This was as much a history lesson as a historical romance. And the romance is ...well... very hot and cold and rapey. He just rips off her gown on mulThis was as much a history lesson as a historical romance. And the romance is ...well... very hot and cold and rapey. He just rips off her gown on multiple occasions and takes her as was the custom when this was written. Still its not terrible. I learned a lot about the American Indian civil war, maybe more than I wanted and the Audible version has George. Guidall narrating so that was good.
Merged review:
This was as much a history lesson as a historical romance. And the romance is ...well... very hot and cold and rapey. He just rips off her gown on multiple occasions and takes her as was the custom when this was written. Still its not terrible. I learned a lot about the American Indian civil war, maybe more than I wanted and the Audible version has George. Guidall narrating so that was good....more
This is the first book from Monica McCarty hugely popular Highland Guard series, which loosely uses actual historical figures and events to set up theThis is the first book from Monica McCarty hugely popular Highland Guard series, which loosely uses actual historical figures and events to set up the premise of a group of elite warriors who embark on a secret mission to help free Scotland from English rule.
Leading this assembly of hunky highland men is the ultimate Scottish swordsman and warlord Tormod MacLeod. Tor is Chief of his people, taking the throne at the age of ten after his parents were murdered. Fiercely independent, he is a fair but aggressive leader, dedicated to his clan and answering to no one.
When Robert The Bruce handpicks him to train and lead a group of the 10 deadliest warriors the islands have ever seen he initially refuses, having no intention of being drawn into Scotland’s war against the English. After the lovely Christina is negotiated into the deal he suddenly finds himself with not only a luscious new bride but a disorganized and lethal fighting force at his disposal. She of course tries to tame him while his men try to kill each other.
I loved the fact that this story took actual historical figures and used them within the story. “Loosely based” is how the author describes it, which kind of made me laugh because this is such a “romance” in the true sense of the word and I’m sure the real 14th century Robert The Bruce or William Wallace were hardly sporting six packs and waxing poetic as they fell for their lassies (although Braveheart would have us believe otherwise.)
I don’t want to sound negative because I did enjoy the hell out of this once I got with the program but because so many of the reviews placed emphasis on the historical accuracy I went in expecting something with a bit more meat to it, so that while I appreciated the effort ultimately this was just another sexy highlander romance.
Still it’s a good one, The Chief is well written with an exciting plot, a spunky heroine to soften our alpha hero’s brutal shell and seriously smoking hot love scenes. We are also introduced to numerous other kilted hunks so that I just have to continue on with the series. Cheers....more
Opening Line: “The first time I saw her again, I felt as if I’d been hit.”
I absolutely loved this book, another winner from JoJo Moyes who bases this Opening Line: “The first time I saw her again, I felt as if I’d been hit.”
I absolutely loved this book, another winner from JoJo Moyes who bases this moving story on real events (and her own grandmother) Taking the reader back to 1946 in the aftermath of the Second World War as thousands of young war brides are transported from Australia to England to meet up with their GI husbands who they’d married during the conflict. For many woman it was a time of huge uncertainty, leaving their families and everything they’d ever known behind and preying they didn’t receive the dreaded “Not wanted, don’t come telegram” once aboard.
Ship Of Brides follows four of these woman (out of the 650 on board) all from very different backgrounds and covers their experience from a boarding house in Sydney throughout their 6 week journey at sea aboard an aircraft carrier (which also still carries over a thousand naval officers so rules of honor, duty and separation must be enforced.
The story begins in India in 2002 (which initially threw me a bit) as an elderly grandmother on vacation stumbles across the broken hull of a once great British warship, now in the process of being dismantled for scrap on an oily, debris littered beach. She has come upon a ship graveyard and can just make out the name on one of the rusted hulls “Victoria” and at once is overwhelmed by memories…
I was surprised by how involved I got in this story but Moyes not only takes the reader back to 1946 but manages to keep a huge element of suspense going throughout the journey (Frances, a former nurse is kept frustratingly mysterious until the very last pages – and I kinda loved her.) We also enter the POV of the injured and grieving Captain, a Marine who has received a Dear John letter, a woman widowed before she reaches her destination, another who discovers her husband is already married and follow stowaway dogs, boiler room brawls, disastrous fires, miscarriages, lovely leg contests, ashore days in India and Gibraltar, excitement, fear, heartache and joy.
Because this has been based on an actual sailing taken by the HMS Victorious, Moyes was able to include extracts from journals, newspaper clippings, and diary entries from the actual men and women aboard which added an element of real emotion to the voyage.
The writing is fantastic and by the end I felt like I really knew these women and wondered how their lives had turned out, in fact I didn’t want to let them go.
Opening line: “So this is how a marriage ends, thought Julia Hamill as she rammed the shovel into the soil.”
This was a very good read although not quiOpening line: “So this is how a marriage ends, thought Julia Hamill as she rammed the shovel into the soil.”
This was a very good read although not quite what I was expecting. The Bone Garden is two stories woven into one; starting with Julie Hamill in present day who has just purchased a new (old) house in Boston following her divorce. While attempting to dig a garden she makes a horrifying discovery –a human skull. According to medical examiner Maura Isles (who only has a cameo in this book) the skull is very old, belongs to a woman and has the unmistakable marks of murder. This information sends Julia on a quest to find the story behind her death and sends the reader back to the 1830’s and the hunt for the West End Reaper.
Back in 1830 we follow Rose Connelly, a poor Irish immigrant trying to care for her newly orphaned niece and Norris Marshal, a struggling medical student. Their paths intersect at a teaching hospital as Rose’s sister lies dying from childbed fever and then again later when Rose witnesses a murder and Norris unwittingly becomes the chief suspect after he stumbles across the latest victim. Together they join forces to solve the murders and protect the baby which seems to be at the heart of the mystery.
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book, setting things up in both timelines and Gerritsen plays with the reader by ending each section on a bit of a cliff-hanger, forcing you to keep turning the pages. There are many well developed secondary characters in both time lines including a resurrectionist (grave robber) who digs up corpses from graveyards for sale on the black market (worth 25$ and totally gruesome)Speaking of which, Gerritsen goes into graphic 1830’s medical detail here, I mean I learned everything I didn’t want to know about childbed fever and how to amputate an arm. And you will be shaking your head (and shuddering) as the simple concept of washing your hands didn’t exist. Imagine the consequences of handling diseased corpses and then going from bed to bed checking pregnant woman!
In modern Boston Julia teams up with Henry, an ornery 89yr old with a cellar full of wine and boxes of documents and personal letters belonging to the previous owner of her house and dating back to the time of the murders. -Henry was one of my favourite characters in the book. We also see the spark of a romance beginning with her cute dog walking neighbor.
As the book progressed we spent more and more time in 1830 until those sections took over completely. I actually would have preferred a more balanced split between the two as modern day Julia was left a little vague and honestly I was ready for the olden day mystery to wrap up long before it did. The attention to the detail of that time is astonishing, especially the medical stuff and the brutality of living in a Boston slum.
Gerritsen‘s writing is always topnotch, with persistent suspense, a touch of romance, well developed characters, attention to detail and as usual she puts her medical training to chilling good use. Cheers. 396jb4...more
Opening Line: “I sometimes think to myself that I’m the last of my kind.”
Well I’ve gotta give this 5 stars because Nicholas Sparks did it to me again Opening Line: “I sometimes think to myself that I’m the last of my kind.”
Well I’ve gotta give this 5 stars because Nicholas Sparks did it to me again with another unforgettable romance. I just can’t help myself when it comes to his stuff. By now I’ve also come to terms with the fact that I’m not going to be guaranteed a HEA, which may actually be part of the attraction, it sure adds to the suspense factor as I never know who he’s going to kill off and I’ve thrown more than one of his books across the room in disgust but, yeah I keep coming back for more.
The Longest Ride was different than the last couple in that there’s no mystery or unscrupulous bad guys here. No big suspense factor or real tragedy. It is still a fantastic story though, the romance is just beautiful –soft and slow burning between our modern couple and sweet and sad via the Notebook-esque flashbacks from our older couple, who manage to give us a complete picture of their long life together –I just loved them. I also enjoyed the bull riding aspect, with its descriptions of the PBR and Luke’s battle with his nemesis “Big Ugly Critter”. The accounts of a hard working ranch life are also well done. Sophia was a little harder for me to relate to; a New Jersey college girl and her sorority sister issues. A great pairing of opposites.
Despite the lack of an antagonist the ending still managed to be pretty exciting, keeping me up late to see the outcome and wondering once again if Sparks was going to kill off another hero. I will say that this one is a little twisty, a little sneaky and (view spoiler)[ we do very much get our HEA so I didn’t have to throw anything or cry. (hide spoiler)]
Alternating with 3 different POV’s we begin with 91 year old Ira Levinson crashing his car over an embankment during a snow storm. Ira is alone in the world and no one is going to be looking for him for a very long time. In poor health to begin with he is now suffering from multiple injuries, unable to move and barely conscious, somehow his beloved wife Ruth appears in the passenger seat beside him. She’s been gone for 9 years now so couldn’t possibly be here yet she forces him to hang on, her clothes and appearance changing with the times as she urges him to recount the stories of their life together. Their early courtship, the dark days of WWll when he served as a pilot, their eventual marriage and their discovery of art which begins a lifelong hobby of collecting paintings from as then unknown artists. It is a life well lived.
We also meet Sophia Danko, a college senior in the midst of being pressured to join her roommate for a weekend at the local rodeo. Sophia is recovering from a recent breakup after her boyfriend of 2 years cheated on her and realizes her friend might be right, she needs a night out. She meets former PBR champion Luke Collins at the bull riding event, when he comes to her rescue in all his yummy cowboy goodness. Luke bears no resemblance to the silly college boys she’s used to and despite their differences the two start dating and fall in love. We follow them through the early stages of their budding relationship as they try not to think too hard about what the future holds as their worlds are so far removed. Luke is trying to keep the bank from taking his flailing ranch all while attempting a comeback after a horrific bullriding injury sidelined his dreams. His days are long and filled with guilt and fear.
Alternating characters throughout we see Ira and Ruth’s life lived while waiting and hoping for Ira to be rescued, growing weaker as the days pass. We witness young love and difficult decisions as Luke keeps a weighty secret and pushes himself to the limits. In the end Sophia and Luke’s lives are changed forever by an old man and the last letter he wrote to his wife on their anniversary. Cheers. Sigh.