The Journey Home - Linda Ford

* - This was a definite wall-banger for me. I didn't like either of the main characters much, and the heroine just made me downright angry.

I received a free review copy of this book from TellHarlequin.com.

Kody Douglas is half-white, half-Native American, and despite his loving foster parents, he's never found a world where he feels he belongs. But if there's one thing his upbringing taught him, it's that he can't leave a damsel in distress. So when Kody finds Charlotte Porter alone in a dust storm with no food or water to speak of, he does what his mother would have wanted - he brings her to his parents.

But Kody had a reason for leaving town - a secret daughter whom he doesn't want to see hurt the way he was. Charlotte, however, soon takes the little girl into her heart and fights for Kody to become a 'real' father to her.

The Good:

• The Christian themes (though not to my taste) were nicely handled, I thought. Kody's reasons for his loss of faith were persuasive, and his return to the beliefs of his childhood struck me as believable, though I thought it got a bit short shrift.


• Sometimes, Charlotte actually is spunky. There's a great scene where she takes on a couple of outlaws that are threatening her. Plus, I enjoyed watching her go to work and learning how valuable it was for her self-esteem to stand on her own two feet.


• The portrayal of Kody as stuck between two worlds where neither accepted him was an interesting theme. I found his situation poignant.

The Bad:

• The heroine is prejudiced against Native Americans. Although she practically blows up at the hero for daring to suggest such a thing, she nonetheless accuses him of stealing and thinks:

  "She'd prayed for rescue, someone to offer her a home. The only person to do so was a half-breed. And Lother (a particularly loathsome individual bent on
  marrying her and using her as a brood-hen). She shuddered. [...] Of the
  two, Kody seemed slightly less undesirable."

Slightly? Then there's the time when some nasty persons call her a 'squaw' to which she replies "Of course they think evil of others." (italics my additions)

• The writing itself raises some of the same general issues. The Native Americans in this story cycle between speaking normally, and sounding like they stepped out of a stereotypical old Western movie. I'm not joking. They actually say things like: "Doctor say there are special shoes." and "Be satisfied she happy."


• But what really got to me was the heroine. She persists in seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses. She completely dismisses every one of Kody's concerns about facing prejudice by claiming that it's just ignorant people making nasty remarks. Not once does she acknowledge the fact that those remarks are extremely painful. She doesn't stand up for him when such remarks are made, and she completely dismisses the more dire consequences of prejudice - seemingly utterly forgetting that being in her presence at the beginning of the book almost got Kody lynched! Lynching is not one of those situations conducive to turning the other cheek.


• It really upset me that she kept nagging, badgering, and threatening to blackmail Kody into doing what she felt was right with a child that she neither knew nor had any responsibility for. She seemed to be a really presumptuous busybody to me. And while the author had Kody point out how kind and understanding she was, I never saw any evidence of it. Instead she seemed rather closed-minded and unwilling to empathize with any other point of view.
• 
  GIANT SPOILER: In real life, the specialist doctor probably wouldn't have operated on a Native American girl. Prejudice was very much alive and kicking, and it seemed to me that this plot device only served to validate Charlotte's unrealistic impressions.

The Bottom Line: If you choose to write about prejudice, you really should address the real issues. This wasn't merely a case of childhood sticks and stones. Really nasty things happened and still happen because of prejudice. And in this book at least, the heroine never seems to comprehend that, even when the evidence is right in front of her nose. I couldn't deal with the characters or the way the topic was handled. I wouldn't recommend this one.

Books that Make You Angry

Have you ever come read a book (or been asked to read a book) that made you downright angry?
Did you review it?
Did you just post a rant (labelled as such) or did you try to be objective? Could you be?
Did you worry that your angry post would turn off your readers?

Here's my dilemma. I was asked to read a book way outside my usual reading tastes. And also outside my comfort zone when it comes to my personal beliefs. Now every time the main character opens her mouth, I get angry. When she even thinks on the page, I get angry. I compose huffy little rants on my commute about her horrid, insensitive, etc. behavior. I've thrown it against the wall.

I should just give up, give it a Did Not Finish and Not Be Mean. (It's that last part I'm worried about.) Anybody have any helpful suggestions?

Dragon's Keep - Janet Lee Carey

*** 1/2 - I'm torn about this one. I had high hopes for this - I like dragons and love Arthurian plotlines. This was darker than I expected, but also read younger than I hoped. There were some unexpected twists, but I also thought the resolution of the prophecy was pretty obvious. My final verdict? This was good, but not great.

The royal family of Wilde Island is descended from the Pendragons. Six hundred years before our story, Arthur's sister Evaine was banished from the English mainland. Before she left, though, Merlin prophesied that the 21st queen of Wilde Island would restore the glory of the Pendragons and end war with the wave of her hand.

Princess Rosalind is in line to be that long-prophesied queen, but the ring finger of her left hand is a dragon claw instead. All efforts to rid her of the flaw fail, and Rosalind fears she will never be able to marry or fulfill her destiny.

In a lot of ways Dragon's Keep was satisfyingly complex. Rosalind's relationship with her mother is complicated. There's a lot of love between them, but Queen Gweneth is frighteningly over-protective in some ways and pushes Rosalind to fulfill Gweneth's dreams rather than Rosalind's own. Her reaction to Rosalind's talon is both heart-breaking and understandable. I also liked the characterization of the dragons. They were clearly not human, with very different philosophy and thought patterns. They are harsh; they bear grudges, and at times they can be cruel - but watching Rosalind grow to understand them was both interesting and confusing.

In other ways, I thought the novel was too simple. The ending and the resolution of the prophecy felt like an unrealistic quick wrap-up. I really liked the beginnings of the relationship with Kit, but it never quite gelled into the closeness I wanted. There were times that could have been absolutely heart-breaking if only their friendship had been developed more - and I wanted that depth of emotion.

I liked the story, but for some reason I wasn't drawn into the story despite my interest. It's a good book, and I think one suited for middle grade up.

Interested in other opinions?
The Story Siren
Wands and Worlds
Ready When You Are, C.B.

Frontier Courtship - Valerie Hansen

*** - In the interest of full disclosure, let me mention at the outset that I am not Christian. As a general rule, I attempt to steer clear of anything marketed as 'Christian fiction' including Harlequin's Steeple Hill line. But I was asked to read and review these as part of one of Harlequin's marketing efforts. Basically I want to point out that this isn't a genre I really enjoy, and that undoubtedly contributed to the mediocre rating.

As mentioned, I received a free copy of this book for review from TellHarlequin.com.

In dusty Fort Laramie on the trail west to California, Faith Beal finally realizes what a monumental mess she's gotten herself into. When her mother lay dying after a terrible storm, Faith promised to take her (unbearably silly) younger sister to find their prospecting father. But as two young women alone with little protection, they are at the mercy of their underhanded wagon train leader, Captain Ramsey Tucker. That is, until plainsman Connell McClain offers them his assistance.

Connell has his own reasons for joining Tucker's wagon train. He suspects that his childhood sweetheart may have fallen victim to one of his evil schemes. By tagging along, he hopes to be able to help the feisty Miss Beal and to discover the whereabouts of his fiancee. And neither Connell nor Faith expect their budding romantic feelings for each other.

The relationship between Connell and Faith was nice to see. He grew to respect her capabilities and be charmed by her vivacity. But their budding romance was significantly complicated by his promise to his childhood sweetheart. I liked that Connell was dedicated to fulfilling his promise, but he seemed painfully oblivious to the feelings of the women surrounding him. Faith's (relatively) innocent physical attraction to Connell was charming. That said, the entire story was a bit too innocent for me. The story never went beyond a few chaste kisses.

I enjoyed the plot that dealt with the wagon trains journey west. Those scenes really highlight Faith's strength as a character. Her independence and capability shone through while she was on the move. It was particularly nice to see her strength and good sense in contrast to her sister. But I had some problems once the narrative turned toward Connell and Faith's interactions with Native Americans. Although Faith showed interest in learning about the tribes' customs and attempts to understand their ways, she comes across as irresponsibly headstrong in dealing with them. Despite the fact that she was supposed to be scared of Native Americans, she did very little to curb her behavior to conform to their standards. She does show impressive bravery, but I couldn't help that she was being stupid and putting herself in danger.

Faith's sister Charity also struck me as unrealistically empty-headed. I was under the impression that the Beals were a farming family. Children on farms would undoubtedly have had to do a great deal of chores, and the fact that Charity couldn't tend a fire, cook, or do anything at all useful seemed more like a plot convenience than a believable characterization.

There were certainly Christian elements as both characters discussed their faith, but it was only done in very general terms that seemed entirely appropriate to the period. I didn't feel that either character truly explored their beliefs, which struck me as particularly odd given Connell's background of anger and resentment. While this made the book easier for me, it might be less satisfying to someone looking for a more inspirational story.

I know it's not fair to judge a book based on what we wish the book had been rather than what it was, but I think the writer's purpose of highlighting the large reserves of inner strength and faith of American pioneers would have been better served if she had stuck to the story of a wagon train on the difficult trek westward.

Interested in other opinions?
AusJenny
Musings on This, That, and the Other Thing (author interview)

Hot Property - Carly Phillips

*** 1/2 - I just had to make this cover big. Do his abs seem to start abnormally high to anybody else? Still pretty, though.

Amy Stone has moved to New York City to become the latest addition to the highly successful (both professionally and at matchmaking) athlete PR agency Hot Zone. And her first client is John Roper, the incredibly sexy star baseball player whose disastrous last season left him injured and dejected. She has to make sure Roper focuses on rehab - and not on the distractions of his needy family (a down-and-out brother who blames John for his lack of success, family wars over his sister's wedding, and a drama queen mother scared of a new career and a new relationship with an old flame) or her own growing attraction to him. She's got a lot on her plate, especially since the last thing publicity-shy Amy can deal with is the limelight that comes with dating a hunky baseball star.

Chemistry hits our main characters fast in this story, and I loved that from their very first contact things just seem to sizzle. My favorite scene in the book comes very early on: A New Year's Eve party gone wrong that turns into Amy sleeping on the couch in Roper's apartment. He's an absolute (though reluctant) gentleman, and the description of him the next morning all tousled and shirtless ratcheted up the yum-factor. The initial chemistry is what had me burning through the pages, but unfortunately it seemed like a lot of that was lost as their relationship progressed. Not that the book was disappointing. I liked it. It just didn't quite live up to the promise of its early scenes.

I don't usually much care for stories about star athletes. There tends to be an awful lot of ego and testosterone flying around. I needn't have worried in this case. John is a self-avowed metrosexual - he gets massages and pampered, he's good at interior decorating, he's a great cook. But we never get the idea that he's any less masculine for all that. He's strong, caring and dependable, and as the shirtless with low-slung jeans scene (did I mention that was my favorite?) demonstrates aallllll hunky male.

I thought his conflict was well-handled. John had to grow up too early and became the crutch the rest of his family relied on. Because he was the most put-together of all of them, and because he was the most successful, the most reliable. But now he's breaking down under the weight of their expectations which leave him no time to focus on his own needs and career. He can't say no because he loves them too much. This is definitely a familiar dilemma. I see this played out in a similar vein in my own family a great deal.

Where the book made a bit of a misstep in my eyes was with Amy. Her conflict was, when it all boiled down, exactly the same as Roper's. I didn't like that much. I know it's true that people often are great at managing everybody else's problems and can't handle their own, but Amy cleared her dilemma up with a single quick realization scene - a scene it took Roper weeks and a retreat to accomplish. I guess the issue that lost Hot Property the four star rating it would definitely otherwise have garnered is that Amy's turnaround was too fast and too easy. Deep-seated emotional issues don't get solved by public declarations of love. Period.

That aside, I really enjoyed the story and the characters. It was a good read, and definitely not one that I regret. Hot Property is the fourth book in Carly Phillips Hot Zone series. I haven't read the previous ones, but I'm certainly interested now!

Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor - Stephanie Barron

**** - Mix Jane Austen, society scandals, and a cozy murder mystery and what do you get? A very happy Hoyden. Loved the premise and the atmosphere, and most of all the wonderful footnotes. I may be a Hoyden, but I'm a complete Bluestocking Hoyden. I have a deep abiding love for footnotes.

After rejecting an awkward marriage proposal, Jane Austen decides to visit the country estate of her good friend Isobel, the new Countess of Scargrave. Her visit, however, is marked by tragedy. The Earl himself falls prey to a suspicious illness, and soon a letter arrives accusing Isobel of both adultery and murder. Now it is up to Jane to investigate in order to protect her friend from scandal and possible execution.

The idea of Jane Austen as a sleuth was intriguing, but I have to admit I expected the mystery to take a back seat to an homage to Jane. That was definitely not the case. The mystery flows very organically. Jane's snooping was subject to the mores of the time, and it never felt like there were staged infodumps or handy coincidences that led to receiving key information. I was really impressed by how well the period detail and the mystery were intertwined. Plus, while Jane was witty and quite sarcastic at times, she was never overly cocky, and we had no 'elementary dear Watson' moments. The villain, once exposed, didn't even monologue! I think this was a very successful cozy mystery in its own right with an added bonus of a convincing evocation of Jane Austen as a main character.

I loved the conceit that some of Jane's lost journals and letters had recently been found and that these books represent the edited versions. The writing style certainly seemed reminiscent of Austen's especially by incorporating well-known phrases from her works. I thought the footnotes were really well-done. They included interesting and important snippets of historical manners and information that clarified some of the finer points of the story. Not only do I think this would be very helpful for those who are relatively unfamiliar with the period, they also are detailed enough to interest those with some familiarity. I never felt that a footnote stated something that was easily picked up from context or that they detracted from the story. A great job.

Stephanie Barron's website

Tuesday Thingers

Popular this month on LT: Do you look at this list? Do you get ideas on what to read from it?Have you read any of the books on the list right now? Feel free to link to any reviews you've done as well.Here's the list and my answer:

1. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
2. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
3. Nation by Terry Pratchett
4. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
5. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
6. American Wife: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld
7. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
8. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski
9. Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland
10. Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3) by Stephenie Meyer

I don't look much at this feature in LibraryThing. Generally "what everyone else is reading" doesn't really fit in with my reading tastes, so it doesn't much matter to me. As to this list?
I'd like to read Dewey and I'm considering Nation and The Graveyard Book but more in a musing way than in an 'I may purchase this' way.

I've heard atrocious things about Any Given Doomsday, and I'll probably be reading both Brisingr and Eclipse for snark-tastic purposes rather than for direct enjoyment (I really disliked the first book in both series). The others just don't sound particularly interesting to me. So in general, I suppose this list fared better than most Top Ten's, but not by much.

Whoever Fights Monsters - Robert Ressler & Tom Schachtman

*** - I thought this was an intriguing look into the work of one of the FBI's first profilers, and I certainly enjoyed this one more than I did Mind Hunter. But while this work was better organized and seemed more coherent, it tended to lack Ressler's personal experiences as a profiler. Interesting, but not compelling.

Robert Ressler was one of the first profilers in the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit. He was the one to coin the term 'serial killer', and his work interviewing mass murderers and serial killers has been seminal in learning more about how their minds work, and how to catch them.

Unlike Mind Hunter, the strength of this book really lies in the organization. Ressler deals with different aspects of killers' psyche, including childhood warning signs and even staging crimes. It's very interesting to see Ressler explain how he arrives at certain characteristics in his profiles. However, Ressler's account suffers from a distinct lack of the dramatic. While he describes several of the same cases as John Douglas, they are described less graphically and we never get a sense of Ressler's personal involvement or the stakes in an ongoing investigation. Including more of the cases he was actively profiling would have made the book more interesting.

Where Douglas came across as hogging the limelight, Ressler made it very clear that his was part of a team effort. He takes pains to give credit to local law enforcement, professional mental health professionals, and on occasion even a psychic. Personally, I found this approach more palatable. Like Douglas, Ressler has some very decided opinions on the death penalty, bureaucracy, and therapists. But in Ressler's case, it didn't bother me. This may have been because his views aligned more closely with my own, but I think it had more to do with his tone.

Ressler never lets us forget that these men are not likeable despite the rapport he has built with them. Even their friendliness is a form of manipulation and control. Nowhere is this more evident than in his discussions with Ed Kemper, the very serial killer Douglas professed to admire. In his account, Ressler describes the graphic (and smiling) threats of violence Kemper made, essentially to watch Ressler squirm. Even behind bars these killers are still dangerous both to those who study them, and on account of those who emulate them and focus on them as celebrities.

This was definitely interesting, but what I've really been looking for is a mix between this book and Mind Hunter - Ressler's less cocky tone with Douglas flair for dramatic narration. Anybody know of one?

Miss Lockharte's Letters - Barbara Metzger

*** - I fell in love at the end of the first paragraph when the main character huffs that the students at Miss Merrihew's Select Academy for Young Females of Distinction would be more aptly designated Young Females of Disease and Contagion. Unfortunately Rosellen doesn't keep her snarkiness up through the rest of the book, the hero annoyed me, and the plot was disjointed at best.

When Rosellen Lockharte comes down with a severe case of influenza, she is determined not to shuffle off this mortal coil without airing a multitude of grievances. With the last of her strength she sends letters to those who have done her wrong - including the arrogant Viscount Stanford, and Rosellen's beautiful but malicious cousin Clarice. Once Rosellen recovers, she learns that her letters have landed her in a world of trouble. Her employers are turning her out, suspicious accidents abound in her vicinity, and Stanford is convinced she's trying to entrap him into marriage. And how can a penniless penmanship teacher hope to set everything right?

In case you hadn't gathered from the above, there's a heckuva lot going on in this relatively short story. I didn't even mention a number of side plots (and possible side romances) that are tidily wrapped up in a bow at the end, but which weren't really resolved satisfactorily. It seemed that the author realized about halfway through that she wasn't going to have enough pages to explain everything in detail, so she just dropped all but one or two major plot points.

So, I liked Rosellen, particularly when she was being snarky or calling our hero an arrogant prig. The girl definitely had gumption, especially given her predilection for getting into all sorts of accidents. But I also think that a lot of her spirit was lost because of her circumstances. She ended up being continually recovering from some injury or other and was never actually in a position to do anything on her own. She was forced to rely almost completely on Viscount Stanford, and the few situations where she took matters into her own hands (the fire) were merely alluded to rather than shown.

As to Stanford, I think Rosellen had it completely right. He is an arrogant prig. He insists that she must be suffering from hysterics and/or paranoia despite ample evidence that she is not one to let difficult circumstances turn her head. He spends most of the time behaving in an irritating autocratic manner which he excuses when he finally proposes by telling her that she won't let him boss her around, so it's all ok... His Great Transformation once he realizes she's in danger for once is rather pitiful all things considered, so I never got around to a part where I actually liked him. He was the same annoying man, he just started spouting pretty words instead of commands for a change.

I just wasn't impressed. It wasn't terrible. I liked the dog a great deal. But on the whole nothing about it really stood out to me.

Interested in a sample?

Relatively Unrelated Side Note:
Dear Authors:
Please stop using "equally as", it's redundant. She was equally stubborn as he, or she was as stubborn as he. Please, please, PLEASE don't say she was equally as stubborn as he. Please?

School for Scandal: How To Kiss a Hero - Sandy Hingston

*** 1/2 - I absolutely love stories about unconventional schools. I'm not sure why. Maybe because actual school has always been rather mundane? So the premise of this one was too good to pass up. Particularly when this particular school teaches its young ladies FENCING!!

Nichola Hainesworth's mother is in complete despair. Nichola clumps, she rides astride, and she wants nothing more than to follow her five brothers to the Continent to fight Napoleon. None of these are qualities designed to make her a good match in the eyes of the ton. So Nichola is enrolled in Miss Treadwell's Academy for Young Ladies.

Little does Mrs. Hainesworth know that the academy is a project designed to teach young ladies to follow their hearts and their passions to make love matches and form true partnerships - not to land the most spectacular society catch. True to its mission, the academy hires roguish war hero Lord Brian Boru to teach awkward Nichola how to fence, with glorious results. Soon Nichola is the toast of the ton when she catches the eye of a duke's heir, but she's more interested in her wounded fencing teacher than in society's tulips.

Nichola is a wonderful strong character who is never afraid to say what she thinks. In making her fit for the ton, Mrs. Treadwell never tries to curb her freshness and originality. Instead, the academy teaches her not to be afraid of her height and to impart a measure of grace by teaching her to fence. The part where Lord Boru tells her to pretend flirtation is a fencing bout is so funny.

I also really liked that Nichola never deluded herself into thinking that Boru's wound doesn't matter. She acknowledges that it will make many things much more difficult and that it may very well curb her in doing so many of the athletic pursuits she both enjoys and excels at. But surprisingly (considering his injury), Boru is the only one who wholeheartedly pushes her to excel and not to go easy on him or anyone else. I loved the descriptions of fencing (although I wish she had had a bit more difficulty in that regard). I tried fencing for a while, but soon discovered that I don't have enough innate aggression to either enjoy it or be particularly good at it - pesky flight instinct. But I still love to watch good fencers in a bout, and I got the same sort of feeling from some of these scenes.

The scene in the river = yum.

On to the not-so-good:

* The love triangle was fun in that it was an actual triangle. I liked Anthony. I loved how much he admired Nichola and how attractive he made her feel. But his reasons for liking her in the end were a bit weird, and I thought Nichola forgave him much too easily at the end of things.

* The entire climax of the plot was dreadfully convoluted in general.

* I found the bits written in Scottish dialect distracting and cumbersome.

* I wanted to hear more from the other girls at the school - particularly Gwen and Bess. And no matter how unconventional the school in promoting love matches, I did think it was dreadfully out of time/character for Spoiler: (the Countess to actually facilitate a before-marriage affair between Nichola and Boru - effectively allowing her to be ruined for any society marriage. Just seems wrong)

This was a fun premise, and I liked that neither the hero nor the heroine were conventionally attractive - Nichola was too tall and clumsy at first and Boru had his wound. But as much as I liked the characters, the resolution of the plot just didn't work for me.

Tuesday Thingers

Today's question: LT Things- t-shirts, bags,cue cats- are you into the "stuff"? Do you use a cuecat to enter your books, or do you enter them manually? What do you think of the stuff?

I'm not really a stuff person. I would love to have a CueCat because I've always loved bar code scanners. I was so sad when I was working at the admissions office and they didn't let me be the one to scan batches of files. Sooo, yes, I'd like one, but I'm not in a hurry to get one since I'll be moving soon and don't want to add to piles of stuff.

As to the other stuff...I don't really do "stuff". I'll get concert t-shirts or the occasional author t-shirt, but I've got too much relatively useless stuff already. If there were a teddy bear or maybe a cat? in an LT-shirt, though... I can't resist the fuzzies...

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie

**** - This was a great book. Heartbreaking but funny, about strength and weakness. The story was an emotional journey about rejection and acceptance, identity and ambition. Everything you could want out of a YA novel.

Junior was born with a host of medical problems and suffers bullying from everyone except his own family and his best friend. And his family suffers from a host of problems ranging from poverty to alcoholism. When Junior is confronted with the lack of education and resources, he ends up going to school in a nearby 'white' public school. But the decision is far from easy - Junior faces racism from his new classmates and ostracism from those on the reservation.

Junior is such a strong character despite all that confronts him. His writing is witty yet emotional. His description of life on the reservation is heart-wrenching, but Junior never succumbs to despair. He keeps up a constant struggle for hope and the respect of his classmates and best friend. Yet the novel is never heavy-handed. The text is enlivened with Junior's cartoons, his descriptions of happy moments with his friends and his daily triumphs.

The voice of 14-year-old Junior is very authentic, and at times it was a bit much for me. Adolescent boys will be adolescent boys, but I've never found fart jokes particularly funny, and the casual insults so common among adolescent friends irritate me. Nonetheless, I have no doubt whatsoever that Junior's story will resonate with young adults (particularly the boys) and adults alike. A wonderful addition to young adult literature.

The Possibilities of Sainthood - Donna Freitas

**** - SO cute. I really enjoyed it, it's a cute love story in a very Meg Cabot-like tone to the heroine and an original clever concept. Despite the Catholic premise and setting, there's no in-your-face Christianity. In feel this is a lot like a young adult sort of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Great fun!

At 15, Antonia Lucia Labella wants two things more than anything else: to become the Catholic Church's first living saint and to finally get her first kiss. But of course, even the life of a prospective saint is full of trials. Although Antonia sends the Vatican a letter proposing a new patron saint (and offering to take on the job) every month, she's not making much headway. And as to her other goal, well, her overprotective Italian mother makes that whole kissing thing rather difficult - or she would if Antonia's crush even knew she existed...

I, like Antonia, have a fascination with saints, particularly patron saints. I love the stories, I love the reasons they're patron saints of various things. I love that there's a patron saint of mad dogs. I'm not Catholic, nor did I ever go to a Catholic school. But I did grow up in a predominantly Catholic area, so Antonia's world seemed fairly familiar - and hilarious. I loved Antonia's prayer petitions and her ideas for new saints. Most of all, I understood why the saints, and particularly becoming a saint, was so important to Antonia. The author did a fantastic job there of showing, not telling, and she trusts her audience enough to realize that she doesn't have to spell her characters' motivations out in detail.

The love story was a bit more predictable. There's the inevitable love triangle involving 1) a beautiful boy everyone is panting after for no discernible reason other than that he's pretty and an athlete and 2) the pining 'good friend' with a reputation as a heart-breaker. I was never really interested in Boy #1, but I also remember clearly myself at 15 lusting after boys I knew absolutely nothing about except that they looked dreamy when they smiled. So that didn't bother me too much. As to Boy #2, I was kind of ambivalent. On the one hand, I liked that he wasn't the (stereo)typical sweet, shy, overlooked guy. But on the other hand, it seemed like every time he looked at her, he was making her uncomfortable which doesn't exactly endear him to me.

But you know what, despite that, the book really worked for me. Antonia was a charming, engaging character, and best of all for me - she's a good kid. Sure, she occasionally gets in trouble, but unlike the ever-more-popular teen clique-lit, she has morals. Not in-your-face morals. Real kid morals. And I loved her relationship with her family. It's good to see a story about teenagers growing up without rejecting their families. I know mine means (and meant) far too much to me to truly identify with heroines/heroes who decide to go it alone.

There were definitely flaws with the book, but the cute hook really drew me in, and I fell in love with Antonia - she's just lovely.

Interested in other opinions?

Reviewer X

Writer's Block Reviews

Petticoat Rebellion - Joan Smith

*** 1/2 - This was a very sweet book, and I prefer my romances to be a bit spicier as a general rule, or at least a bit more involved. But to balance that out is the heroine - who is an art teacher and an artist in her own right. I love anything that has to do with artists, so this got bumped back up. The final verdict? This is more the sort of romance I liked during my teens. Still enjoyable, but not breath-taking.

Abigail Fairchild is a genteel young lady who works as an art teacher at Miss Slatkin's Academy for Young Ladies. When a few of those young ladies are invited to spend a week at Penfel Hall, Abbie is selected to go along as a chaperone. Abbie herself couldn't be more excited: with the frivolous earl out of the way, maybe she'll get a chance to see his famous da Vinci cartoons! But Abbie has her work cut out for her for the Lady Penfel is stirring up a little rebellion among her charges. After all, she claims, why should gentlemen have all the fun of flirtation? And to make matters worse, the very attractive Lord Penfel may not be as absent as Abbie was led to believe.

This is a very sweet romance. The love story rests mostly on witty banter with the occasional stolen kiss. Lord Penfel is immediately attracted to Abbie and uses her interest in his art collection to get her to flirt and spend time with him. Abbie herself is anxious to try her hand at copying the da Vinci cartoons and at portraiture, but she refuses to be hoodwinked into a flirtation with such a rogue. Like I said, it's all very sweet. There's not a lot of conflict (certainly not much between the lovers), and really the love story seems more of an afterthought.

In the foreground, instead, are investigations regarding a string of robberies, keeping the young ladies from the amorous attentions of circus performers, and solving a kidnapping. In 200 pages with all that, there's not all that much time for romance. Where the book really shines is in the portrayal of Abbie's love of art and in her reactions as an artist. The other characters are decidedly less fleshed out, and most are given only bit parts.

It's a fun read. Some of the flirtatious conversations definitely made me smile, and when I say the romance is sweet, I don't mean it as a euphemism for boring. The story is certainly no Jane Austen, but it's in many ways similar to the love stories included in many YA books as a side plot or in the Avon True Romances. This is exactly the sort of romance I loved to read as a teenager - relatively chaste, no throw-back punishing kisses, a bit of action, a bit of mystery.

So if you're looking for a simple story or for chaste romances, I recommend Joan Smith. I've enjoyed both this one and her Escapade. It's a fun read, but it's not one that I'd necessarily include on the keeper shelf.

Tuesday Thingers

Today's question: Work multiples. Do you own multiple copies of any books? Which ones? Why? Can you share your list?

Multiples! Why?

The Love Factor:

I was originally exposed to Tamora Pierce's Alanna series in German, so I have all of those books in German and in English. (Plus an omnibus version).

I also have copies of the Harry Potters in German and in English.

The Original Language Factor: (I wanted to read them in original)

The Little Prince

When Daylight Comes - Ellen Howard

Different Versions -I have audiobooks & the usual for

Melting Stones (first published in audio),

Labyrinth (the narrator annoyed me, so I dug up the paperback)

America: The (Audio)book (listening to Jon Stewart and co. was just awesome)

I have the special illustrated edition for The Da Vinci Code (and I'm tempted by the illustrated edition of Labyrinth, but I'm also beyond unwilling to pay what they want for it - DVC just cost me a credit on Paperbackswap).

Hardback/paperback or inadvertent - A few Ffordes, Willigs, Just So Stories and such.

To Bed a Beauty - Nicole Jordan

**** - I really didn't like the first book in Nicole Jordan's Courtship Wars series, as those of you who read my review of To Pleasure a Lady may recall. But I'd heard such good things about this author that I decided to give her another try. And it was definitely worth it.


Roslyn Loring suffered greatly through her parents' antagonistic marriage. While she yearns for marriage, she fears nothing more than a marriage of convenience. Only a love match will do, and Roslyn has long since discovered that men are far more likely to love their mistresses than their wives. So Roslyn enlists her courtesan friend Fanny and famed lover Andrew Moncrief, the Duke of Arden to assist her in capturing the heart of her future husband.

Drew doesn't believe in love. Anybody who has experienced the coldness of his mother cannot be surprised. Yet the more time Drew spends with Roslyn, the more he begins to question his stance against marriage. The passion that simmers between them is hotter than anything he's ever experienced, and he actually respects her and enjoys her company to boot... What's not to reconsider?

I was a little worried that we were going to have another 'seduced into submission' plotline, but nothing could be further from the truth. Neither Roslyn nor Drew find it easy to resist the passion between them, but Roslyn is aware from the beginning that the physical can be, and often is, completely separate from the love she so desperately needs. While the love scenes are amazing and steamy, some of the books loveliest moments come when Drew decides to woo Roslyn without seducing her and without touching her (much).

The personalities and overarching motivations are convincingly drawn (though in Roslyn's case a little sketchily if one hasn't read the first book). Both characters were flawed but strong, deeply honorable and did I mention the attraction practically jumped off the page? Yum. The side plot with Winifred was quite nice, although it was a little Christmas Carol-like. That part definitely required some suspension of disbelief, but I still liked it.

After To Bed a Beauty, I'm really excited to read Lily's story. I have a weakness for hoyden heroines (what? How did you guess?), and I've been looking forward to Heath's story as well. He seems like fun. I was also delighted to hear that there will be stories about Haviland, Eleanor, and Tess forthcoming, and that Fanny will get a secondary romance. Yay!

Interested in the others?

Book 1: To Pleasure a Lady
Book 2: To Bed a Beauty
Book 3: To Seduce a Bride

October Reading Roundup

Books Read: 15

Favorite Books of October:
Bewitching Season - Marissa Doyle
The Heretic's Daughter - Kathleen Kent

Themed Movies: My Favorite Horror Movies.


Author Encounters:

Shannon Greenland stopped by last month's roundup post to thank me for including Model Spy among September favorites. The others in the series are great, too. See the links in Books Read below!

Maya Rodale (The Heir and the Spare) stopped by to leave a comment on my post about mainstream reviews v. bloggers: On Why I Read My Blogroll


Books Read:

1. The Heretic's Daughter - Kathleen Kent
2. The Rosetta Key - William Dietrich
3. Escape from Botany Bay - Gerald and Loretta Hausman
4. Leonardo's Shadow - Christopher Grey
5. Geek High - Piper Banks
6. The Specialists: Down to the Wire - Shannon Greenland
7. The Other - Thomas Tryon
8. Help the Poor Strugglers - Martha Grimes
9. Temptations - Elizabeth Bernard
10. Spirit - J.P. Hightman
11. Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye - Victoria Laurie
12. Untouchable - Kate Brian
13. A Girl's Guide to Vampires - Katie MacAlister
14. Bewitching Season - Marissa Doyle
15. The Specialists: The Winning Element - Shannon Greenland

Confessions - Kate Brian

*** - Finally! Some resolution of the plotlines that have kept me glued to these books despite the fact that I disliked them. I thought the resolution was unexpected and interesting. I'm a little concerned that the series will completely lose momentum given the situation with the Billings Girls, though.

Reed Brennan's stint at posh Easton Academy just keeps on getting worse. Her ex-boyfriend was murdered, and at the end of Untouchable, her new boyfriend was arrested for the crime. Can we say awkward?

Despite the conviction of the Billings Girls in general, Reed can't believe that Josh was responsible. With the help of Dash McCafferty (who would have thought he'd turn out to be useful?), Reed begins her own investigation to confirm Josh's alibi and discovers an ill-advised affair, more of the Billings Girls' dark secrets, and maybe even the reason they're so eager to shove the blame onto one of their former friends.

So Kate Brian finally resolved the plotline that had me rushing through these books, and it was a doozy of a resolution, too. Parts of it I had already figured out, but there were definitely unexpected twists and turns as well. The very end seemed a bit overly dramatic (we had the villain monologuing... monologuing is never a great idea), but given how drawn out the build-up has been, I wanted a big bang of a conclusion. I got it.

Here the Billings Girls seem more and more self-centered and on the road to destruction, and in her grief, Reed gets some real backbone and even stands up to Miss Queen Bee herself. She also shows that she's matured by showing real compassion for the dean's secretary. And I'm always happier when scholarship students who have to keep their grades up in order to stay in the ridiculously prestigious prep schools actually do some studying. But my real point was, this is the first installment in the Private series that made me like Reed.

Considering that this wrapped up all of the mystery plot threads that had me turning pages, I'm a little concerned that the rest of the books will lose momentum. But I'm willing to try another.

Interested in the others?

Book 1: Private

Book 2: Invitation Only

Book 3: Untouchable