Yeah, I'm a totally obsessive student and always have been and I saw it all too clearly this summer. In one class (Excel spreadsheet class) I had a perfect score plus 60 extra credit points which is ridiculous really. Why do I do this to myself? My stressed out tummy has come back again so I need to de-stress and relax until fall quarter starts on September 21. I have been busy reading and have really been knocking down my TBR.
This Duchess of Mine by Eloisa James (2009)Sensuality: Warm
Grade: B
This is the fifth book in the Desperate Duchesses series and I haven't read any of the previous books which goes to show I have overcome my OCD about reading books in a series in order. I haven't read many books by James (only 2) but I really must go find some of her backlist because I enjoyed this book. This is a troubled marriage plot which is one of my favorites. As the story begins Jemma and Elijah are reunited after a 9 year separation after she catches him in the act with his mistress. Now he wants an heir and Jemma has reluctantly returned from Paris to do her "duty". The beginning of the book felt like I had jumped into the middle of the story so I have a feeling I should have read the previous books (which was confirmed in some of the reviews I read), but I did enjoy the story anyway. There is lots of sexual tension and the plot involves chess (Jemma & Elijah are both chess masters) and some issues with Elijah's heart condition which was all expertly handled in both pacing and dialogue. A thoroughly enjoyable book. A secondary character, the Duke of Villiers, has an interesting storyline involving his illegitimate children and I look forward to his book, A Duke of Her Own, which was recently released. I'm also intrigued enough to checkout the previous books in this series.
One Reckless Summer by Toni Blake
Sensuality: Hot
Grade: B+
Good girl meets bad boy. Been there, done that. In fact the title and book reminded me a little bit of Robard's One Summer, one of my favorite books of all time. ORS is not quite as good as OS, but it's a great summer read. Jenny comes back to her home town to get her life back together after divorcing her cheating husband. She moves into the family vacation cabin on the lake and discovers that Mick, her tormentor from her teenage years, is also back living across the lake. I didn't like Jenny very much at first but Mick is totally yummy. Jenny is too much of a perfect good girl but when she meets Mick after rowing across the lake to do some stargazing, she does something reckless and they have a very steamy sexual encounter. Mick had a very rough childhood with two worthless parents. He is helping his brother who has escaped from prison and is now dying from cancer. Jenny is very attracted to Mick and is torn about keeping the presence of Mick's brother a secret from her father, the chief of police. The chemistry between them and their sizzling sexy affair really was the highlight of the book and made this an excellent book to take to the beach (which I did).
Stolen Fury by Elisabeth NaughtonSensuality: Warm
Grade: B
This riproaring romantic suspense was another good summer read. It's filled with lots of action adventure in the tradition of Indiana Jones without detracting from the romance. Lisa is an archeologist hot on the trail of three bas-reliefs of the Greek Furies, Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. After finding Alecto she meets Rafe, who seduces her, drugs her and steals Alecto from her hotel safe and she is now furious. With the help of her detective brother, she tracks him down in Key West, Florida, and she reluctantly joins forces with Rafe to get Tisiphone before other treasure hunters. I normally detest a thief hero, but there are some complex circumstances behind Rafe's motives. The book was fast paced and I loved the intrigue and all the twists and turns. The sexual tension was built slowly and I enjoyed the snappy dialogue between the H/H. When they finally get together the pages sizzled nicely. Lisa is a smart, tough heroine with a secret past. Rafe is so charming I couldn't stay mad at him for stealing Alecto (and neither could Lisa). This was my first book by Naughton and I can hardly wait to get my hands on the next book, Stolen Heat.
4 comments:
All three sound really good, especially the Toni Blake. I really liked One Summer, as well. Does this one also have a suspense subplot?
Rosario: No suspense plot at all. The romance was center stage but the rest revolved around Jenny trying to hide the fact from her father that Mick and his brother (an escaped prisoner) were staying in the old place across the lake. There is also a misunderstanding at the end when Mick thinks that Jenny has betrayed him to the police chief (which she hasn't - not a spoiler). Other than that there is not much else that goes on. I just loved the developing relationship (although Jenny jumps into it rather quickly but it takes them awhile to trust each other).
Congrats on all your straight A's! Take a breather! You've earned it ;)
CindyS
Thanks, Cindy!
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