I have continued with my out-of-order reading of Lisa Kleypas’s contemporary romance novels surrounding the lives and loves of the wealthy, Texas, Travis family. Sugar Daddy (2010) is pretty unique and not at all what I was expecting–Kleypas deliberately failed to follow the tried and true romance protocol. Liberty Jones grew up in the small, dusty town of Welcome, Texas. Her father died on an oil rig when she was younger, and her mother hasn’t has the best taste in men since. When Liberty is a […]
This Rogue is not so swoonworthy
The Rogue Not Taken (2015) is the first book I’ve read by Sarah MacLean. Each chapter begins with an alliterative sentence torn right from the gossip rags. The gossip always surrounds the “dangerous daughters” of a scandalous, socially climbing family. The eldest daughter is known for “tricking” a Duke into marriage, while all of her sisters are outrageous in their own ways. All except for the youngest, Sophie, who is known as the “boring and plain” daughter. Being boring doesn’t stop Sophie from pushing the unfaithful […]
Amelia Peabody Goes to Egypt Again
I’ve been trying to always have an audio book available to listen to when I’m in my car. I enjoyed Elizabeth Peter’s first book in her series about Amelia Peabody, so I decided to move on to The Curse of the Pharaohs (1981). The Curse of the Pharaohs begins about three years (I think?) after the ending of the first book. Amelia has married Radcliffe Emerson–her love interest/soul mate from the first book, she’s just recently had a child, and they’ve settled down to a relatively peaceful […]
A Portrait of Loneliness
The Orchardist (2012) by Amanda Coplin is another book on Huffington Post’s list of 21 Books From the Last 5 Years That Every Woman Should Read. I’m slowly making my way through this list, and I’m grateful for the recommendations. I wasn’t sure what to expect with The Orchardist, and even now that I’ve read it, I have some mixed feelings. There is no question that this is an impressively written, very original story, with remarkably drawn characters. The orchard as a place, and the story […]