Hannah Fielding's Blog, page 139

Book review: A Most Unsuitable Earl by Ruth Ann Nordin

From the blurb:

Ethan Silverton, the Lord of Edon, is very content with his life. He’s carefully sculpted it so that everyone thinks he’s a notorious rake. For years, he’s worked hard to build his reputation to secure his place as the most undesirable bachelor in London. And it’s worked. No decent lady will have him.

But one simple error in judgment has just sealed his fate. His intention was to dissuade a horrid mother from matching him with her equally horrid daughter. Seeing no one but Lady Catherine without a dance partner, he tells a lie. He approaches Lady Catherine as if they are betrothed, and the ploy works. The horrid mother and her daughter abandon their pursuit of him.

But Ethan’s mother spies his ploy and is so relieved that she’s found a way to marry him to a reputable young lady that she tells everyone of their engagement. To his horror, word spreads and it’s his duty to see the lie through. This is the worst thing that can happen, and no one but his mother is happy about it. Not Lady Catherine. Not her doting father. Not even Ethan. But his mother is sure it’ll all work out…eventually.

This book was a pleasure to read. My favourite element was the characterisation; such vivid and wonderful characters. I am sure we all know someone exactly like each one. The man who pretends to be hard and bad to the outside world, but inside is nothing like that at all – bringing out the protective side in any woman. The mother who understands her son well enough to know she will never get the grandchildren and family life she desires without taking extreme measures to stop her son continuing to destroy his life, and who in the process manages to give him everything that he never even knew he wanted:

“You were mentioned in the Tittletattle again.”

His ears perked up at the mention of the scandalsheets. “I was?”

“Don’t act so pleased.”

He stopped smiling and gave her a solemn nod. “You’re right. I have behaved abhorrently.” After a pause, he added, “What did I get caught doing?”

Then there is the insecure lady who dreams of a husband and a wonderful family life, but she is too scared to reach out and take it. And her overprotective father, who treats his precious daughter like she is made of cotton wool, who lavishes her with wonderful presents and shopping trips, and who would duel to the death rather than see her hurt in any way.

“What a terrible thing it is to fall under wrath of a protective father,” he mumbled as he                rushed through the process of removing the fencing gear.

“I’m sorry, my lord. Did you say something?” the valet asked.

He shook his head. “Not of any consequence.” What did any of it matter? He was doomed no matter what he did. Between his mother and his father-in-law, his only means of escape was death. And given his young age and health, he feared death was a long ways off.

Just as in real life interactions, these character types make you want to shout and scream. The author throws characters together with explosive consequences. It’s obvious what each character needs to do, but you’ve no power to influence them, but have to sit back and trust that the author will lead you to a satisfying ending, as she does.

I loved the backdrop of Regency London’s society and the balls of the ton, where desirable husbands or wives are paraded, sought and found. This is a story in which love, money, reputation and banter are sprinkled about in plentiful quantities, and in which lies and deceit produce an emotional, tender and at times raunchy story of how a fake-rake was finally tamed. The author expertly explores what happens when two people who seem so very different are forced to marry each other, creating a wonderful story of love against the odds.

I very much look forward to reading the next book in this series, which the author has set up through the introduction of Ethan’s good friends Agatha Lyons, Lady of Richfield, and Mr Christopher Robinson – both intriguing characters that I can’t wait to learn more about.

A Most Unsuitable Earl is available now from Amazon; click on the book cover below to visit the store.

My writing style: A video interview

One of my favourite places to visit on a lazy afternoon

Eze is a quaint medieval town on the Côte d’Azure.

Recipe: Mulled Wine

A popular Christmas tipple worldwide – just the scent of it brewing is enough to stir Christmas cheer. It’s a taste of history too; in England, a recipe can be found in the famous 1869 book  entitled Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management. It’s wonderfully warming, easy to make at home, and can be adapted to suit those preferring alcohol or virgin drinks.

Here’s one of my favourite recipes for the drink:

Ingredients:

1 bottle of red wine (the better the wine, the better the taste – I like to use a Burgundy or a claret)

300ml water

25ml port

125g sugar

2 cinnamon sticks, cut in half

Zest of 2 lemons

1 orange, sliced

1 lemon, sliced

1 tbsp grated nutmeg

4 cloves

Add the water to a large saucepan, and stir in the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Bring to the boil.
Remove from the heat, add the lemon zest and slices and the orange slices and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.
Add the wine and port and heat gently (do not bring to a boil).
Strain into a jug and pour into individual glasses. Garnish with lemon and orange slices.

Serve with a hot mince pie, a slice of stollen or gingerbread. For a tangier taste, substitute the port for 150ml of orange liqueur like Cointreau. For a non-alcoholic version, try cranberry juice in place of the alcohol, sweetened with four tablespoons of honey and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

And if you have mulled wine left over, why not modify this Delia Smith recipe to make it into a deliciously tangy sorbet?

Books and movies for tapping into the Christmas spirit

It’s Christmas! Time for a break from work, filled with plenty of moments with family, delicious food, Christmas movies and perhaps the odd glass of mulled wine. But amid the buzz and bustle, I do hope there’s some time for you, too. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll enjoy curling up in an armchair, toasty warm, with a hot drink and a good book or movie – bliss!

Today, I’m sharing Christmas-themed books and films that I find always get me in the holiday spirit. They’re ideal for festive escapism (if you’re weary of cooking, or overloading on excited children), and they also make lovely gifts. Please feel free to add any suggestions you have as well.

Books

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. A classic! The Dickensian Christmas setting always feels so magical.

The Night Before Christmas by  Clement Clarke Moore. Read it aloud and the rhythms of the words transport you right back to childhood; to being five years old and lying in bed trying to fight sleep in order to be awake when Santa comes.

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. Though the author has recently stated in an interview that he doesn’t like Christmas, you wouldn’t know it from his 1978 book, which is a classic, as is the animated film based on the book.

Louisa May Alcott’s Christmas Treasury. I love the world she created in the Little Women series. She has such a way with description. And like A Christmas Carol, this book takes you back to a time when Christmas was less commercial and more traditional.

The Gift by Cecelia Ahern. If you could wish for one gift this Christmas, what would it be? A really heart-warming book that reminds you what the season is all about.

And of course there are many excellent romance novels that focus on the theme of Christmas, especially those published by Mills & Boon for the season.

Films

The Holiday. Always guaranteed to leave you smiling.

It’s a Wonderful Life. The old ones are the best – and this one is right up there as the seminal movie to impart the Christmas sentiment.

White Christmas. Good, old-fashioned romance as Hollywood used to make. The title song will get you in the mood.

Love, Actually. A fun rom-com with the feel-good factor.

Miracle on 34th Street. Not just for children; this one will warm your cockles.

While You Were Sleeping. The juxtaposition of the isolation of the heroine and the happy, bustling home of the hero always touch me.

Book review: Reckless Nights in Rome by CC MacKenzie

From the blurb:

Though the name of her celebration and wedding cake business is up in lights, Bronte Ludlow doesn’t care for the trappings of success. All that matters to her is her company, her independence and her heritage, The Dower House. Home to her ancestors since the seventeenth century, no way will she part with it to ‘a man with too much money and no soul’.

Nico Ferranti’s only passions are money and power… He’s a man who stopped believing in romance long ago and Bronte’s a romantic, yet the attraction sparking between them like fireworks over the Piazza del Popolo stuns Nico.

When Bronte’s brother is badly hurt in a car accident in Rome, Nico whisks Bronte to the Eternal City. He wants her and he wants The Dower House and Nico Ferranti always gets what he wants.

But Bronte’s heart has already been broken by one ruthless charmer and although tempted she isn’t about to give up either her heart or her home to the charismatic Italian without a fight!

I found this to be an enjoyable, passionate read.

The author’s use of dual viewpoints means you can really get to know both Nico and Bronte and see the story from both angles. I’m always a fan of Latin heroes with dark, smouldering looks and machismo – and I liked Bronte too. There’s something very appealing about an entrepreneurial baker!

The characters’ first meeting had me smiling (not ideal to meet the man of your dreams while hanging out of a toilet window…), and from that point on I found that I wanted them to be together. The author leads the characters through obstacles and trials that they feel realistic, and I liked the fact that, beyond the passion between the protagonists, the story has the concept of family at its core.

For me, the best element of the book is the description:

But then he saw her.

His breath caught in his throat.

Lei e cosi bella.

She was beautiful.

The black silk gown clung to small breasts and narrow hips. As she swung the silver curtain of her hair to one side, she turned and he got a full view of her back, naked and smooth as silk.

His tongue felt thick in his mouth.

A young man, his colour high, dragged Bronte laughing and protesting onto the dance floor. He spun her around, held her back against him thrusting his pelvis in time to the hot beat of the music. The uplights shone through her dress.

Nico couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Good God, she was naked? Eyes narrowing, his mouth a tight line, he stalked towards her.

There is much attention to detail in the description, and care is taken to explore character’s feelings, which makes for a strong connection between the reader and the story, the characters and the setting.

What stands out most in the book, though, is the passion – attraction, lust, sensuality, sexuality. It’s the kind of read that makes one fan oneself, without crossing the line into erotica.

In all, a fun, pleasing read, and when I finished the book, I found myself wishing it were double the length, as I was sad to be leaving the fictional world created by the author.

Reckless Nights in Rome is available now from Amazon; click on the book cover below to visit the store.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Black skies, the crunch of snow underfoot, breath puffing out in a cloud on the icy air, the smell of chestnuts roasting, candlelight and, to complete the picture, voices raised in harmony singing age-old carols. It’s a wonderful sight and sound; one of my favourite elements of the holiday season.

I live part of the year in England, and part in France, which means I am most familiar with the French/English carol ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’. No doubt you’ve heard it, and wondered at the strangeness of the gifts. The gold rings would be rather nice, but a partridge in a pear tree…?

In the English version of the song, which is something of a game for children in remembering the cumulative gifts for each reiteration of the verse, on each of the twelve days from Christmas Day an extravagant gift is given, until:

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

12 drummers drumming

11 pipers piping

10 lords-a-leaping

9 ladies dancing

8 maids-a-milking

7 swans-a-swimming

6 geese-a-laying

5 gold rings

4 colly birds [not calling birds, as commonly sung; a colly bird is a blackbird]

3 French hens

2 turtle doves

and a partridge in a pear tree.

But the carol, thought of as traditional English one dating back to the eighteenth century, has its roots in two French songs:

‘La Foi de la loi’, in which the gifts are a good stuffing without bones, two breasts of veal, three joints of beef, four pigs’ trotters, five legs of mutton, six partridges with cabbage, seven spitted rabbits, eight plates of salad, nine dishes for a chapter of canons, ten full casks, eleven beautiful full-breasted maidens and twelve musketeers with their swords.
‘Le premier jour d’l’an’, in which the gifts are one lone partridge, two turtle-doves, three wooden branches, four ducks flying in the air, five rabbits running on the ground, six running dogs, seven windmills, eight chewing cows, nine horned bulls, ten white pigeons, eleven silver plates and twelve crowing cockerels.

Which gifts would you prefer of the three versions of the song? Personally, I’d go for something like:

12 romance novels

11 hampers of chocolate

10 round-world cruises

9 Piers Brosnan butlers

8 boxes at the ballet

7 glasses of champagne

6 Jimmy Choos

5 gold rings

4 silk scarves

3 tins of caviar

2 jazz quartets

and a diamond bauble on the Christmas tree.

With such complicated lyrics, it is no wonder children get so confused singing the song in their Christmas pageants. There’s a wonderful version of this song available on YouTube sung by the a cappella group Straight No Chaser that embodies this confusion created by the complicated list – well worth a watch!

 

 

Forging a path through Christmas shopping choices: Online or offline? Independent or giant?

Where are you doing your Christmas shopping? If you’re like most people today, your answer will be either ‘Online’ or ‘Partly online’. Internet shopping has revolutionised the way we buy our Christmas gifts. Why fight through the crowds and stagger around for several hours weighed down with bulky and heavy bags when you can achieve the same result by sitting on the sofa with the laptop and clicking the mouse a few times? Plus, there’s the compelling argument that goods bought online may be cheaper than those bought in store – unless you’re talking about the huge giants of commerce, like Wal-Mart and Tesco.

But the sad result of the mass exodus of shoppers to the digital store instead of the physical one, and the rise of big chains in each town, is the decline of independent businesses. Take a walk around your local town centre. How are independent businesses faring? Is your community thriving, your local centre of commerce humming? Or are those who are brave enough to run a shop of their own in this difficult economy facing a challenging holiday season?

I love to shop for presents in my local town in the weeks leading up to Christmas. There’s an independent sweet shop, for example, from which I buy vintage delights from mint humbugs to lemon sherbets as stocking fillers for my family. I find I enjoy local shopping, and I feel like I’ve done something good by making the effort to do some shopping in person.

But independent businesses exist online as well, of course, and I also shop online. There are some wonderful gift retailers selling unique and innovative products. As an example, I like The Literary Gift Company which sells a wide range of gifts for book lovers. For such a company to survive in a marketplace dominated by the likes of Amazon, it needs support from gift buyers.

The online/offline and giants/independents issue relating to how we shop relates closely to the dominant debates in publishing – those of publishing giants versus independents, and ebooks versus print. The news announced in October that Random House and Penguin Publishers will merge stirred the hornets’ nest, with those in the industry wondering about the plight of the smaller press in the face of major publishers joining forces in such a way. And yet smaller, independent publishers are creative and courageous  and publish some wonderful books. Of course, it is a smaller independent that published my debut novel, and I owe them much for believing in me and my writing. And then you have the ebook issue, made all the more contentious by the growing profits enjoyed by Amazon, and the traditionalists tell us that we book lovers should unite and reject the digital book.

So where does that leave us? Shopping on foot, buying print books published by independent publishers from independent book stores? Yes, sometimes one would hope. But as with all things in life, balance is key. The world is galloping forward, and to reject the advances brought by technology and the Web is naïve. So a little of each, I think, allows all branches to survive. A download on Kindle, a print book bought in Barnes & Noble, a gem unearthed in a second-hand book store, a rare book ordered online via Amazon: there is a place for each. Share the love, as they say.

Book Review: An Innocent Abroad by Rae Summers

From the blurb:

Isobel Harrington, fresh from her English finishing school in the summer of 1922, is sent to visit cousins in Italy for just one reason: to catch the eye of their wealthy and eligible house guest.

But the man who awakens Isobel’s passion is not the respectable British heir to a nobleman – it is local Italian Stefano, an enigma who doesn’t fit any of the ‘boxes’ she’s been taught to expect.

In Stefano’s arms she experiences a sexual awakening. He dares her to follow her dreams, but is she brave enough to defy convention, and her parents’ expectations, to pursue her own happiness?

A magical love story of Isobel’s first time away from home on her own, when she is forced to acknowledge that she doesn’t have to do what her family want her to do: marry for money and position. Isobel’s summer in Italy is described through her eyes as an artist – she sketches and paints what she sees and feels – adding to the vivid description of the book. Through Isobel’s eyes, Rae Summers paints a wonderful picture of the 1920s Italian coastal town of Positano – its landscapes and its people – and you can’t help but be swept away by the vibrant descriptions of the orchards, the sea, the buildings and the people.

She paused at the edge of the formal gardens and looked out over the impossibly blue sea. The air in Italy smelled so different from England, so fertile and fragrant. She breathed in deeply, enjoying the rich, clean smell, the tang of citrus and the salty sea. She wished she could bottle it and take it home with her, to keep the memories alive while she endured the Season.

But Isobel doesn’t just encounter the breathtaking images of Italy that we all know and love, she also describes the more shocking aspects of the time – the beggars, slums and squalor of Naples, and the political unrest of the country as a whole.

Isobel is on holiday in Italy to capture the heart of a young English man. Instead, she is distracted by a strikingly handsome local, Stefano, who forces her to question what she wants for her life, rather than what everyone else wants.

He leaned closer, his intensity radiating through their joined hands. “This is a new world we live in, a world in which anything is possible. The old rules no longer apply. You can be, and do, anything you want.”

She pulled her hand away. “I don’t know yet what I want. And even if I did, I don’t know that I’m brave enough to go after it.”

Isobel is braver than she thinks and breaks many rules while exploring her feelings for Stefano. It is a true coming-of-story, expertly detailing that feeling of first love. Written entirely from Isobel’s point of view, you really sympathise with her confusion about the desires she is feeling for the first time and her anxiety at not wanting to upset her family or ruin her reputation. Other characters that are important to her summer in Italy are the shy yet attractive English gentleman Christopher, whom her family want her to marry, and Isobel’s beautiful cousin Frances, who is caught up in her own romance with a local Italian.

“I’m not the beauty, my cousin Frances is.”

He picked Frances out of the crowd with ease, and shrugged. “The simple frescoes of the medieval masters are very different from the elaborate Baroque ornamentations of the Duomo in Amalfi. But both are beautiful.”

Just like a summer, this book is not long, but it is a charming tale of Isobel’s journey from young girl to passionate woman over the space of a few weeks.

He was making no promises for the future, no declaration of love. He offered no assurance that this would not end badly. All he offered was the answer to her spoken desire. For now it was enough.

This is Rae Summers’ third novel. I really enjoyed the way it was written and I loved the characters. I will certainly be looking to read more from this author.

An Innocent Abroad is available now from Amazon; click on the book cover below to visit the store.

Win a copy of my book in the Reading Romances Gifting Books Christmas Giveaway

#XmasGIVEAWAY

 

Gifting Books Christmas hop was organized by Reading Romances!

I’m delighted to be taking part in this giveaway event. Some wonderful books on offer – ideal escapism for the holiday season.

What you can win here: 1 copy of my novel Burning Embers

Number of winners: 1

Open to (INT, US or US/CAN): INT

How to enter: Simply leave a comment on this page by the end of 27th December letting me know why you’d like to read Burning Embers.