Showing posts with label Historical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Historical. Show all posts
23 November 2011

REVIEW: Always A Temptress by Eileen Dreyer

Posted by Lynette

ALWAYS A TEMPTRESS
Eileen Dreyer
ISBN #:  978-0446542050
Hachette Book Group/Warner Forever
October 2011
Historical Romance

BACK COVER BLURB:

His greatest battle is just beginning . . .

Captain Harry Lidge has done his duty. After losing too many good men on the battlefield, he's ready to put his responsibilities behind him and live a life free of care. But first he has one last mission: find out what the most outrageous woman in London, the same woman who betrayed him nearly a decade earlier, is concealing, before her secrets take down the crown.

Her heart is the only thing she won't risk . . .

Surrounded by ardent admirers and a few loyal friends, Lady Kate Seaton glides through the ton on a confection of couture gowns and bon mots. No one suspects that beneath her lighthearted façade Kate hides a sorrow so scandalous she'll do anything to keep it hidden. But only when she trusts Harry with the truth and only when he trusts her with his heart can they stop the villains all too willing to kill Kate to attain their ultimate goal: destroy England.

COVER SNARK:
Kate he's a douche. Save all that lust and heaving bosoms for another man. Seriously, that is all I can see when I look at this cover.

FIRST LINES:
Whoever said that no good deed goes unpunished must have been well acquainted with Katie Hilliard. No, Major Sir Harry Lidge corrected himself as he trudged into Oak Grove Manor's Grand Salon to see her holding court by the front window. Not Hilliard. It was Seaton now.

LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS
I debated about posting this review, but in the end I did even though I did not finish this book. And I'm not sure if I can explain why in a coherent and reasonable manner. I'm sorry. I think that people are going to stop giving me books for review because I so rarely gush about books and frankly I just don't have the patience to keep reading a book that doesn't capture me even if I feel obligated to do so. I am such a crappy reviewer/blogger. I really want to gush about books, really I do, but a book has to keep me interested, it has to make me forget that I have two children running around like crazy in my house. ALWAYS A TEMPTRESS just didn't do that to me, I was too caught up in the Are You Kidding Me moments.

I think since I've become a Stay-At-Home Mom my tolerance level for any melodramatic drama that doesn't revolve around my children has gone in the toilet. That's because I just don't have a lot of leisure time to read. Ironic really when you think that I've had less time to read now that I'm at home than I did when I was working. Anyhoo, ALWAYS A TEMPTRESS had too much drama that could have been averted. I could tell from the first couple pages that all was not what it seemed. I also had issues with the hero from the moment he appeared on the page. He spent so much time assuming what the heroine was about that he never TALKED to her. Maybe my feelings would've been different if I read the other books in the series first (this is the 3rd, I think). Maybe if I'd seen the hero in another environment first I would have understood more of where he was coming from. However, since I didn't I hated, hated, hated the hero. All I could think of while reading ALWAYS A TEMPTRESS was I was just not in the mood for another story where the hero is treating the heroine for crap that wasn't her fault, things that he would have known wasn't her fault if he would've just shut the f up and spend two minutes talking to her to hash out their past.


******MINI RANT*********

*AUTHORS, please don't assume that all your readers are reading order nazi's who read books in order. I don't always and I know that others don't as well. So, if you're making your hero a jerk in the first couple pages, please please please make the reason a justifiable and a compelling one.

*********RANT OVER********

The writing inside of ALWAYS A TEMPTRESS was very well done, and the heroine actually appeared interesting, I would have liked to have known more about her background, it was obvious she had been abused and I wanted to know her history. However, I just couldn't get over the thin premise for the plot and the hero's actions. Basically a villain dies in the beginning and he says that the heroine has what he's looking for. So everyone believes a known villain who it appears did some awful crap in the previous books. So now that gives the hero who now believes the heroine is a spy justification to be a prick to her and get payback for doing him wrong when they were kids. Of course she didn't do him wrong, it's painfully obvious and I would have bought his I HATE HER, I HATE HER moments more if they weren't he said/she said type stuff and he actually tried to talk to her to resolve their past, but he didn't. It also didn't help that I so figured out what the heroine supposedly has because it was very obvious where their 'secrets' where hiding from a scene in a prologue. I could be wrong and I often am, but with me figuring this out, not connecting with the hero and the weak conflict that could've been resolved with a conversation caused me to lose interest.

ALWAYS A TEMPTRESS has gotten some great reviews so it could just be me, you know how ornery I am.



RATING:













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10 October 2011

REVIEW: Dark Passage by M.J. Putney

Posted by Lynette

dark pASSAGE

M.J. Putney

978-0-312-62285-5

St. Martin’s Press/Griffin

September 2011

Historical/YA/Time Travel Romance









BACK COVER BLURB:

Merlin's Irregulars are grateful to have made it safely home to 1803 England, but their view of the world has changed. Not only are they more confident and proud of their part in the heroic Dunkirk evacuation, but their powers have increased because of their dangerous and exhausting magical work.

Tory and Allarde become closer everyday until an agonizing conflict threatens to tear them apart. Allarde is deeply connected to his family's estate, the land he will one day inherit, but only if he denies his magical abilities. Being with Tory will deny him his heritage, and his family lets Tony know this. Will she have the strength to end their relationship?

Cynthia is now a powerful and respected member of the Irregulars, but her prickly attitude keeps everyone at a distance. Feeling isolated and very alone at Lackland Abbey over the Christmas holidays makes her even surlier than usual, but an invitation from Jack Rainford to join in his family's festivities is an unexpected delight. There's an attraction between the two young mages, but will Cynthia let her guard down enough to let herself fall in love?

Then the Irregulars are called upon again. Once before their magic helped save England's future. Can they do it again?


COVER SNARK:
I like this cover. It conveys the message.


FIRST LINES:
Tory had almost reached her destination when a machine gun blasted crazily from the farmhouse ahead.


LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:


I really enjoy this series. I really do. To me DARK PASSAGE combines a lot my favorite things: magic, WWII, love, school adventure, time travel, and historical detail.

I liked Tory as a character. She's come a long way from the first book. I am really curious as to where Ms. Putney is going with her and especially her relationship with Allarde. Tory's like sixteen now, will she be more open about her magic and be stuck at Lackland until she's twenty-one? Will she just say screw it and leave and start a life on her own? These are burning questions that I'm dying to know.

Yet, no matter how much I liked Tory, Cynthia (Tory's snobby roommate) really shined in this installment. Cynthia has that edge that Tory lacked and her journey was more of a focus in DARK PASSAGE than Tory's was. I loved Cynthia's evolution. It was a complete 180 degree turn, yet Cynthia was still Cynthia. While Tory is still ambiguous, I think Cynthia is actually a stronger character and I actually don't worry about her as much, because I know that she has the strength to pursue her own happiness.

OKAY LOOK AT ME, I AM TAKING ABOUT CHARECTERS IN A BOOK LIKE THEY ARE MY KIDS. SERIOUSLY, DO YOU HEAR ME HERE. I HAVE ISSUES!

Anyhoo. The plot is rich, layered, and keep me on my toes. The minute I finished DARK PASSAGE, I immediately re-read it. I admit that I might be biased, because I really enjoy WWII fiction.

It is so hard for me to describe this book. It is such a mash-up. If you're used to Mary Jo Putney's romances, you might be disappointed, because the focus isn't on the romance, but the development of the characters. If you don't like time travels, you might be disappointed because the story is sooo deeply entranced in both time periods 1803 and 1941. Even for die-hard young adult readers, it might give them pause, because the historical details are such a part of the characters that it's almost effortless. And once again, it's not focused on the hero/heroine and their happily ever after, but the character's journey. Also, I love, love, love the historical details the world full of magic that Ms. Putney has created. I'm sorry to say that there are few historical or paranormal romance authors out there who makes this appear so effortless like Ms. Putney has done.

DARK PASSAGE was a homerun for me and I'm looking forward to seeing what she's doing next. Even as I'm saying this, I know that others might think differently because really it's hard to put this work in a neat box. DARK PASSAGE was written outside the box of what's being written today and it was executed beautifully.

This review is totally lame. I know this! My bad!

                                                                         

WHERE PURCHASED:
It was a gift from my Twitter buddy Sarah who knows I love this series and sent me the ARC she had received. I am blessed!


RATING:









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28 September 2011

M/M REVIEW: Counterpoint: Dylan's Story by Ruth Sims

Posted by Lynette
counterpoint: dylan's story
Ruth Sims
ISBN#:  978-1-61581-533-3
Publisher Name:  Dreamspinner Press
Date Released:  July 2010
Genre:  Historical Romance/M-M Romance
Book Format:  eBook


BACK COVER BLURB:
COUNTERPOINT: DYLAN'S STORY is the story of Dylan Rutledge's life, from the age of eighteen until his early thirties, and of the two men whose lives were intertwined with his at different times and in different ways.
At eighteen Dylan Rutledge has one obsession: music. He believes his destiny is to be the greatest composer of the rapidly approaching twentieth century. Only Laurence Northcliff, a young history master at The Venerable Bede School for Young Gentlemen, believes in Dylan's talent and encourages his dream, not realizing Dylan is in love with him.

But Dylan's passion and belief in his future come at a high price. They will alienate him from his family and lead him on a rocky path fraught with disappointment, rejection, and devastating loss that kills his dream. A forbidden love could bring the dream back to life and rescue Dylan from despair and bitterness, but does he have the courage to reach out and take it? Will he deny the music that rules his soul?


COVER SNARK:
The cover is pretty, I liked it. It's so well done.

FIRST LINES:
Most criminal acts could be carried out in silence. Playing a thirty-six rank, three-manual pipe organ on a quiet Sunday afternoon wasn't one of them.


LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:
I finished COUNTERPOINT: DYLAN'S STORY over a week ago and I've been having a hard time writing a review for it. All I can think to say is OMG I loved COUNTERPOINT: DYLAN'S STORY, it was totally not what I expected, it was sooo much better than that. I wish that I could end my review there, but I think you'd be disappointed, so if the rest of this review is crazy for coco puff, don't blame me. You've been warned.

COUNTERPOINT: DYLAN'S STORY is more than the typical m/m romance. It's not teeming with sexy, sexual encounters so the encounters Dylan does have are all the more powerful and emotional because of that (and they're mostly glossed over, PG stuff). COUNTERPOINT: DYLAN'S STORY is not your typical romance, it's the story of Dylan's life and the trials and tribulations he encounters along the way, especially being a gay man during that time frame. Although I'm not an expert on the gay relationships or the historical time period, both seem very realistic. The plot of COUNTERPOINT: DYLAN'S STORY was very intricate, yet it was never boring. As a person who gets bored very easy when they read, this is saying something. Ms. Sims captured my attention early on and kept it. Her characters were three-dimensional and full of life. I instantly connected with them and wanted to know more. Everything from the characters, the plot, the writing meshed together perfectly.

Seriously, I know this review is totally lame. I am a person who can usually talk and talk and talk and go on rants about a book, but I seriously cannot think of anything to say about COUNTERPOINT: DYLAN'S STORY except that this book was fabulous and I loved it.

WHERE PURCHASED:
Received for review from Publisher


RATING:










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21 September 2011

REVIEW: Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts by Mitzi Szereto

Posted by Lynette
Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts
Mitzi Szereto
ISBN #:  978-1573446631
Publisher Name:  Cleis Press
Date Released:  July 2011
Genre: Romance/Jane Austen Fan Fic
Book Format:  Kindle Version
Kindle Price: $8.99

BACK COVER BLURB:
Imagine that Jane Austen had written the opening line of her satirical novel Pride and Prejudice this way: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a good romp and a good wife — although not necessarily from the same person or from the opposite sex." In Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts Mr. Darcy has never been more devilish and the seemingly chaste Elizabeth never more turned on.

The entire cast of characters from Austen's classic is here in this rewrite that goes all the way. This time Mr. Bingley and his sister both have designs on Mr. Darcy's manhood; Elizabeth's bff Charlotte marries their family's strange relation and stumbles upon a secret world of feminine relations more to her liking; and, in this telling, men are not necessarily the the only dominating sex. And of course there's some good old fashioned bodice ripping that shows no pride or prejudice and reveals hot hidden lusts in every page-turning chapter.
COVER SNARK:
This cover is actually pretty. I liked it.

FIRST LINES:
When news reached Mrs. Bennet that Netherfield Park was to be let to a young gentleman in possession of a good fortune, she determined to make him a husband to one of her five daugthers.

LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:

Dear Lord, where do I begin?

Okay, everyone knows that my not so secret vice is Pride and Prejudice adaptations. My favorites are ones where Darcy and Elizabeth show their love for each other (umm, get there grove on, have sex, do the nasty). However, nothing prepared me for this.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: HIDDEN LUSTS was crazy for coco puffs, completely lacking in reason and common sense. Yet, I was entertained. Granted my entertainment was more along the lines of "Dear Lord, no she didn't. Dear Lord, no this isn't happening. Dear Lord, this is the stupidest, craziest, thing I have ever read. Dear Lord, this is Pride and Prejudice, is nothing scared?" Yet, I couldn't stop reading.
The only way I can make my review coherent, or for you to understand what I mean is to go character by character and give you their sexual vices. This is full of spoilers, because I'm giving you each characters kinks.

BEWARE OF CONTINUING: THIS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT AT HEART. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. LOL. 

Mr. Bennet: He loves to enter woman in their 'hind quarters.' Since Mrs. Bennet refused to do this, he has discovered special drawings of woman with things sticking out of their hindquarters. When he is in the library ignoring his family he is getting himself off and bankrupting his family by paying for these pictures. He eventually gets tired of the pictures and carves out a piece of butternut squash to resemble a woman's internal parts (I'm trying to be delicate here, people!) where he sticks his wee wee. Of course, he is so exuberant that the squash is quickly destroyed, so he ends up banging Mrs. Hill.

Mrs. Bennet: Mrs. Bennet's love of officers back in the day resulted in Jane. Horrified by her husband's sexual impulses, she goes and buys potions from the gypsy's which makes her crazy for coco puffs and goggly-eyed.

Caroline Bingley: It was weird because the author had her addressed as Lady Caroline, with no reason why? Caroline loves to take a switch to men's booty's while the man is attending to her vajayjay with his mouth. Her best customer is Mr. Hurst, though she really wants Mr. Darcy but he keeps refusing her, which is driving her crazy.

Charles Bingley: He has a thing for Mr. Darcy. His favorite occupation is getting Darcy drunk and then while Darcy is passed out climbing in Darcy's bed and sucking on Darcy's weewee.
Lady Catherine: She is a Dom. When people don't do what she thinks they should do, she puts them in stockades and whips them while she's wearing some weird black get up.

Mr. Collins: Is gay. His favorite past time is running about sucking on other men's wee wees so vigorously that he knocks out his teeth.

Charlotte Lucas: Is gay. She wants Lizzy, but Lizzy is too clueless to realize it, despite Charlotte constantly feeling her up. She has others who she is involved with but can't get over her craving for Lizzy.
Mr. Wickham: He ended up running off with Georgiana. He used her money to open up several whorehouses and sent Georgiana to go and work in them, where Darcy found out and rescued her. He is in the militia recruiting. He tells Elizabeth that it's Darcy who was the owner and Darcy who sent Georgiana off to work in them.
Lydia Bennet: Likes to get off humping inanimated objects to her family's horror. She also humps officers, two and three at a time. She runs off with Wickham and when they are forced to marry, she has no problem working in Mr. Wickham's place of business.


Mary Bennet: Tries to attract Mr. Collins attention by stuffing apples down her dress. She also goes to the gypsy's for potions that has adverse effects.

 Jane Bennet: Is in love with Mr. Bingley and doesn't understand why when she accepts his proposal that Mr. Bingley throws her down and enters her 'hind quarters' and calls out Darcy's name.

Elizabeth Bennet: Once she meets Mr. Wickham she starts finding stuff to insert inside her to get herself off. She doesn't seem to get that Lydia is a hussy despite all the noises she makes in her room and what she does to any piece of furniture she passes.
 
Fitzwilliam Darcy: When he proposes to Elizabeth the first time he takes out his wee wee and strokes it, which prompts Elizabeth to umm . . . kiss it until the desired result occurs. LOL. I couldn't read that scene without thinking of Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle doing the same thing.

Okay, can you understand why I thought PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: HIDDEN LUSTS was crazy for coco puffs?
 
Despite all the erotica (and this is erotica and not an erotic romance), and my horror/fascination at the way such beloved characters were protrayed, it was still flat for me. It's because there was a lack of emotion. It was all about the sex and not about any emotions between Darcy and Elizabeth. I couldn't feel the deep connection that Darcy and Elizabeth have with each other. So despite my google eyed read, I was in the end disappointed.

WHERE PURCHASED:
Purchased with my own money.

RATING:


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13 September 2011

REVIEW: In Bed with A Highlander by Maya Banks

Posted by Lynette
in bed with a highlander
Maya Banks
978-0345519474
Ballantine Books
August 2011
Historical Romance
368 Pages

BACK COVER BLURB:

Ewan McCabe, the eldest, is a warrior determined to vanquish his enemy. Now, with the time ripe for battle, his men are ready and Ewan is poised to take back what is his—until a blue-eyed, raven-haired temptress is thrust upon him. Mairin may be the salvation of Ewan’s clan, but for a man who dreams only of revenge, matters of the heart are strange territory to conquer.

The illegitimate daughter of the king, Mairin possesses prized property that has made her a pawn—and wary of love. Her worst fears are realized when she is rescued from peril only to be forced into marriage by her charismatic and commanding savior, Ewan McCabe. But her attraction to her ruggedly powerful new husband makes her crave his surprisingly tender touch; her body comes alive under his sensual mastery. And as war draws near, Mairin’s strength, spirit, and passion challenge Ewan to conquer his demons—and embrace a love that means more than revenge and land.


COVER SNARK:

Cover looks way to modern for a historical novel and a tartan (or whatever it's called) doesn't help.

FIRST LINES:
Mairin Stuart knelt on the stone floor beside her pallet and bowed her head in her evening prayer.


LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:
Followers of my blog should know by now how I feel about Maya Banks writing, it is like crack. There is something about Ms. Banks style that makes me pick up her books and no matter what she writes, even when I find some of the material questionable. Her writing style is so engaging that I cannot help indulging myself.

I've also mentioned that I've been a die-hard romance fan since I was eleven years old and one of my favorite authors was Julie Garwood. Back in '91 when she started her Highlander series, I brought all the books and I still have them down in my basement in boxes because when we moved into our new house two years ago, the hubster promised to build me bookshelves. Two years later, no bookshelves.

I'm drifting. Anyhoo.

The Bride, The Secret, The Wedding, and my favorite Ransom were devoured by me and while it's been awhile since I read them, I still remember them fondly and they are my all-time favorites.

Right now you are probably wondering why I'm talking about Julie Garwood for a Maya Banks review. I have a point, I promise.

But first I would like to apologize for doubting another reviewer who had said Maya Banks KGI series was a little too similar to her favorite romantic suspense novel. When this reviewer cited the similarities I thought, yeah that was a little too close for comfort, but there are only so many plots and it could just be a coincidence.

Now that the same experience has happened to me with one of Ms. Banks novels, I understand this reviewer's point better.

As always with Ms. Banks novels, I enjoyed IN BED WITH A HIGHLANDER, I really did, but this story hit a little too close to home for my personal tastes.

No, I am not saying that it was an exact copy of Garwood's novels. It's not. Ms. Banks has such an unique writing voice that makes it hard for her to be other than herself, but the plot was a little too similar to Garwood's Highlander series. IN BED WITH A HIGHLANDER seemed like a mash up of Julie Garwood's Highlander series including plot and character personality traits.

In Ransom, the heroine is held captive in a castle with a young boy. The boy is there by mistake. The heroine protects and becomes fiercely protective of this young boy, even taking a severe beating by her captors in order to protect him. They manage to escape and meet up with the boy's godfather who returns them to the boy's home. The next morning the hero finds the heroine and the boy sleeping in the same chambers.

IN BED WITH THE HIGHLANDER the heroine is held captive with a young boy. The boy is there by mistake. The heroine protects and becomes fiercely protective of this young boy, even taking a severe beating by her captors in order to protect him. They manage to escape and meet up with the boy's uncle who returns them to the boy's home. The next morning the hero find the heroine and the boy sleeping in the same chambers.

It is not only that that gives me pause. The heroine Mairin seems to me like a mash up of the heroines in Ms. Garwood's Highlander novels. It's hard to cite specifics because it's been awhile since I read Garwood's novels. I apologize for not being to articulate my feelings in a better manner, but while reading IN BED WITH THE HIGHLANDER all I could think of is Julie Garwood. It's from the ways Mairin tries to integrate inside the clan, from the way she gains the respect of the soldiers and the women, from the way the hero and the heroine's relationship progresses.

Yet, despite my qualms, IN BED WITH A HIGHLANDER is an engaging story but because of the similiarities I just don't have the interest to keep reading the series, I'd rather re-read Julie Garwood. It didn't work for me. You may be different.

WHERE PURCHASED:
Purchased with my own money.

RATING:





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07 September 2011

REVIEW: Darcy on the Hudson: A Pride and Prejudice Re-Imagining

Posted by Lynette
Darcy on the Hudson: A Pride and Prejudice Re-imagining
Mary Simonsen
ISBN #:  978-0615513263
Publisher Name:  Quail Creek Publishing
Date Released:  August 2011
Genre: Romance/Jane Austen Fan Fic
Book Format:  Kindle Version
Kindle Price: $3.99

BACK COVER BLURB:
When Fitzwilliam Darcy, Georgiana Darcy, and Charles Bingley set sail from England to New York, each travels with a different purpose in mind. Georgiana wants to put a particularly jarring incident involving a family friend behind her, and Charles wishes to visit his uncle in an exciting new land. For Darcy, it is an opportunity to explore the possibilities of new sources of wealth in the expanding United States, but once Darcy meets American Elizabeth Bennet, it becomes the beginning of a love story. But will cultural differences and a possible second war with England keep them apart?

COVER SNARK:
Self-Pubbed. Boring.

FIRST LINES:
Fitzwilliam Darcy was dying.

LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:
I promised I wouldn't do this. The last time, I reviewed a self-published Jane Austen fan written sequel I got blasted by the Jane Austen Fan Fiction Community for having serious issues with one of their fellow writers/bloggers/fandom's (whatever) efforts. I said I wouldn't write another review on them.

Oh well.

I've read this author before. And while I always had one or two issues with her work, I've always enjoyed them. One of my favorites of hers is a parody of sorts of Persuasion called Anne Elliot, A New Beginning. It was written as tongue in cheek, and I enjoyed it very much. I liked the author's sense of humor.

Before I start my review, let me state that in the last month or so, I've been engrossed on documentaries about the founding of America and the Revolutionary War. Because of this fascination, DARCY ON THE HUDSON was right up there with what my reading interests are now, so for the author to add Darcy and Elizabeth in this setting was a win-win for me to click the dreaded BUY NOW button for the Kindle.

DARCY ON THE HUDSON's premise is that Darcy wanting to get Georgiana away from the aborted seduction of George Wickham takes Georgiana on a trip with Charles to visit his American relations so that Charles can check out his business interests there. As Darcy has some business interests (funding the Erie Canal – which I thought was cool), he decides to accompany him. The Bennet's are American and Caroline Bingley and Louisa Hurst instead of being Charles's sisters are his American cousins.

Are you with me so far?

I liked this aspect. I loved how the Bennet's were portrayed. I was getting so sick of how Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are often portrayed in most adaptations. While not the best of parents they are often routinely blasted by the fan fiction community. They weren't here. They were actually stronger, better people because they weren't weighed down by the British class system like they are in the original. Mr. Bennet free of the burden of Longborne is free to use his intellect and pursue all the varied interests he reads about, making him thought of as a genius and one of the wealthiest men in the area. Mrs. Bennet free from the worry of needing to marry her daughters off to secure her livelihood, and being a woman who lived through the horrors of the American Revolution as a child has become a much stronger and loving woman. Once again, I totally loved Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. I also loved that there was no pressure for the Bennet girls to find husbands.

So what didn't I like? It seems weird that what most drew me into the book is what annoyed me the most about it. The historical context. Though I love the History Channel, I am not a historian at all, but I do think that the author did a great job with the historical detail set forth in DARCY ON THE HUDSON. I liked all the details and it was obvious that it was well researched, but there was just tooo much of it that distracted from what should have been the main focus of the story Darcy and Elizabeth's growing relationship. It felt like the author used her love of the historical detail to give long winded speeches about American History instead developing Darcy and Elizabeth's relationship more. Despite the interesting historical details, I felt like I was reading one of those short books that you find in libraries that give the overview of a time period and how people lived during that time period, instead of a Jane Austen sequel or a work of historical fiction.

 
WHERE PURCHASED:
Purchased with my own money.

RATING:








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01 August 2011

REVIEW: Promises (Pride and Prejudice Variation) by Wendi Sotis

Posted by Lynette
promises
Wendi Sotis
ISBN #:  978-1463643065
Publisher Name:  Create Space
Date Released:  July 2011
Genre: Romance/Jane Austen Fan Fic
Book Format:  Kindle Version
Price: $7.99

BACK COVER BLURB:

Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy meet as children. Over the years, their feelings for each other grow, but what will happen when unfortunate circumstances and interfering family members seek to keep them apart?

COVER SNARK:
Self-Pubbed. Boring.
FIRST LINES:
William’s distress was evident on his face. So confused was he by the turmoil of emotions churned up by this quest that he no longer knew how to find what he was looking for among the rows of publications on the shelves of the bookshop.

LYNETTE'S TWO CENTS:

WARNING – MY FILTER IS OFF. I APOLOGIZE FOR MY RANT IN ADVANCE.
PROMISES lead me into a false sense of security. I really enjoyed the beginning. It reminded me of contest entries I read of unpublished romance novels. The first fifty pages or so are really great because they’ve been read and re-read forever by judges and industry professionals, but when you get the rest of the book, you’re like WTF, what was this person thinking.
This is how PROMISES read to me, like the author never had someone critique her whole work just bits and pieces, because it didn’t fit together as a cohesive novel. So when I got it (and brought it with my own money) I was furious. The only upside is that I think PROMISES has cured me of my fascination with Pride and Prejudice Sequels. To be honest, I’m tired of wasting the little money I have on fan fic from any Tom, Dick, and Harry who wants to write a Pride and Prejudice variation and hasn’t really worked on the craft of storytelling.
I haven’t been this annoyed since I attempted to read Sharon Latham’s fan fic attempt. Yes, I know that she is a very popular author of P&P fan fic, but no many times that I have tried I have been unable to read past the first fifty pages of her first novel. Because nothing happens except sex, and I love you so much. Plus, it’s obvious that Ms. Lathan didn’t even read Pride and Prejudice when she wrote that story, just went by that crappy Keira Knightly movie.
NOTE TO SELF: LYNETTE TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND GET A GRIP.
PROMISES has a very interesting and intriguing premise. Mr. George Darcy and Mr. Thomas Bennet are old school friends who meet up again by chance in Mr. Gardiner’s bookshop. Fitzwilliam Darcy who is grieving the recent loss of his mother meets the nine year old Elizabeth Bennet and becomes enchanted with her wit and intelligence. Elizabeth has a photographic memory and is something of a child prodigy. So she and Fitzwilliam hit it off right away. Over the years they have encounters and when Fitzwilliam comes back from his Grand Tour and sees how the now sixteen year old Elizabeth has blossomed, the sibling love and affection he’s always had for her has blossomed into love. He proposes but Mr. Bennet states that they cannot marry until Elizabeth turns seventeen so that she can benefit from a season to meet other men and to make sure that marriage to Fitzwilliam Darcy is what she really wants.
Well, you’re asking, what’s wrong with that? Nothing at all, because this is the part of the novel that was very compelling and justified me spending my hard earned money on PROMIES, but what happened next went right into WTF territory and made me wonder what book I suddenly picked up and started reading because it wasn’t the same book that I had just started.
After Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet leave Pemberly there is a serious of WTF events which involve missing letters and misunderstandings. These missing letters occur year after year through asinine circumstances that a two year old could have figured out how to overcome. I mean really, I’m not a history buff or anything, but even I know that it was no big deal for Mr. Darcy to send a letter by express or personal message to get to Longbourne, especially considering the circumstances he was in.
So what happens when Fitzwilliam Darcy meets Elizabeth and Thomas Bennet again? Years later, to what I presume is when Elizabeth is twenty years old like in Pride and Prejudice when Darcy arrives at Netherfield . . ..  Do they talk about the situation and figure out what was going on? Do they ask the most basic questions a two-year old would want to know? No they do not and the comedy of errors continues. And if PROMISES wasn’t on my Kindle and if I hadn’t had my Kindle replaced at least three times so far, I would have thrown it across the room.
Enough was enough. I stopped reading. My time is too short.
BTW. I am desperate for an awesome read (non Pride and Prejudice related please) to get the bad taste of this out of my mouth. I need to get out of my reading slump. So please in the comments below mention the most awesome book that you have ever read.
I need recommendations desperately to get out of this reading slump.

WHERE PURCHASED:
Purchased with my own money.

RATING:









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