Dls’s Comments (group member since Sep 14, 2010)

Dls’s comments from the Fans of Eloisa James & Julia Quinn group.

I'm reading How The marquess Was Won. Lots of wonderful bits in it. But ultimately the plot feels repetitive and a little shallow to me. That disappoints me because Long is one of my autobuys.

I'm reading Joanne Ross The Homecoming and just bought Meg Benjamins new book . I also have 6 downloading on my nook tomorrow...

Thanks Janga! It's going well, just really slowly. I should be out of my sling in a week and hope to be able to sleep lying down in a week or two.

And Blakely of course is the scarlet pimpernel...years after his exploits.

This is from Rose Lerner's A Lily Among Thorns.

Probably one of my top 10 romances of the year.

No although I really liked that book. This book isn't that foodie actually.

Nope. Not part of a series.

I had such fun rereading this book to try to find a puzzler because there were so many wonderful bits I could have chosen from. I am very drawn to how this couple interact—and this scene captures the heat, the humor, the surprising turns the conversations take. Plus, of course, the author throws in Blakeley just for the heck of it...


Hero was leaning against the door frame of the pastry kitchen, covered in flour to the elbows, listening to something Antoine was saying. He glanced up at her and smiled just as he licked a large dollop of almond-pear off his thumb.
Now she remembered why she disliked the kitchens during dinner. The ovens made everything so damned hot.
“Want a taste?” he yelled above the kitchen’s racket.
Well. She had to make sure he hadn’t, oh, forgotten the sugar or something, didn’t she? It was her responsibility. She pulled a spoon from a jar of them that sat on the counter and headed over.
“How are thing upstairs?” he asked. He licked a last drop of sticky tart filling off his lip, and Heroine swallowed.
“Good. I don’t know how qualified our regent is to direct national politics, but he’s an excellent gourmand. Probably one of my few former patrons who’s wholeheartedly pleased with my change in professions.” She dipped her spoon in his bowl. Somehow, it seemed like an incredibly intimate act. Her cheeks heated. It’s just the ovens.
His eyes widened. “You mean you—you slept with the Prince Regent?”
The pleasant heat faded. Not this again. “I did.”
He chewed at his lower lip. “Can I ask you something? I wouldn’t, but I’ve always wanted to know—“
“Certainly,” she said coolly. “But I shan’t promise to answer it.”
“Does he use French holes?”
She stared at him. She hated to admit that Hero knew of a perversion of which she had never heard, but there was nothing for it. “French holes”
”On his corset,” Hero said impatiently. ‘You know—most use ordinary buttonholes, but some use a sort of eyelet made of ivory or bone. You can lace them tighter that way.”
She blinked. Then she bit the back of her hand, shaking with silent, helpless laughter. “I never noticed,” she admitted, when she could speak again.
He sniffed scornfully, but his eyes were warm.
She realized she was still holding her spoon, full of almond-pear filing. She put it in her mouth, and her eyes widened. “Oh.”
He smiled at her. “It’s good, isn’t it?” he said in a low, warm voice, and she immediately pictured him saying the same thing in quite another context.
She eyed him suspiciously. Had he meant that to sound indecent? He blinked innocently at her, and she decided that he had.
“It’ll do,” she said. “Did you know that Sir Percy Blakeney is angling to be sent to France as a spy?”
“No!” Hero’s whole face lit up with glee.

Hey everyone, would you be interested in doing our personal top 10 lists for 2011? There are so many good authors releasing books Dec 26 that I'm th inking we'd start this Jan 1 if folks are interested...

I read the new Jo Goodman. I didn't expect a contemporary'! Liked it a lot. Now I'm reading The Comrades, set in medieval wales. (written by a Canadian lawyer--interesting plot moments come from the king deciding cases.) it's reAlly good especially for a first novel and I say that as someone who often finds medievals too over the top--it's historically consistent without overdoing it .
I have no releases on preorder until dec 26 and then 6 at once! Why are they all post holiday! Am I missing something good?

I started to look at the Good reads reviews of this book--there were a lot of negative ones. I was really saddened by them--the reviewers obviously have no idea what kind of mental block about sex being raised by someone who hates it can create...I thought the book did a marvelous job of showing the kind of problems that can create for a loving couple and one of the things that I lvoe about the hero is that finally he decides he cares more about being with her than sex (although as the excerpt above reveals, they then do get past the sex problem!)

I like the Fire Rose a lot. Now reading the dragon and the pearl by Jeannie lin.

The fire rose by Mercedes Lackey. And waiting for b&n to have unraveled.

Oh I LOVE this book. I should really write a review because I feel it's often not appreciated.
And the hero may be my favorite of all her heros. He tries so hard and he loves her so much...even if he really doesn't get it for s long time.
What a great choice.

Thanks Irisheyes, PJ, Manda and Monica. Reading is the only thon saving me from going nuts, I have to say.

Just read the New EJ novella. Very fun. It did get me thinking...romance novellas often cover a very short period of time. I would have liked to seen a slightly longer courtship-- they don't seem to have gotten to know eachother and the first engagement doesn't count. Are there good novellas that cover more chronological time? I can think of novellas that work in a short time--for example Courtney Milans first novella where the couple already know eachother and this is a turning point. I can't remember how much time her second novella covers but it too works for much the same reason. But first meeting-to-love in days dont usually work for me.

no clue...it does sound good!

I went into this not expecting to like the hero-- I've never been big on career criminal heroes. I was surprised how much I ended up liking him. I also started thinking about the parallels and dissimilarities between thus hero and the last--one grew up with everything but took to crime for his family-- the other grew up with nothing and took to crime to survive.
I wavy ti go back and reread them together and think about the comparisons....

Thanks Manda! I am in a sling for six weeks which explains why I have even more typos than usual--all one handed on my phone. (if anyone else needs rotator cuff surgery feel free to pm me for info).

Just read Carla Kelly's Coming Home For Christmas. I liked the middle story best . She's one of the best at capturing the feel of time and place and I love that she writes about ordinary people. Her early books have this wonderful connection between her characters and the middle story catches
that too.

Now reading Shalvis Head over Heels.

Yay Manda!
I've been recuperating from shoulder surgery (no fun at all) and reading Karen Templeton. I really liked Welcome Home Cowboy. I've been going thru here backlist which is mixed but some were also very good.
I have to say having an e reader is great for when you are sick. I can't drive for 6 weeks but this way I can still get books ti read whenever I want them. One more reason....

Maybe I shld reread TLD. I didn't like the child bride aspects as I recall but I love COTN and it makes a lot more sense if you have read TLD first. And LOS for that matter ...
Anyway at least 3 of these are dont miss books. Great choice!