tags: detective fiction, spy thrillers

The Lord Is My Shepherd by Debbie Viguie

After reading the second in the Psalm Mysteries series, I decided to go back and pick up the first. In book 1 we are introduced to Cindy, a Protestant church secretary; Jeremiah, a rabbi; and Mark, a police detective. They are thrown together when a person is found dead in the sanctuary at Cindy's church. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. Bodies keep showing up, often staged to depict a scene from the Passion week story. This title, too, comes with a discussion guide. I will definitely keep reading the series, if for no other reason than to find out more about Jeremiah's mysterious past. 277 pages.

"Never Tease a Siamese" by Edie Claire

I picked up this mystery at the DBRL book sale last month just for the title (I have a Siamese cat).  I hadn't read a purely mystery book in a long time and thought I'd give this one a try since it sounded like there was at least one cat in it.  The mystery revolves around the death of an elderly socialite who used to breed Siamese cats and the true heir to her fortune.  Leigh Koslow is the local busy-body whose father, the veterinarian who cared for the lady's cats, is named in the will to take care of the recently orphaned felines.  After his office is vandalized and he and his staff are threatened, Leigh takes it upon herself to figure out the who and why of these incidents.

This was not a bad book but I simply didn't enjoy it.  I didn't care for the heroine, Leigh.  Although she claimed to have a job, she rarely went to work and spent her time interviewing suspects and sneaking around to get information.  This book is one in the "Leigh Koslow Mystery" series, but I won't be reading any others.  258 pages.