lightning reviews

The Pleasure Trap by Elizabeth Thornton

I've been a fan of Elizabeth for quite a few years now, but was somewhat leery to read this after I was disappointed with the Bachelor Trap. No cause for concern, the Pleasure Trap was good and a B+. An enjoyable cast of characters, and the hero and heroine don't want to want each other, but they do. Those are always fun. Throw in a murderer and a girl who escaped from Bedlam, and this novel is a perfect example of historical romantic suspense.

The Object of Love by Sharon Cullars

I saw some good reviews of this novel around the blogosphere, so I bought it. I bought not knowing there were damn ghosts in it! It was like cold water doused me when I found that out. But I'm stubborn and kept reading, and I'm glad I did. I'm not a fan of older woman-younger man plots, but I was intrigued and pleased by the Object of Love and will definitely be checking out Sharon Cullars other works. A B+.

Madame's Deception by Renee Bernard

This novel is pure fluff, but still enjoyable. At 17, boarding school-raised Jocelyn Tolliver overhears the head mistress discussing her dying mother. Jocelyn races off to London to be with her mother and surprise surprise, finds out her mother is the famous owner/madam of the Belle Crimson, one of London's top brothels. What I liked at this point was right after her mother's death, the book skips to 9 years later. Why do I like that? Because it skips over all the awkward stuff that Jocelyn must have went through, raised to be a proper woman and somewhat forced into becoming a madam. What a relief to skip that part of the story. LOL So what happens is Alex Randall, this really strait-laced scandal-avoiding lord sees Jocelyn in a previous book (which I'm going to hunt down and read) and can't get her out of his mind. He approaches her, asking for her to become his mistress and because she is drawn to him, she agrees. He's surprised to find out she's a virgin, since she's a madam, but their affair progresses and they eventually fall in love. And this psycho is killing prostitutes-the identity of the psycho was a surprise as well. I'm giving this one a B- because it was enjoyable, but the characters were kind of shallow, i.e. we didn't get in-depth with them. But that's ok, I only picked this one up because of the cover, it's so pretty!

The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner

Written from firt person point of view, Privilege is a coming of age story of Lady Katherine, the 15 year old niece of the Mad Duke Tremontaine. Tremontaine, who delights in really pissing off certain members of the ton (namely by screwing with their poltical aspirations), has Lady Katherine trained as a swordswoman. To the pleasure of none. Lady Katherine had hopes that her uncle would allow her a season, with dresses and balls and everything. But nope. She's to learn to fight and then fight for real.

I really enjoyed this novel because of the Lady Katherine's personality and identity. Throughout the novel, Lady Katherine is reading novels of famous swordsmen, and their heroic deeds. I found it very interesting when she takes on a male persona from one of the novels when corresponding with one of her few friends, who was raped by her fiancee. Believe me, this is no fluffy read. But if you're looking for something different, definitely try out the Privilege of the Sword. A.

She's No Princessby Laura Lee Guhrke

Despite a slow beginning (it took me a few days to read 3 chapters), SnP really picks up. Lucia is the daughter of a prince and a well-known courtesan. After a scandal involving her legitimate younger sister, Lucia's father tries to lock her away in a convent. Well Lucia is having none of that and runs off to live with her courtesan mother in England. That's where British diplomat, Sir Ian Moore, is asked to intercede and marry Lucia off within 6 weeks, to coincide with her father's visit to England.

I really enjoyed this one. Ian and Lucia are both trying to get what they want and Lucia really tries to lighten Ian up. The chemistry between these two is great and Lucia is no shy miss, which we know is a trait I like in my heroines, especially the historical ones. This was my first LLG and I'm definitely going to be reading more of her! A B.