The Privileged and the Damned by Kimberly Lang

[Lemon]

The Privileged and the Damned by Kimberly Lang (Harlequin Presents Extra).

This is part of a new series based on American royalty- Camelot and the Kennedy dynasty so this presents a different flavor from the standard Greek or Italian tycoon. This is a trilogy depicting the stories of three brothers, Ethan, Brady and Finn.

The book in question presents Ethan's story and his romance with his grandmother's stable girl. I mean- seriously? Stable girl? What is up with all these stable girl heroines in HPs? Is this some female fantasy heretofore unknown to me?

This book was originally published in the UK as part of the Riva series so I guess it doesn't squarely fit within the traditional Presents/Modern framework. Rivas are published as HP Extras in North America and I understand that Rivas are supposed to present a more modern, independent and sassy heroine, a present day "Thoroughly Modern Millie," with a more updated version of alpha heroes who have more modern sensitivities (i.e. less of a Neanderthal) from those of their Presents/Modern counterparts who apparently didn't get the memo regarding the 21st century yet (just kidding). I personally really enjoy the Riva series for the very same reasons, but I don't think I will be reading this trilogy.

Below is a link to the iheart presents site providing some background on the trilogy:

http://www.iheartpresents.com/2011/08...

By clicking on the link to the book, you will see some of the reviews other readers have written. It seems to generally get a good response from readers- RLA Thorton and Saly liked it, though Jane Litte didn't like it so much. Below is also a link to Marilyn's separate review on the book:

http://marilyns-romance-reviews.blogs....

I would be interested to hear how you HP fans out there like this book and how you like Kimberly Lang's writing. I have purchased two books by her but somehow never got around to reading them so would be great to get some feedback on this book and this author.

[3meg]

I enjoyed this story, but didn't love it. I think it somehow lacked emotion that I could connect to.

[Lady Jaye]

the title is one of the best HP titles I've come across :)

[Lemon]

*sigh*

That's disappointing, Megan. Hmm . . . guess you don't really like stable girl romances, huh? Too bad, was going to suggest you read The Playboy Sheikh's Virgin Stable-Girl if you were into stable girl romances. That's a wowzer- Sheik, playboy, virgin and stable girl all in one.

BTW, I really don't blame you if don't read the infamous book, but if you haven't already done so, you have to read the Smart Bitches review here http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.co.... Heck, now I feel like I have to check out this book for myself.

But I digress, back to Kimberly Lang and Camelot . . . .

[Lemon]

That is a good title, Lady Jaye. It evokes a lot of drama.

[3meg]

loved the Smart Bitches take on The Playboy Sheikh's Virgin Stable-Girl. It was a terrible book! LOL - there was another stable girl romance last month which was much better.

[3meg]

Sorry, it was not last month. It was the The Girl that Love Forgot by Jennie Lucas, one of The Notoriuos Wolfes.

[Lemon]

I haven't read this, but I think the heroine in this book was also some kind of stable girl or something like that. Sigh.

Breaking the Sheikh's Rules.

[3meg]

again, this one is better then the KL one, but it was just ok. I feel like I say that all the time now...sigh oh well

[Lemon]

I feel the same way, Megan- only I'm not as nice about it as you :P.

[Kate]

I enjoyed this one (4 stars), although I'm having a hard time saying exactly why. Maybe it's because it didn't take much to convince the hero that he'd misjudged the heroine once he started thinking about it logically.

The stable girl trope doesn't bother me too much, probably because I always secretly wanted a horse because my favorite part of camp was horseback riding (although I never would have wanted to actually groom the horse or muck the stalls -- ick!). And I like that the stables were more of a location here rather than the core of the story (compare to The Untamed Argentinean which was way too much about the horses to me).

[Lemon]

Kate, I'm so glad you enjoyed this book. What, a reasonable and logical hero in an HP novel? Shocking. Hm, now I'm going to have to read this, I think.