Silly titles III - Eleven Scandals, blah, blah, blah...

OK, we all know how I feel about cutesy titles for romance novels, I'm not in favor of them. I've already taken Avon to task for this, so I won't go over the old territory. My feelings toward the titles notwithstanding, the third book in Maclean's trilogy exhibits many of the same strengths as the earlier two.

Eleven Scandals features the trials and tribulations of Juliana Fiori. Juliana is the younger half sister of Gabriel and Nicolas St. John, who were featured in the first two books of the Love By Numbers series. The beginning of Eleven Scandals finds Juliana deeply attracted to Simon Pearson, Duke of Leighton, also lovingly known as the 'Duke of Disdain' due to his fondness for proper behavior and his rigid adherence to social rules and guidelines. Anyone who has ever read a romance novels understands immediately where this is going, fiery Juliana will shake up rigid Simon's world and love and passion will be the result.  Still, even though the premise is predictable, Maclean writes with such an enormous amount of charm and humor, and her characters are so well drawn and interesting that we are willing and happy to be along for the ride.

Let me just say that Juliana is not my favorite kind of heroine. I appreciated her humor and her passionate nature, but heroines who go about falling into scandalous situations while bemoaning the fact that society will never accept them tend to wear on me. It is to Maclean's credit that she kept Juliana complex enough to engage, even as I rolled my eyes at her antics. Maclean does a fine job of exploring both Simon and Juliana's background and this allows the reader to understand and empathize with both of these often maddening characters. Simon is so uptight because he has been raised and groomed to be a Duke from a very early age. Propriety is all he knows. Thanks to his younger sister Georgiana, he is also facing a potential scandal that could spoil their family name and reputation. As a preemptive measure, he has decided to marry the most prim and proper woman he can find and that means that Juliana is out of the running. It is somewhat surprising to me that Simon seemed to alienate a lot of readers. I liked him. He appears to be doing what Dukes do and his attempts to preserve his family name and social standing seem entirely appropriate for the time period. Sure, he is a bit of a prig and his confusion concerning his attraction to Juliana causes him to behave badly at times, but I really felt more empathy for him than for Juliana. It is a credit to Maclean's great strength as a writer that I ended up understanding and liking both of these characters. In the end, their mad chemistry and the wildly romantic, if completely implausible, denouement made this book an enjoyable read.

Maclean is certainly a bright spot in the somewhat dismal world of historical romance these days.  Her skill as a writer, her humor and her charm all remind me very much of the best work of Julia Quinn or Sabrina Jeffries.  I have enjoyed all three titles in this series and I and very excited to see where Maclean takes us next.

Silly titles II - Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord!

Avon authors seem to have a thing for silly titles lately and as I stated in my review of Sarah MacLean's previous book, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, I wish they would get over it.  Having very much enjoyed MacLean's Nine Rules however, I had no intention of being put off by this equally silly title. I found Nine Rules both charming and entertaining and I had high hopes for the second in this trilogy. As it turns out this one is pretty good as well.

Our story begins when Nicholas St. John, the twin brother of Gabriel from Nine Rules, is named one of London's Lords to Land by a ladies magazine. A silly premise I agree, but it does provide Nicholas with a reason to run off into the countryside to avoid all of the match making mamas of the ton, who are in such hot pursuit. While helping a friend investigate a missing relative, Nicholas meets Lady Isabel Townsend, who has some serious issues of her own to deal with.  Isabel is trying to hold together a house that is falling down around her, while caring for her younger brother and a ragtag house full of women to whom she has offered sanctuary. Nicholas and Isabel meet and  of course, sparks fly.  He is determined to have her, one way or another, she is equally determined to avoid him and to maintain the distance needed to protect all who are in her care. Initially, I was terribly interested in the idea of Minerva House as a sanctuary for women who had no where else to turn. Of course, historically this isn't terribly plausible, but I thought it provided a more serious underpinning to what felt like a lighthearted rom com type of book. In some ways I think it worked well, but as Isabel constantly used her role as caretaker to deflect Nicholas's attentions and deny her own feelings, it began to wear on me a bit.  There were times while reading when I found myself wondering why Nicholas was hanging around and that isn't usually a good sign for a romance novel. I do think that MacLean made it work in the end, but I can't say that I enjoyed this book nearly as much as Nine Rules.

In her defense, MacLean's funny, breezy tone, which seemed so very fresh in her previous book, is also on display in this one. The dialogue is witty, the characters sympathetic and the love scenes are hot, so obviously MacLean's style is consistent. I would say the difference for me as a reader, involved the fact that Nicholas and Isabel just did not engage me as much as the main characters in Nine Rules. I found myself impatient with them both at different times throughout the book. That said, I still enjoyed the book overall. It is a quick read and well worth the time.  If you loved MacLean's Nine Rules, you are probably going to love this one as well. I will look forward to the third book in the trilogy, even though I cannot help dreading the title.

   

Silly title, great book!

I  almost missed out on a really solid historical romance because of my aversion to silly titles.  They don't get much sillier than Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake!  It'a mouthful of silliness and while this book was getting amazing buzz, I was determined to avoid it.  Big mistake.  In a fit of boredom when I couldn't find anything engaging to read, I picked up a copy of NRtBWRaR (see, even the acronym doesn't roll of the tongue easily), and I am so happy that I took the chance.  Sarah Maclean is a very talented writer.  She has a wonderful way with a phrase and a nice light, humorous touch that puts one in mind of the best of Julia Quinn.

The story is pretty simple and certainly one that we have read before; plain spinsterish Calpurnia Hartwell decides that she is tired of being the good girl and so she sets out to make some changes in her life.  Just as she decides to pursue some sinful pleasures and shake up her goody two-shoes image, the man she lusts after, famous rake Gabriel St. John- Marquess of Ralston,  decides he needs her respectability to provide an entrance into society for his unconventional sister.  Spinster meets rake.  Been there, done that, a million times over.  Maclean's writing is what lifts this one above the crowd.  Calpurnia and Gabriel are interesting characters, although a reader definitely gets a better sense of her side of the story, at least early on.  There is real chemistry between these two and I had no trouble pulling for them as they began to fall for each other.  The dialogue is witty and neither of the main characters moves into TSTL territory, although some of Calpurnia's adventures leave one questioning her good sense.  Even though I liked the characters and the storyline in Nine Rules, the book wasn't perfect.  The book offers little for readers that have any real interest in the historical aspect of a historical romance.  There is nothing glaringly incorrect in her portrayal of the period, but she doesn't provide much in the way of period detail either.  For all of us angst lovers, this one falls short.  There isn't much real angst and what little there is turns out to be easily overcome.  The book is also terribly predictable.  You know exactly where this story is headed and anyone who has read much in the way of HR can probably predict most of the twists and turns that the author attempts to throw in.  That said, Nine Rules is so much fun that I was more than willing to overlook the few negatives.

This book was like candy to me.  Once in a while I want something that is light and sweet and yummy and Nine Rules certainly satisfied that craving.  I look forward to the next two books in the trilogy, silly titles and all.