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

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

Welcome to the group Lorelle! Glad you are feeling settled in enough to say 'hi' :)

B-Barbary Bride
Haven't read it yet but looks like a BR to me!

I was super thrilled to see the reissue because they also made it available for Kindle, yay! I'm glad I didn't hunt down a used copy when I was thinking about reading it before.

Delicious Dee Challenge Addict wrote: "i just saw this at borders today, it looks like its been re-released"

Yes! This was just re released in November by Sourcebook. Looks like they are re releasing some or maybe all of Laurie McBains books, Moonstruck Madness is set to come out in February. All About Romance recently reviewed Devils Desire when the reissue came out last month, check it out here.

Tammy wrote: "Sharon wrote: "I keep thinking I've read this book before..."

Me too, Sharon -- I got to about page 150 and realized it was reminding me quite a bit of The Flame and the Flower."

I was thinking the same thing! The Flame and the Flower but the beginning also reminds me a bit of the beginning of Lady Vixen that we read as a group a couple months ago. These Golden Pleasures also had a similar beginning... you know parents die, evil aunt/uncle/family member treats girl like Cinderella, family member arranges to marry girl off to old nasty pervert, girl runs away. Ive run into this exact set up a few times here recently.

Welcome to the group Anna!

E-Enchantress

H-I-H???? :)

J- The Jasmine Veil
One of my favorites! See my full review here

Welcome to the group Chelsy!

Hi Becky!

You are more than welcome to start a swap thread in our Swap/Giveaway/For Sale! Folder. Just start a new topic and list any books you are willing to trade and any requests you might have for what you would like to receive in return and see who responds! We have a very friendly group and we all love to share/trade books!

Ok I think I have decided on Flowers in the Blood. its about a Jewish family in Victorian India involved in the opium trade. Should be interesting! I'll be starting this later in the month.

Jeanine ♥ Cheshire Catt ♠ wrote: "Ahhh these are priceless...

http://haphappy.com/2010/11/how-a-wom..."

OMG! That is awesome!

Karla wrote: "The synopses of this woman's books sounds promising.

Ethel May Dell"

Some of those do look promising! I will have to check her out! Thanks Karla!

Welcome to the group Alucard! Glad to have you!

I haven't decided what I am going to read for this yet but I have several on my TBR so I will doing this for sure probably after Devils Desire.

I got this for my Kindle (yay!) and will probably start tomorrow or maybe Thursday! Can't wait!

This month: The family saga!

Definition: According to Wikipedia "The family saga is a genre of literature which chronicles the lives and doings of a family or a number of related or interconnected families over a period of time. In novels (or sometimes sequences of novels) with a serious intent, this is often a thematic device used to portray particular historical events, changes of social circumstances, or the ebb and flow of fortunes from a multiple of perspectives."

The family saga would be something along the lines of the Kent Family Chronicles or even a single novel like The Thorn Birds or Roots. Seems like these saw a bit of a surge in the 70's and 80's and is a genre of historical fiction that runs somewhat parallel to the bodice ripper. I think they are the sort of books that this group might enjoy!

To participate: Simply pick any book that could be considered a family saga! This can include any books that covers the lives of multiple generations of one family or the lives of multiple families over several decades. They should be pretty easy to spot, look for key works like 'saga', 'epic' or 'chronicles'. If it's not a part of a series these are likely to be pretty thick books.

Need a Rec? Wikipedia has a decent list of family saga's to choose from or just search Amazon for 'family saga'.

Discussion questions: How did following multiple generations of one family or decades of life of multiple families help illustrate the historical/economical/social climate in the book you read? Do you think you could have gotten the same feel from a book with a shorter list of characters over a shorter period of time? What do you think is the strength of the family saga genre? Weaknesses? How does the family saga compare to the bodice ripper genre? If you have read other family saga's how did you book compare to others you have read? Did you enjoy your book? What kind of reader would you recommend the book you read or the 'family saga' genre too?

Thrid times a charm! After a few close call's in our group poll finaly Devils Desire wins! Yay!

Devil's Desire by Laurie McBain 1975

This has been in our poll and come close a few times, maybe we should just read it already!!! May I also point out that this could be used in our quarterly challenge crossword along with our last months group read!
Average GoodRead rating: 3.82
GoodReads description:
In a rousing, unforgettable saga that sweeps across the valleys and peaks of human destiny, the stormy alliance of beautiful young Lady Elysia Demarice and Lord Alex Trevegne plumbs the depths of raw human emotion -- lust, jealousy and hate -- for though Lord Alex has married Elysia, he cannot possess her in flesh or spirit. Out of the turbulence of their clashing wills comes one of the greatest love stories ever written, as their twin passions mingle at last, in a rippling tide of liquid fire!
Availability: Amazon has several copies of this one (including a Kindle version, yay!) as does AbeBooks and PaperbackSwap

Discussions: This was Laurie McBain's first romance novel which lead her to a very successful career.... what did you think? Did you find the writing immature or is this a strong first novel in your opinion? What did you think of the authors style? How did it compare to other bodice rippers you have read? Other romances? What was your favorite scene? Favorite character? How would you rate this book on a BR scale of 1-10 (1 being very tame 10 being WTF OTT!)?

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

Creeker wrote: "I can't keep a bookmark, I already lost the bookmarks I got from the bookmark train LOL. I have a bad habit of just sticking it inside the book when I'm finished and just forgetting it."

Me too! That's why I use receipts or those free cheepy ones they always give you at the bookstore. I have actually found $20 bills going through books on my bookshelves years after I read them. LOL I don't use cash anymore (although it was nice when I found it).

I have been using one I got in the bookmark train for a while now though. We'll see how long until it gets lost in a book somewhere.

Creeker wrote: "...And I apologize Jenn that you had to write new laws for us felons, thank you for showing us the errors of our ways I truly appreciate it and will keep them in mind :) Your the Best! xoxo..."

Just trying my best to be a fair moderator.

Unfortunately we can't always avoid offending someone no matter how hard we try so we just have to do our best (and do our best to smooth things over when/if it happens).

I don't think of you two as felons at all :)