Bam,

I know you’ve been buried up to your eyeballs in WIP, school and such. I’ve decided to lend a helping hand and review a few things ’cause I’ve got so much time on my hands. NOT! However, I try to read a bit every day and have finished the odd book now and again. The reviews might not be the most timely things, but at least I’m reading and reviewing. Right?

First up is Bonnie Dee’s The Countess Takes a Lover, a tried and true formula of the experienced, jaded lord tutoring the the novice (and awkward) into a sexual and social awakening, with a twist: worldly female decides to tutor bookish man on sensual and not-so-sensual arts. While I loved the idea of TCTaL, some of the pacing dragged a bit…but I want to give you the who/what/where before I get into that:

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Previously on Antiques Roadshow: Vampire Edition: Victoria goes to Italy to inspect some vampire happenings, Max is acting squirrelly, there’s some shit about some vampires trying to get a hold of A MAGICAL ITEM that will enable them to rule the world, Victoria and Sebastian argue and make out a lot, and Max does something really, really bad.

And now: Victoria acquires more responsibility and drama than she could ever handle, Max comes out of his funk still brooding and growly, Victoria’s mom and her cronies descend upon Italy to provide hilarity and shenanigans, Victoria and Sebastian argue and make out a lot, those damn vampires are still trying to get a hold of A MAGICAL ITEM that will enable them to rule the world, Victoria starts looking at Max in a totally different light (tramp!), we find out something about Sebastian that I already totally called from Book 1, AND Max has to make A VERY BIG DECISION that will change his life forevah. Oh, and Victoria is still crying and moaning about Philip even though she now has a stable of mens to worry about. Jesus, girl, shake the dwelling and get over it!

Do I gotta warn you people about spoilers?

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Grade: C-

Although historical romance is my thing, this is the first Mills & Boon historical I’ve read. I’ve not consciously avoided them. It’s just that when I’m in a bookshop or on Amazon, there’s always something else I want. Plus my supermarket only stocks contemporary categories so while I’ll pick up the odd Mills & Boon/Harlequin on impulse along with my bread and eggs, it’s always one from the Presents line.

However, having given poor reviews of a recent Presents and a (relatively) recent Blaze [Bam’s Note: This has not yet happened.], I thought I would give Mills & Boon /Harlequin one more go and try one of their historicals. There was lots of choice but in the end I picked this one because there was a Liz Carlyle quote on the back cover, indicating that this book was ‘…spellbinding and seductive - Deb Marlowe will enthrall you…’

So, did Deb Marlowe enthrall me? In a word, No. However, all in all, this book is a reasonably credible effort. It is liberally peppered with anachronistic language and behaviour but (and this may be unfair) I rather expected that of a Mills & Boon historical. The fact that I was prepared for that meant that I found it less irritating than I might otherwise have done.

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Grade: A-

[REPOST: THIS BOOK IS OUT NOW. GO BUY IT!]

I wasn’t sure if I should review this book because I totally geeked out on the author sticking my name in the acknowledgment page and pretty much bragged to anyone who’ll listen! I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep my objectivity and feel bad about giving Ms. Gleason a bad grade. Fortunately, this book did not suck. No, it was a little more than unsucky, it was actually pretty good! This series started out with the gimmicky premise of Buffy Meets Jane Austen, but I think it has surpassed that. While reading this book, I actually had to put it down a couple of times because I was afraid the heroine wasn’t going to make it out of the sticky situations she just happened to find herself in, but there were also a couple of scenes that tore my heart out of my chest like that time Buffy sent Angel to Hell by stabbing him through the chest with a fucking sword. I’m still traumatized, man. Anyway, there were spots in this book that had me scratching my head and wondering what the hell (heh!) was going on, but for the most part, I was totally absorbed. Victoria, the heroine, is developing into a seriously smart, kickass chick and the two men in her life, Sebastian and Max… oh, totally broke my heart. Dicks. Oh, man, I’m so thankful that Gleason wrote a severely readable book and I was spared from a potentially awwwwkward situation of giving her a shitty grade. What a pal. Oh… and spoilers aplenty in this biznatch.

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Grade: B-

I really enjoyed the previous book in this series and was looking forward to this one. I was intrigued by the premise of a high-born lady falling in love with the peasant man who manages her estate and was curious as to how Ms. Hoyt would have the two leads overcome the class and societal boundaries. After I finished this book, I set it down and thought, “The heroine’s Earl brother is okay with his sister marrying a commoner? Really? And everyone’s okay with the little sister knowing that her older sister sneaks in at night to the steward’s cottage? Really?” Not that I’ve ever been a stickler for historical accuracy —hell, I don’t know any better— but what attracted me to this story in the first place is the seemingly insurmountable obstacle of societal rules. She’s nobility! He’s poor! She’s got tons of cash! He’s got one really old horse! Everyone’s okay with it? Really? Luckily, George and Harry were terrific characters and really made the book for me. I could have gone without George suddenly becoming a total idiot in the last two chapters for “conflict,” but honestly, the rest of the book was good times all around. Good times, I tell you!

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