Wicked All Day by Liz Carlyle

FOUR STARS

I have not read any historical romance from Liz Carlyle before, only her contribution to Big Guns Out of Uniform (a modern romance anthology) which admittedly was well written. So I thought I'd give this book a whirl. It's set in London and Sussex (England).

Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author Liz Carlyle continues her enthralling historical series with the story of an impetuous, illegitimate beauty and the forbidding nobleman who protects her -- while fighting an obsession to possess her....

Miss Zoë Armstrong is beautiful, charming, rich -- and utterly unmarriageable. So, while she may be the ton's most sparkling diamond, her choice of husbands looks more like a list of London's most unsavory fortune hunters. Since a true-love marriage seems impossible, Zoë has accepted -- no, embraced -- her role as society's most incomparable flirt and mischiefmaker...until in one reckless, vulnerable moment, her future is shattered.

Stuart Rowland, the brooding Marquess of Mercer, has been part of Zoë's extended family since she was a child. As dark and cynical as Zoë is lively, Mercer has always known they would be the worst possible match...until his scapegrace brother Robert does the unthinkable, and winds up betrothed to Zoë. Now, secluded on Mercer's vast estate to escape a looming scandal and the ton's prying eyes, Zoë and Mercer may find that a dark obsession has become a tempestuous passion that can no longer be denied....

My review:

I thought all the characters were well drawn - which I suppose is only to be expected when the author has previously written whole novels for these characters (e.g. A Woman Scorned featured Mercer's mother's romance, and My False Heart featured Zoe's father's!).

I was a little upset by this author's interpretation of a Scottish accent - I am typing from Glasgow, so I think I have the credentials to comment.

Overall, the author's ability to sweep her readers up in her world has not altered from that small novella she wrote all those years ago. I enjoyed reading this book, and indeed was compelled to read through until 5AM.

I guess the thing that I missed most (on my "wish a book had included this" hit list) was more scenes from the character's teen years - we saw one scene at the very beginning of the book, when Zoe was around five years old, and were told in character's speech about various escapades, in a sentence or so's length, but I think the connection and history of the characters could have deepened. Their relationship would have been more fascinating still for it.

Liz Carlyle's characters seem to grow as the novel progresses and their journeys are plausible and interesting. Their romance was worth reading about, but it wasn't legendary. Very few books I have every read have achieved the latter though. Well done Ms Carlyle, fabulous book!

I am planning on reading The Devil You Know, or My False Heart, next, as these are the novels I was most intrigued by from the synopses on Ms Carlyle's website:

http://www.lizcarlyle.com/

Snow Leopard episode

Last night I gamely decided to update my sixth month old laptop to Snow Leopard (from Leopard). The first part was easy; the computer took about 50 minutes to go through the loading process, and when it was done nearly everything, and every setting, I'd started with remained. Simple right? Wrong!

My computer was noisy (like a hoover) and overheating regularly, all yesterday and today. So, living in a city for my studies, I toddled off to the apple store. Apparently my anti-virus software (Sophus) which worked fine on Leopard was not speced for Snow Leopard. It was trying to run and falling, using 100% CPU [or something!] and so deleting it from the My Computer Library solved the problem.

A lengthy tale.

If you have noise (or speed) problems following an up

date to Snow Leopard check to see if you are running any software which cannot work in the new operating system correctly. This may solve your problems.

As a further note to any techs out there, now I have upgraded, even by downloading DIVX for Mac I cannot view embedded divx videos in Safari, only in firefox - what should I do to correct the issue? :-)

Sinful Surrender by Beverly Kendall

THREE STARS

A new book by a brand new author! Historical Romance, set in England (19th Century).

Goodreads:

Millicent “Missy” Armstrong is entering her fourth London Season, but not for lack of suitors. Since her debut three years ago, Missy has received twenty marriage proposals. But she is interested in only one man—her brother’s best friend, James Rutherford. As a child, Missy looked up to James. As a grown up, her admiration has blossomed into the longings of a beautiful, sensuous woman—and she won’t rest until James admits his love—and desire—for her…

James Rutherford rues the day he let his physical weaknesses get the better of him by kissing Missy. His best friend has made it clear that Missy is off limits, and though he’s avoided her for three years, he hasn’t forgotten the feel of her soft lips pressed against his—and it seems neither has she. For no matter how much James tries to discourage Missy, he keeps winding up in her arms, sharing heated caresses that promise the most delirious pleasure...

My Review:

The supposed allure of this book is that Missy has been in love with James for as long as she can remember, and yet we hear almost nothing of the characters' pasts. It was... anticlimactic at worst. The lust-y scenes were written with a strong hand, but the characters' themselves lacked definition. Another disappointment I'm afraid, one which went on for nearly 400 pages. It was written well enough but I am not certain I will revisit this author's work, despite the fact that this book clearly sets up the reader for MANY sequels. The ideas behind the characters were attractive; the idea behind the romance in this book was attractive; the book itself was lacking. Somewhere between the creation of this world, the writing of it, it seems that certain wonderful details and images were lost.

If you need a book "to get you through" then this is a fine read.

http://www.beverleykendall.com/

Radio 1's Live Lounge: Volume 4

Love these sessions! My favourites off of the new release (Vol 4) are Paoloma Faith's cover of 'Sexy Chick', Florence and the Machine's cover of 'Halo', Kelly Clarkson's 'Since U Been Gone', and Gossips' 'Heavy Cross'. Fantastic stuff! Makes one realize the problem with overproduction in the music industry. A strong voice and simple backing do it every time.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Radio-1s-Live-Lounge-4/dp/B002Q6YF52

Sins of a Wicked Duke by Sophie Jordan

FOUR STARS

Goodreads:

"She works to live . . .

One would think the last place a beauty like Fallon O'Rourke could keep her virtue was in the Mayfair mansion of London's most licentious duke, the notorious Dominic Hale. Yet Fallon—who's endured nothing but lecherous advances since her father's tragic death—is perfectly safe there . . . disguised as a footman! Beneath the notice of the dark-haired devil with his smoldering blue eyes and sinful smile, Fallon never imagines her secret will be discovered. But how long can her deception last when she begins to wish she is one of the many women traipsing in and out of the sinful rogue's bedchamber?

He lives to sin . . .

Most men envy the duke, never suspecting his pleasure-loving ways are a desperate attempt to escape, however briefly, the pain of a past that's left him with a heart of stone. Only one woman can break down his defenses. Only one woman can win his love . . . if she reveals her secret and succumbs to the sins of the wicked duke."

My review:

I was a little disgruntled by the rude nature of one particular early scene in the book [carriage scene!], but I stuck with the novel and I'm glad that I did. The main character Fallon had a wonderful, strong, faithful voice. The novel gave you a rounded image of Fallon as a individual, without delving into long drawn out visions of her past life. I loved Dominic's tattoo - ooh. : ) I have to say I was completely swept along in the errr, later scenes, which were very well written. All in all, I would read another Sophie Jordan book if it was put in front of me. The comic nature of many events in the book reminded me faintly of Lynsay Sands' historical romances, which are actually outrageously funny (your in tears in the eyes country with her books!). What I think prevented this book from reaching the next level of 'great' was the lack of investigation into Fallon's own thoughts - while there was enough reflection, scenes simply moved too quickly to do any of them justice. Work on your narration Ms Jordan and you might just get added to my 'must read' list.

p.s. The reasoning why an abused childhood would make Dominic unfeeling, or how he came to see himself as incapable of love, were just never explained satisfactorily. Editors, how did this escape your notice?

Anyhow, I plan to check out the same author's Moon Chaser's series (paranormal romance with werewolves) written under the pseudonym Sharie Kohler.

http://sophiejordan.net/

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year everyone!

May 2010 be wonderful and bright! :D

Avatar

Okay so we went about a week ago now. The 3D stuff was okay, and it did elevate the film. LOVE Michelle Rodriguez but then she always picks the best roles (SWAT, Girlfight etc); punky, sassy, complicated and reasoning. Our friend who'd visited that afternoon called the plot "pocahontas in space" which is I think, right on the mark. Incredible scenes, good script, brilliant imagery. My only complaint is that you were only shown a small part of Pandora, the planet where the story was set, when clearly James Cameron had devised a whole world (30 second shots of the "plains" and "coast" were flashed upon in the movie). The cast was great, the graphics really good, definitely worth a cinema ticket!

The relationship between the two main characters progressed at a believable pace (something not always the case in male productions!) and both leads were strong. Somehow after around 30 seconds this whole new world, the switching between Avatars and humans, was no longer odd. The Avatars and native 'humanoids' had as much presence on screen as the ordinary 'familiar' characters.

The message of love behind this movie (of universal peace and acceptance), make the end battle a tragedy as much as a victory for our characters, and yet somehow we left the cinema feeling buoyant and happy. An incredible feat.

I'd be up for a sequel, anyhow. Anyone else? :-)

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/avatar/