Friday Five: Historical Romance Edition (#01)

I read a lot of books. Shocking, really! Unfortunately, though, I am fairly consistently behind in reviewing. And taking a few months off last year did not help. Basically, there are books I would love to review, but I don't really have enough to say about them for a full-out, detailed review (most likely because I read them too long ago). But they still deserve to mentioned! Rather than trying to force stiff, fluff-filled reviews, after some contemplation, I came up with this feature. One Friday a month, I will be posting these mini-review batches, each featuring books from a specific genre. This will help me catch up on reviews, but it also won't clog up everyone's reader with short, separate posts. Now, without further ado, behold the first Friday Five, featuring the Historical Romance genre.

Book: A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare
Series: Spindle Cove, #2
Published: March 27, 2012 (Avon)
Rating: Staying in Tonight
Thoughts: This was the very first book I ever pre-ordered, because I was SUPER excited about if after the build-up between the couple in the first book. It did not disappoint! I do like road trip books set in modern day, but they have nothing on the carriage/hackney/mail coach road trips in historicals. I just love them so much, and this was no exception. Plus, the two leads were still superbly fabulous; the snappy banter and fierce attraction made for a great dynamic. Dare really just takes witty to a whole new level. Colin's comments and inner dialog were hilarious, and I really liked Min. Overall, a fantastic addition to one of my favorite historical series!
Favorite Quote: "Oh no. Oh God. I couldn't possibly be so stupid." - "Don't limit yourself. You can be anything you wish."

Book: Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right by Kieran Kramer
Series: Impossible Bachelors, #2
Published: November 30, 2010 (St. Martin's Paperbacks)
Rating: Lunch Break Read
Thoughts: I will give this book points for originality; it had one of the most original and hilarious h/hr meetings ever. The heroine belonged to a group of friends happy to be spinsters, and they were all great. The spy plot was there, but it thankfully did not take up too much of the story. The book also had great vocabulary, which always makes me happy! I learned the words sinecure, rout, and nonce. Unfortunately, the story dragged quite a bit toward the beginning and end, and there was some over-the-top drama I didn't really appreciate.
Favorite Quote: She had an obsession with his mouth now. And his hands. By God, and everything else about him, too.

Book: The Capture of the Earl of Gelncrae by Stephanie Laurens
Series: The Cynster Sisters Trilogy, #3
Published: January 31, 2012 (Avon)
Rating: Lunch Break Read
Thoughts: This book was not exactly what I expected from the summary, but I wound up mostly enjoying it nonetheless. I had two main issues with this book: the necklace Angelica had that apparently could tell you your ~hero~ when you wore it, and the fact that it was so long I got seriously bored. There were many unnecessary scenes of her family reacting/plotting about her kidnapping, but I am sure that someone who followed Laurens' books would love them. If they were, for instance, the Bridgertons, I would have loved to see the family all interacting together. But I digress. Enough with the negativity. There were quite a few things I liked about the book, too. Namely, the whole basic plot: Angelica is kidnapped by a man she thinks is her hero, but is really the guy who orchestrated the kidnapping of her sisters. Oh, and he's supposed to be dead. He also happens to be swoontacular, so romance commences. (I seriously love historical romance for plots like these.) I also like that Angelica was confident in the fact that he wanted her. Admittedly, it stemmed from the ridiculous necklace, but it added a nice dynamic to their relationship I enjoyed.
Favorite Quote: Never tell any male that he’s sweet.  It’s an invitation to be anything but.

Book: Waking Up with the Duke by Lorraine Heath
Series: London's Greatest Lovers, #3
Published: June 28, 2011 (Avon)
Rating: Staying in Tonight
Thoughts: This is one of the most original plots I have ever heard of, and I was completely intrigued by the thought when I discovered it. I've never read anything like it, before or since. It was a recipe for a deliciously angsty romance, which is one of my favorite things ever. The book overall was not as good or as angst-filled as I had anticipated, but it was incredibly addicting. I believed Ransom (Yes, that's his name. Not one of the high points of the story.) and his motives for agreeing with his friend's proposal. Their relationship development was slow and beautiful. Although there was a pointless side story and some little details that bothered me, I enjoyed the main one. My emotions were quite engaged throughout the entire book, and it made me cry more than once.
Favorite Quote: As far as bloody awful things go, it’s one of the best I’ve experienced.

Book: Beguiling the Beauty by Sherry Thomas
Series: Fitzhugh Trilogy, #1
Published: May 1st 2012, (Berkley Sensation)
Rating: Staying in Tonight
Thoughts: I had an odd sort of relationship with this book. Objectively, I enjoyed everything about it. But for some reason, I spent most of the story feeling rather detached from the characters. I don't know if it was me or the way it was written, but that feeling was disconcerting. At the same time, though, I did not want to put it down at all. The actions that set the plot into motion were rather overdramatic and ridiculous, but the plot itself was fantastic and original. I enjoyed the uniqueness of it, especially how the hero fell in love with the heroine without ever seeing her face. I also read this book after the second in the series, so it was interesting to see the Book 2 couple before their "romance" took place.
Favorite Quote: When she laughed, nothing was impossible.  He could climb Mount Everest, cross the Sahara, and raise the lost realm of Atlantis all in a day.

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(Review) An Affair Before Christmas by Eloisa James

Title: An Affair Before Christmas
Author: Eloisa James
Series: Desperate Duchesses #2
Published: November 13, 2007 (Avon)
Rating: Staying in Tonight
Format: Audiobook & ebook, both from library

Summary: One spectacular Christmas, Lady Perdita Selby, known to her friends and family as Poppy, met the man she thought she would love forever. The devilishly attractive Duke of Fletcher was the perfect match for the innocent, breathtakingly beautiful young Englishwoman, and theirs was the most romantic wedding she had ever seen. Four years later, Poppy and the duke have become the toast of the ton... but behind closed doors the spark of their love affair has burned out.

Unwilling to lose the woman he still lusts after, the duke is determined to win back his beguiling bride's delectable affections...and surpass the heady days of first love with a truly sinful seduction.

In all honesty, I picked up this book purely because I knew the Christmas feature was coming up, and I needed to read more Christmas books for it. I was not particularly drawn in by the summary, but I love Eloisa James, so I went ahead and started it. Little did I know what awaited me!

I love reviewing audiobooks. Since I listen to them while doing something (usually driving) during which I can't write, I leave voice messages for myself with my long, rambly, often incoherent thoughts of flailage or anger. Listening to those before I write my review is freaking hilarious. One day I'll transcribe myself or upload it (except not because then you would probably be frightened away by the crazy).

Let me tell you, this book? Caused me to leave some insane comments. At one point, I swear, I was talking like Lorelai Gilmore on speed. I loved so much about this story! Probably my favorite thing is how it flips so many historical romance norms. For instance, the book starts with the couple in love. How often does that happen? However, they were both young and rash, and you know that they really should not have gotten married at that point in their lives. Obviously, the marriage does not work the way either party planned, and the real story starts 4 years after the wedding.

The problem lies in the fact that while 4 years have passed, neither Poppy or Fletch have really developed. They are both still young, and they are stuck trying to fill these roles they do not really know how to fill. They are both still a little immature, and Poppy, especially, is very naïve. Thus, they are unhappy and resentful. Perhaps this does not make for the most likable characters for the first half or more of the book, but I like it because it is real. I could really see that happening for a couple of the time period, and I wanted desperately to know how they were going to solve it.

During the story, I loved watching each of the characters grow individually before they were truly able to address their relationship. Poppy especially had a lot of self-discovery to achieve and a backbone to grow. This book read almost like a new adult novel, but a historical one, and I really liked that about it.

One other thing I loved about the book was how the main story and the side stories intertwined. It reminded me how much I absolutely adore Elijah and Jemma (especially Elijah ♥), as well as how I need to give the book about Villiers another try. I actually got extremely invested in all three(ish) side plots, and I thought James achieved a really great balance between the main and side stories. They were there enough to be intriguing, but mostly, they were not there enough to take away from the main story.

Overall, An Affair Before Christmas is a great read. If you are looking for a realistic, beautiful romance with side characters who are sure to make you want to read the rest of the books in the series, I would absolutely recommend it.

It’s not manly to be so perfect in every way.

---

There was no point in letting one’s husband think he was interesting; it would only end in disaster.

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|Review| Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Title: Grave Mercy
Author: Robin LaFevers
Series: His Fair Assassin #1 (companion series)
Expected publication: April 3rd 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Genre: Historical, YA romance, fantasy
Source: Review copy from Netgalley, thanks!
Rating: ♥♥♥♥ and a 1/2

Goodread's summary:

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Racquel's thoughts:
Confession time, contemporary might be my favorite genre to read and I value you it dearly but I happen to be very, very, very fascinated by historical novels. I went though a phase a few years back where I went crazy and bought about 6 historical YA books to read and while their stories weren't particular the best, I simply loved them for the world and time they are set in. But now I can say that I have read a wonderful historical YA novel and loved it not only for the time period but also for the fantastic story! 

Grave Mercy definitely earns it's spot in my favorite books shelf. I read it in one sitting, intrigued from the first graphic chapter. Like always, I was fascinated with the world and time period of Grave Mercy, assassins trained by nuns? who wouldn't be interested?! Ismae is a heroine I fell in love with immediately, she is a strong girl despite going though many ugly things and her backbone grows further when she is admitted to the covenant of the St. of Death.

What made Grave Mercy a favorite read to me is the romance. Which happens to be much more than that. Ismae never trusted or liked men and after she moves to the covenant where she is surrounded by females she completely lost hope in the male species so when the love interest (who I will not mention the name of so I you can read and figure of for yourself!) comes along, big yet tender, he is a novelty Ismae never dreamed of being real. Let me tell you, I read every line, every scene between Ismae and her love interest twice. I cannot begin to tell you the heat I was feeling during their exchanges! My heart was skipping so much beats, I was afraid of a heart failure throughout this book. Ismae might be trained in so many ways and skilled at death but due to her dislike of men, she posses an innocence in love that makes the romance a million times sweeter.  

Now don't think this book is solely romance- and don't forget it's a great one at that- but there is more depth to it than that. Through this romance, Ismae learns who trust, to question what she thought and was taught is unquestionable and it helped her to grow and develop as a person, her own person and not a weapon. 

I was warned by a few people that this book slows down towards the middle but I experienced no such thing. I was called for dinner, did I go? Nope. I had to take a shower before it got really late but oh, what is the problem with taking another past-midnight shower when I can keep devouring the book? The suspense of who the villain pushed me to read non-stop and I couldn't wait to get more of Ismae and her love interest who has come to be one of my all time favorite fictional hero's! His interaction with Ismea is so heartwarming, so real and funny at the same time, it's hard not to fall in love with him!  

The only thing holding me back from a full 5 heart no matter how crazy I am about this book is how since there are a lot of things to cover in the second half of the book, the pacing moved on too fast and I missed Ismea and the hero's alone time but besides that, this book is spectacular in my eyes and I already cannot wait to read it again! With witty banter that put a goofy smile on my face, a hero worth killing for, a heroine that is just as strong as the loveable hero, a set of rounded characters and a plot that kept me on my toes, it is extremely, extremely, extremely hard not to adore Grave Mercy. 

Rating: 4.5 hearts~ a real treat to romance lovers, fans of kick ass heroines and heroes and historical novels!

 (taken from advance reader's copy, subjected to change)

First line:

I bear deep red stain that runs from my left shoulder down to my right hip, a trail left by the herbwitch's poison that my mother used to try to expel me from her womb.

Favorite:  

"I am too tired to spar tonight, my lord." 

Teaser: 

"What, pray tell, am I to do with her?"

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