Jennefer’s Comments (group member since Mar 12, 2010)

Jennefer’s comments from the Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous group.

Flowers of Fire by Stephanie Blake

Check out my review here.

As frustrating as this book was I still really want to read Secret Sins. Call me crazy! I think I might enjoy it more now that I understand the authors writing style, and that the author is a he and has no understanding of romance or how a woman thinks! Ha!

Finally got around to writing my review.

Ok- technically Karla reviewed this before I did, but before she and I read this for our buddy read here there were no reviews for this... so I am counting it! Here is my review for Flowers of Fire.

I think my goal is going to be to try and read at least one book that needs a review every month. We will see how that goes :)

Time for the book of the month wrap up! I want to know does anyone have a different opinion now that the book is read and set aside. I know for me sometimes my opinion changes a bit when I am a few days removed from reading it and have moved on to something else.

I think I still feel the same. I liked it. I kinda feel like I shouldn't have liked it as much as I did, because there was really a lot of things wrong with it (flat black and white characters, too much sex and not enough conflict resolution, overly simple HEA etc), but I just did and still do anyway! For some reason it has stuck with me a bit. Its not so much the characters that have stuck with me the way they do with some books but just the experience of reading it and enjoying it.

And for another rap up activity lets cast the movie!

I don't remember what Alice was described to look like in the book (other than small and petite) but in my head she looked exactly like Angela from the Office... my sister says that she was described to have dark hair, but she doesn't! Not in my mind anyway! She is blond!


I don't have a strong image of any of the other characters.... other than I think Rolf has black, coarse, kinda curly hair and a beard, real scruffy looking, not sure who I would cast tho.

Where Passion Leads by Lisa Kleypas 1987
This was the first romance she wrote when she was 24 years old. A bit towards the end-ish of the BR era. I do know it has a rape, but I don't know about any other BR elements. I don't think I have ever seen a copy of this anywhere for less than $50.... lots of people would love to get their hands on the first Kleypas!


That's the only hard to find BR I can think of not on your list so far. Looking forward to seeing what other books are recommended here!

Creeker wrote: "I need to get this started so I can move on to Wicked Loving Lies. So I'm game"

That's what I was thinking... I have this one so why not start with it and then move on to WLL (that and the fact that my copy of WLL has not shown up yet grrrr... hopefully it will show up in the next few days). Maybe after this we can jump start the WLL buddy read thread again :)

Thanks Creeker , I would love to snag it when you are done if that's really ok :)

Great job Jeanine, with the questions above and the review! Thanks for sharing! I will have to try to get my hands on this one someday.

*mildly spoiler-ish response regarding mildy spoiler-ish bonus questions* Oh, those are not "key plot elements". Saying there is a riding crop in a scene tells you nothing and it is a BR so saying there is a rape is not really a spoiler.... but if it will make you feel better I will edit and add a spoiler warning. :)

Karla wrote: "...The whole book was a mess of new romance and old romance tropes, mashed together. Didn't work for me...."

I can see that. 1990 was right in that transition time of old skool/new skool romance... it was a bit of a mess of both wasn't it!

Please do! I read this not too long ago as well so I dont think I will be re-reading in May.... but once we get going I will thow in my two cents :)

Sweet Savage Love by Rosemary Rogers 1974

I have been wanting to read this for a while now but avoiding it I think because it is a bit of a chunkster (712 pages). I know I will enjoy it (at least I sure hope so) so I think it is just time to read it already!!! I would love to have some company! Rosemary Rogers is known to deliver when it comes to bodice ripper style romance reading. Many romance readers consider this one of her best and a classic! Who's with me?!? :)



GoodReads Rating: 3.86

Goodreads Description: Ginny Brandon is swept from the ballrooms of Paris to the desert sands of Mexico and into the arms of charismatic mercenary Steve Morgan. But this fearless heroine and "hero of all heroes" must first endure countless unforeseen dangers before they can enjoy sensual, exhilarating passion that burns between them.

Avalability: Lots of used copies of this out there! Amazon, abebooks, paperbackswap

Discussion: Did the book live up to your expectations? How would it compare to other historical romance you have read? Other bodice rippers? Did you find the characters likable? Did they become more or less likable as the book progresses? Who was your favorite character? When did you decide if you liked the book or not? What was your favorite scene? Other thoughts???

I am not sure exactly when I am going to start but I will be reading this in May no matter what! It's time! :) No need to read at the same time I do, just jump in when you are ready! Hope to have some of you join with me!

WHITNEY MY LOVE by Judith McNaught
1985


Average GoodReads rating: 4.08

GoodReads Discription: Whitney Stone's teenage crush on a neighbor has her cold, unfeeling father banishing her to Paris into the care of her aunt and uncle. Under their loving guidance, the young woman blossoms into a ravishing beauty and becomes the darling of glittering Parisian society--a fact not lost on the handsome and equally powerful Duke of Claymore, who determines to make her his wife. Despite the duke's fervent interest, Whitney remains fixed on her childhood love. That is, until she finds herself tempted by the Duke--an attraction that both delights and baffles Whitney, causing her to be increasingly wary of what her heart may lead her to do. The Duke suffers no such confusion. He wants Whitney. And he plans to have her, despite a number of obstacles, including the infatuation Whitney seems to have for another; her aunt's growing concerns; and her greedy father's bungling efforts to control his beautiful daughter. But before the Duke and Whitney's plans can reach fruition, they'll have to work their way through a morass of misunderstandings that threaten any hope of a happy ending.

Availability: This book was re-released in 1999 with an extended ending and two scenes rewritten. The scenes that were changed knock it down the BR scale a notch or two and make the book much more PC. I highly recommend everyone try to read the original version before the 1999 rewrite in it's original most bodice ripper form! :) Should be failrly easy to find, lots of used copies around. paperbackswap has several copes for you fellow swappers out there (if you are new to PBS you can buy a credit for around $3, or they will give you two credits for free for starting a swap shelf with 10 books or more!) Amazon has a few copies of the original available. abebooks has several copies avalable for around $4 and some with free shipping. And of course check out your local used book store. Note: if you choose to read the rewritten version you are still more than welcome to participate in the group discussion. All major plot developments are left in tact by the rewrite so we should have no problem discussing :)

Discussions: How would you rate this book on a BR scale of 1-10? Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to their predicaments? How do characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story? What events trigger such changes? Who was your favorite character? Do you think Whitney ended up with the right man? What was your favorite scene? What do you think was the most “bodice ripper” scene in the book? At what point in the book did you decide if you liked it or not? What helped make this decision? If you could change something about the book would you? If so what/how?

Bonus Questions *mildly spoiler-ish*: Did the ridding crop scene and/or rape scene make you uncomfortable? Do you think the author made a good choice to rewrite those scenes? Why or why not?


Please be considerate of others and use 'spoiler spaces' when revealing key plot elements.

I decided to pick up Promise of the Rose at the library about Ceidre and Rolfe's son Stephen. I have a couple other books I really want to get in this month but I don't know if I can let this one sit for very long!

Finished today! Loved it! Very entertaining read! Here is my spoiler free review.

Spoilers
How would you rate this book on a BR scale of 1-10? Maybe a 7 or 8... it has a lot of those BR cliche elements we all know and love, evil/crazy family member, love/hate relationship, alpha hero, rape, heroine near death, heroine imprisoned, and of course the ripping of the clothing (hers and his), all executed well. I like the authors style.

Did you find the characters likable? I found the characters enjoyable and entertaining, all of them, but likable? hmmmm I don't know. Ceidre was a bit to sugar sweet, Rolfe a good combo of fierce and tender but not complex enough, Alice was too one dimensional, and the other characters left really pretty flat. I felt like all of the characters just fit into their own perfect little box. None of the characters were very complex and therefore did not seem very real. I think that is what makes it feel like a light easy read despite the intense war setting. You kinda figure out what everyone is about pretty quick.

Do the characters become more/less likable as the book progresses? Rolfe becomes more and more likable as he becomes more and more loving and tender with Ceidre. Other than that I think my feeling about all the other characters stayed about the same beginning to end.

What was your favorite scene? That would have to be the scene when Rolfe bathes and tends to Ceidre after pulling her out of the dungeon. There are a few scenes where he shows some real tenderness towards her but this was the best! My heart melted for him a little bit. *sigh* Oh and I liked the scene were he watches her swim in the stream but for very different reasons.... hehe

What do you think was the most “bodice ripper” scene in the book? The near rape at the very beginning is pretty high up there but I am going to go with the scene where he takes her on her wedding night... you know the scene where he actually rips her bodice!

Overall thoughts Very entertaining fast moving read. It was well written and tight w/o any slow spots in the storyline. Tension all the way! Just the way I like it! :)

My gripe Just the end... It is OK for the end to be a little bitter sweet! Why on earth did the author insist on making everything so tidy! Did Ed really need a happy ending too? Come on! Here's my ending if I had my way.... Ed escapes during transport or something goes into hiding heart broken from Morcars death never to be heard of again. Ciedre's mourns for her brothers but she finds love and happiness with Rolfe anyway. Alice is gone never to be heard from again living the rest of her life alone and unloved always wondering what her greatness could have been. Ciedre is Rolfe's prisoner and treated well, they have kids and love each other despite a difficult circumstance. She lives the rest of her days as loves captive! That would be happy enough! No need for a marriage, no need for Ed to have a happy ending, no need for Alice to die! Complicated but happy. Is that so hard????

Noelle wrote: "I left a review here at 'my books' is that the same thing??"

It's just a thread we have going (see link above or its in the "member review folder") to share our review's of book's previously un-reviewed on GoodReads. We would love for you to share :)

Wow Mandy! Awesome review!!! I agree with Karla, perfect! Will you write my review of Flowers of Fire for me??? :)

Jeanine wrote: "...I think Joyce wrote it that way on purpose...."

You are probably right but I am still a little bummed. Just a little tho. I am pretty happy with this read overall so far. And on that note.... I am going to go curl up in bed with said book and try to squeeze in a couple more chapters before bed :)

I'm just a bit past the mid way point and really enjoying this!
**spoiler**
They finally get it on and I am a tiny bit disappointed. Good sex scene but where's the pillow talk? Where is the tenderness? Rolf has shown he has it in him at least a little bit..... come on!!! Where's the love??? The author even goes so far to say that during their wild night of lovemaking he never said a word to her! He just up and leaves in the morning without a sweet goodbye! Hrumph!

Yes! Noelle you should review it for our No Book Left Behind Campaign!
Pretty please :)