The plot of In Search of a Prince is a twist on the classic story of Cinderella. In this case, a young woman discovers she is heiress to a royal throne in a faraway country, travels there to explore her options, and falls in love. The country is a West African island nation, and In…
The Cinderella Countess is the story of Annabelle Smith, a gifted healer and herbalist and Lytton Staines, the Earl of Thornton. I have a soft spot for Cinderella stories. When I read of Annabelle Smith’s piercing violet blue green golden eyes, I knew she was of aristocratic blood, even though she is ignorant of her…
Miss Bradshaw’s Bought Betrothal offers a fresh take on the classic Cinderella fairy tale. By giving the heroine a fuller backstory, providing her with the means to secure her own happiness with or without a prince, and allowing her to subvert the influence of her evil stepmother (and stepsisters), Ms. Heath twists the traditional version…
Nell Whitby works in an East End cigar factory and lives with her invalid mother in a tiny hovel in Bethnal Green. It’s a tough life and a hand-to-mouth existence; and making things worse, her abusive step-brother is drinking away the money that could pay for her mother’s medicine and keeps suggesting that Nell starts…
When you are constantly reading books for review, it is sometimes hard to continuously hope for good writing in each novel. Then you finally see it again and you say to yourself, “There you are! I have missed you!” That is what makes this job worthwhile. Sophie Jordan’s How to Lose a Bride in One…
Bette Davis said that “There comes a time in every woman’s life when the only thing that helps is a glass of Champagne.” I should have taken that to heart while reading this novel. While the subject matter was lovely and romantic, the story was sadly slow and pedantic. A good glass of bubbly might…
Though I’m not usually a huge reader of Chick Lit, I did enjoy Donna Kauffman’s last book, The Big Bad Wolf Tells All. I was thrilled when I learned that her newest was set in Washington D.C., familiar stomping grounds for me. The Cinderella Rules tells the story of a lady from rural Montana who…
The Damsel is the second book in the Bride Quest series, which follows the adventures of three brothers who each must search for and win brides. I have not read The Princess, the first book in the trilogy, but The Damsel stands clearly on its own and I had no problem following what most likely…
It took me two days to finish this little 229 page book because I wanted to savor every page, every paragraph, every word! If I were the Emperor of Japan, I would declare Carla Kelly a Living National Treasure. If I were the Queen, I would make her a Duchess. Since I am only a…
Since Mary Balogh is no longer going to write traditional regency novels, Carla Kelly is now the regency author whose books I am going to prowl the stores for. Whenever I hear anyone sat that romance novels are nothing but tripe, I feel like giving them a copy of With This Ring and saying, “Read…