Review: Exit to Eden

Title: Exit to Eden
Author: Anne Rampling (a.k.a. Anne Rice)
Publisher: Dell
Copyright date: 1985
Part of a series? No

I tried to read this book years ago, and stopped halfway through, but I remained interested enough to pick it up again. I'm glad I did. Perhaps my life situation has changed, and that's why I loved it so much this time around -- I'm much more comfortable with erotica now (looking at it as literature, and not just a 'cheap thrill'), and I'm filled with a lot of those falling-in-love passions that consume the main characters of Exit to Eden. The book is full of the sensuality that Rice is known for, mostly through the Vampire Chronicles, and I don't just mean in relation to sex -- smells of flowers, tastes of food, the way things look and feel and sound -- her novels are saturated with sensory description, and it makes reading a lucious experience. Labelling the story as "erotica" seems way too one-dimensional. The combination of the sensory hedonism and the real depth to the philosophies of religion and life that her characters show make this a really layered and meaty love story. I'm not sure I buy these philosophies, and I have some issues with how conventionally the love story is concluded, but I still think Exit to Eden is a very worthwhile read.

Notable quotes:

"'People say S&M is all about childhood experiences, the battles with dominance and submission we fought when we were little that we are doomed to reenact. I don't think it's that simple. I never have. One of the things that has always fascinated me about sado-masochistic fantasies, long before I ever dreamed of acting them out, was that they are full of paraphernalia that none of us ever saw in childhood [...] racks and whips, and harnesses and chains. Gloves, corsets. Were you ever threatened with a rack when you were a kid? Did anybody ever make you wear a pair of handcuffs? I was never even slapped. These things don't come from childhood; they come from our historic past. They come from our racial past. The whole bloody lineage that embraces violence since time immemorial. They are the seductive and terrifying symbols of cruelties that were routine right up through the eighteenth century [...] all the paraphrenalia is the flotsam of the past. And where is it routine today? In our dreams. In our erotic novels. In our brothels. No, in S&M we're always working with something a hell of a lot more volatile than childhood struggles; we're working with our most primitive desires to achieve intimacy through violence, our deepest attractions to suffering and inflicting pain, to possessing others [...] And if we can keep the racks and the whips and the harnesses forever relegated to the S&M scenario -- if we could relgate in all its forms to the S&M scenario -- then maybe we could save the world'" (223-4).
[N.B. - I find the ideas that we are innately violent, particularly sexually, and that there is some kind of collective unconscious memory of past violence very problematic. The idea that relegating violence symbolically to the bedroom as a solution to the world's problems is also extremely reductionist. However, I still find this passage thought-provoking.]

-----

"But I was thinking the strangest thing: what if, what if it really was something that could happen? What if Martin was right and Elliott and I could have each other like that? What if it was half that good for only a year, a fourth that good for a decade? Christ, that was worth the death of everything I'd ever been before, wasn't it?" (287)

Review: Widow in White

Title: Widow in White
Author: Evelyn Bond a.k.a Morris Hershman
Publisher: Avon
Copyright Date: 1973
Genre: Gothic Romance
Series? No

This was an amusing read. It had tons of problems (e.g. "I like my drinks and my women neat"), but it was so obvious about them, so comfortable with them, that I can't really bring myself to criticize it -- it is what it is, a wholly hegemonic 70s text. What is really interesting about this for me is that for the first time I know for sure that one of the romance novels I've read was written by a man. I didn't find out until I was finished and checking for the publication date, and I realized that Widow in White was copyrighted by a Morris Hershman. Not covering his tracks very well, but maybe he didn't need to in order to sell books. After all, I didn't think to check the copyright until after I was finished, and most people probably don't check at all. I've never willingly read a romance novel by a man, but I wonder how many I've read unknowingly? I'm also really interested in how his books are being marketed online -- as "mysteries" or "crime fiction," even though my book says AVON GOTHIC ORIGINAL right across the top. Maybe this is the reason he didn't WANT to be seen as a man -- maybe he just wanted to be able to write romance in peace.

Let's Talk Romance: What Makes a Romance Novel?

I just finished Tarzan of the Apes, and it's got me thinking about the nature of romance fiction -- what makes a romance novel?



In A Natural History of the Romance Novel, Pamela Regis defines the romance novel as "a work of prose fiction that tells the story of the courtship and betrothal of one or more heroines" (19). Using this definition, Tarzan cannot be a romance novel, since *SPOILER ALERT* Jane and Tarzan don't end up together at the end of the novel. It is also much more about Tarzan that it is about Jane, so the story does not revolve around the heroine.

However, in Conrad Sucatre's book, Old School Romance, in which he talks about romance fiction before the Harlequin boom of the 1970s, he complicates this simple definition. Using Gone with the Wind as an example, he outlines characteristics of romance fiction in the 1930s:

1: Blunt, realistic dialog.
2: A great deal of action.
3: Characters who all wear their emotions on their sleeves.
4: The story continues after marriage, rather than ending with the wedding of Scarlett and Rhett.
5: Very imperfect, very human lead characters. (11)

Note that crucial difference -- by Sucatre's definition, the romance novel doesn't need to end in marriage/betrothal. As he points out, in Gone with the Wind, arguably one of the most widely recognizable romance novels/films of Western history, the hero and heroine don't even end up together at the end.

Sucatre argues that Edgar Rice Burroughs (author of the Tarzan series) was a romance writer; in fact, Tarzan was originally subtitled A Romance of the Jungle (37). After reading it I'm more than willing to recognize it as such, despite the non-cannon ending. But I'm left wondering if there's any definition of romance fiction that will work across a wide range of tastes and interests. Here's one that works for me:

Romance fiction is fiction whose plot centers around the romantic relationship of two or more people.

That's broad enough to cover a lot of options, including non-heteronormative romances such as those featuring more than two people, same sex couplings, etc. However, it still gets to the heart of what I consider romance fiction - a work revolving around the dynamics of a romantic relationship. Hmm, it's already starting to seem problematic though, because what about novels about the dissolution of romantic relationships? Perhaps it should be "the romantic courtship" of two or more people? But I dislike the conservative connotation of "courtship." Hmm, it definitely needs thinking about...

- Regis, Pamela. A Natural History of the Romance Novel. Philadelphia: U of Penn P, 2003.
- Sucatre, Conrad. Old School Romance. Goose Creek: Vintage Romance Publishing, 2005.

Let's Talk Romance: Coming Soon

I just went nuts at Chapters and bought seven new books:


I like how it's a combination of teen fiction and erotica, with a mystery novel thrown in because I am obsessed with reading organization self-help books and online tips. With any luck I'll be reviewing some of these on here soon.

I'm really impressed with the books in the Teen section of Chapters. I haven't explored Young Adult books in a long time and I was surprised to find that tons of major adult authors are writing teen books now. Even though Companions of the Night is one of my favourite romance novels and also happens to be a young adult book, looking for romance in the Teen section just hasn't occurred to me. It makes sense though -- teen books, because of their content restrictions, are great places to find UST. They're also great places to find angst because, well, they're TEEN books. However, just because content is restricted doesn't mean they aren't as complex as adult books. There was a huge selection of dark-paranormal-romantic stuff in there and a lot of it looked more complex than anything I've found in Romance or Horror lately. I'm definitely going to be browsing that section more from now on.

Review: The Wild Hunt

Title: The Wild Hunt
Author: Jill Tattersall
Publisher: William Morrow & Company, Inc.
Original Date of Copyright: 1974
Genre/Sub-genre: Gothic Romance
Part of a Series? No

I thought this book would, as my fourth gothic romance in a row, blend with the others into obscurity, but I was pleased to find that it stands out among those of its genre. The characters were clever and amusing, the heroine especially, and the hero was as dark, satanic, and attractive as I could hope. The witchcraft makes the plot a little different and intriguing, and the Wild Hunt is very cool. The romance is great, not explicit but there are some small but satisfying hints of sex at the end and some great UST moments scattered throughout. This book is one of the best gothics I've read so far.

(I couldn't find a picture of the cover and the book is in a library up north, so you'll have to use your imagination on this one).

Review: Darkwater

Title: Darkwater
Author: Dorothy Eden
Publisher: Coward-McCann, Inc.
Original Date of Copyright: 1963
Genre/Sub-genre: Gothic Romance
Part of a Series? No

This book was a well-written, complex web of intriguing characters. Unfortunately, the most interesting characters were the peripheral ones: Lady Arabella, the alternatingly vindictive and helpful great-aunt; and Amelia, the 17-year-old cousin who has an obsession with escaped prisoners (one in particular as the novel progresses). Fanny, the heroine, was somewhat bland. Adam Marsh as a hero was okay, but not sexy or sinister enough to suit me. It is a gothic novel, after all, so I give myself carte blanche to expect a Romantic, threatening hero.

One different thing about the novel was the issue of race raised through the narrative's connection to China. There is some cynical display on behalf of the author of the racism of the flightier people in the novel -- the refusal to accept a Chinese "nurse," worry about whether or not two orphaned children would turn out to be "yellow," etc. The perfection of racism in the Victorian period is something that is more taken for granted than critiqued in most romance novels, so it was refreshing to see it called to attention.

Overall, Darkwater was better than I expected. I only made a concentrated effort to read it because I wanted to finish just one more novel before New Year's Day and I had to finish my "Books Read, 2007" list, so I wasn't expecting much. However, it did turn out to be tolerable, even enjoyable, though I would have been much more interested in a book about Amelia and her passion for criminals. I should force myself to finish books more often.

Review: Falconridge

Title: Falconridge
Author: Edwina Marlow
Publisher: Ace Publishing Corporation
Original Date of Copyright: 1969
Genre/Sub-genre: Gothic Romance
Part of a Series? No

Like The Chaperone, this book was better-written than a contemporary novel of the same quality would be. It was also similar in its lack of sensuality, though the hero, Norman Wade, was quite a bit more attractive and sinister. Here's the excerpt, on the first page after the cover:

Several minutes passed and I was suddenly aware of my own fear. Something was wrong. It was silent, and the silence was terrifying. I whirled around. He was leaning in the doorway, his thumb hooked in his belt. He looked menacing as he stood there, casually blocking the door. I stepped back, and the boards creaked. The water behind me slapped loudly against the wood.

"Two more steps back," he said quietly, "and you would be in the water. It would carry you out to sea. No one would ever know what had happened to you."

I stood on the edge of the platform, my knees weak. He put his hands on my shoulders. His fingers gripped my flesh.

"Or someone could push you," he said. "Just one little shove and you would be gone. You could never swim in those skirts, not in this water. It would be so easy." His voice was beautifully modulated; it seemed to caress the air. "So very easy..."

It was a little like Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre, shorter, less complex, and completely derivative, of course, but interesting and readable.

Review: The Chaperone

Title: The Chaperone
Author: Ethel Gordon
Publisher: Dell Publishing Co., Inc.
Original Date of Copyright: 1973
Genre/Sub-genre: Gothic Romance
Part of a Series? No

I was impressed by the quality of the writing in this book, and by the fact that the author made the heroine self-possessed and not entirely wholesome. For an example of both the writing and the heroine's character, here is the first paragraph of the novel:

I received Miss Millicent Waldron's letter on the last day of school. It was the day of the annual farewell party for the faculty of the Burns Junior College for Women, and the Burns sisters who owned and headed the school had acceded to the times at last and allowed gin to be served. I'd had two martinis, but by the time I reached my apartment the elation of the alcohol was evaporating, my head was pounding, and my spirits were unaccountably low. (5)

However, in the end I was disappointed by the romance, which was flat, passionless and not described in a satisfying way. The hero, while dark and brooding, was not as attractive a figure as I had hoped, being too realistically flawed, as the hapless owner of a crumbling hotel, having gambled away his and his brother's money. The expression of sensuality was also entirely lacking.

Review: The Vampire Shrink

Title: The Vampire Shrink
Author: Lynda Hilburn
Publisher: Medallion Press
Original Date of Copyright: 2007
Genre/Sub-genre: Paranormal/Horror Romance
Part of a Series? I think so...there is a second book coming out which also features Kismet Knight as the heroine

This novel was okay, and I really like the premise of a psychologist who encounters vampires, but overall I thought the horror possibilities of this book were not sufficiently developed, and that both the psychology and the vampirism in this book were used as mere plot devices instead of becoming the meaningful explorations they could have been.

The heroine is way too narrow-minded to effectively practice psychology (two examples: she bashes psychics and thinks it's impossible to be sexually attracted to more than one man at a time), and she uses cliched psychological terms like "inner child" more than once in the novel. The hero is well-adjusted and nice instead of brooding and dangerous like I was hoping. The romance was developed too quickly so there was little of that satisfying tension I so love. Beyond all this, however, there was a light-hearted tone to the book that I found disappointing and at times almost offensive.

Certainly The Vampire Shrink discusses dark topics, but the first-person narrative of the heroine is plucky and discordantly chipper considering the things she goes through -- being attacked, harassed in gruesome ways, torn between two men, etc. I just didn't get the dark torture vibe I hoped for, and sometimes the lightness gets almost offensive. For example:

"Playtime's over. Let's go back upstairs."
The woman on the floor had stopped screaming and was clearly dead.
The crowd actually applauded.
Vampires suck. In more ways that one. (365-66)

A woman just died. I know it's fantasy, but is that really an appropriate or plausible response? I know people laugh at funerals and things like that, but this degree of flippancy just seemed stupid to me.

Think of the psychological complexity and darkness of the Thomas Harris novels (e.g. Silence of the Lambs) combined with the best of the paranormal romances (those by J.R. Ward perhaps) or even Anne Rice's novels -- that's what this book could have been, with an idea this exciting. I don't understand why someone would want to write a totally conventional romance novel that just happens to have vampires in it and completely ignore all the amazing emotional/psychological dimensions that the vampire myth can add to a romance. One thing that Anne Rice does brilliantly is bring religious and psychological issues such as guilt, damnation, loneliness, etc. to vampirism, and these really make the myth rich and meaningful. I feel vampires are misused in this book, especially since it uses the field/practice of psychology to distinguish itself. Vampires have so much more to offer than is available in The Vampire Shrink.

Let's Talk Romance: New Top Five

I haven't been reviewing lately -- I've read at least ten books since the last review, but it seems like so much work to actually take notes and prepare a review, etc., etc. Plus, I know no one actually reads this, and I tend to have problems responding to self-motivation. Anyway, until I manage to scrape up another review or brilliant insight into romance fiction as it stands today, I decided to pick five new romance songs to replace the old five. Here we go:

1. Foreigner - Cold as Ice
No one does angst like Foreigner. Think "I Want to Know What Love Is."

I've seen it before
it happens all the time
you're closing the door,
you leave the world behind
you're digging for gold,
you're throwing away
a fortune in feelings,
but someday you'll pay

you're as cold as ice

2. Pink - You Make Me Sick

You make me sick
I want you and I'm hating it

3. NIN - Perfect Drug
This has long been one of my favourites.

You make me hard
When I'm all soft inside
I see the truth
When I'm all stupid-eyed
The arrow goes straight through my heart
Without you everything just falls apart

4. Nickelback - Saving Me
I ain't got no love for Nickelback, but I do like this song

These city walls ain't got no love for me
I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story
And oh, I scream for you

Come please I'm calling
And all I need from you
Hurry, I'm falling, I'm falling...

5. Bif Naked - Lucky

How can I ever get over you,
When I'd give my life for yours?

I think my list is a bit moodier than last time. Angst is always on my mind, though I think the level of darkness required to satisfy me fluctuates. For example, I could have put NIN's "Closer" instead of "Perfect Drug" -- "Closer" is a much more dark and raw song. Maybe next list.

Review: Lover Unbound

Title: Lover Unbound
Author: J.R. Ward
Publisher: Signet
Original Date of Publication: 2007 (released yesterday)
Genre/Sub-genre: Paranormal Romance
Part of a Series? Yes, it is A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood

It is an unfortunate fact that I can't ever seem to put J.R. Ward's novels down until they are entirely finished, so I missed all four of my classes today polishing this one off. Next time, I'm going to have to try to save it for the weekend.

Lover Unbound isn't as good as the other novels in the series. It resolves the homoerotic elements in the last novel that I loved so much in a way I find kind of offensive (V just hadn't met the right woman), and the language style has become more valley girl than badass gangsta (e.g., "so" is used constantly, as in "I am so all over that"). It also just seemed...generic in relation to the others. They're beginning to all be very similar, and even with the few new characters that were introduced in this novel, the circle seems uniform and a little ho-hum. I hope in the next novel she spices it up by adding something different to the plot.

However, despite these disappointing features, I loved Lover Unbound. I like how she's complicated the sexual history of the Brothers, so that they have issues to work through -- somehow it makes them seem sexier than if they were totally confident studs. I also really loved the ending of this novel -- it was a twist that I wasn't expecting but that fit perfectly. And as with the other novels in the series, I finished this one anticipating the next few -- I'm especially eager for John's novel, now.

Review: Moongazer

Title: Moongazer
Author: Marianne Mancusi
Publisher: Love Spell/Shomi
Original Date of Publication: 2007
Genre/Sub-genre: Action/Sci-fi romance
Part of a Series? God, I hope not

Moongazer is flat and dull and a painfully blatant rip-off of The Matrix. That isn't all I could say about this novel, but it's really all I want to say. It's not even that I feel angry or particularly disappointed about it -- I simply feel so indifferent to it that I can barely muster the energy to review it properly. Still, I'll give it a shot.

I was really excited about the possibilities of this novel -- the post-apocalyptic world! The dark angst-ridden love interest! The manga-esque cover! I was really hoping it would turn out to be like a grown-up version of L.J. Smith's The Chosen and/or Huntress with some cyberpunk thrown in.

However, the post-apocalyptic world turned out to be embarrassingly stereotypical and flat -- the mutated working class living sadly underground, their extra arms waving helplessly, as the evvvvvvil upper class takes advantage of them from their glitzy upper (but still underground) world. Earth as it once was is laid as virtual reality over the destroyed world, people tricked into the program by the upper class, eventually unaware of the real conditions of existence (sound familiar, Matrix viewers?). The revolutionary ideas would have been very interesting if only they had truly been examined, instead of used as a shallow plot device. The characters are cardboard cut-outs ("selfless revolutionary", "lower-class victim", "evil upper-class person"); even Skye, who has the benefit of essentially playing the role of two different people for most of the novel, and who is supposedly struggling to confront her two different sides, is a clear character type (the "real" person). Dawn, the hero, is sensitive, shy, and apparently stupid, rehashing the same issues over and over again (namely, "you're just a shell of the woman I once loved!"), and he doesn't even bother to use new dialogue when he does it. As for the eroticism in Moongazer, I will only say that this is the first book that I have EVER laid down in the middle of a sex scene (I went to sleep).

I think I could go on, but I don't feel like it. To quote Dawn, this book is an "empty shell" of what it could have been.

Review: Arrow to the Heart

Title: Arrow to the Heart
Author: Jennifer Blake
Publisher: Fawcett Columbine/Ballantine
Original Date of Publication: 1993
Genre/Sub-genre: Historical Romance
Part of a Series? No

I didn't enjoy Arrow to the Heart as much as the other historical romances I've read by Jennifer Blake. I've though hard about why that might be, and I've come to the conclusion that the power structure customary in Blake's novels is out of balance in this novel. Usually, the heroine is initially dominated by the man (i.e. kidnapped, held captive, forced into marriage) and a major joy of reading is taking in the situation, in which superficially the hero holds all the cards, all the while knowing the heroine, unbeknownst to herself, has completely mentally and emotionally dominated the hero. It's important that she not know, since (I believe) her power is greater than the hero's because it gives her the ability to control the hero's power, and the balance is equal only if she wields it unconsciously. Also, there wouldn't really be a plot otherwise.

However, in Arrow to the Heart, the hero and heroine are thrust into a situation by an external force and are equal in situational power, which immediately diminishes the hero's power. Also, the hero and heroine are more open and communicative than normal in Blake's historicals, which further upsets the power balance and makes the plot a bit more far-fetched, since the closer the heroine is to realizing the hero loves her, the more desperate the events keeping them apart appear. Basically, the delicious balance of the male dominating the physical while the female dominates the mental/emotional is off.

It's still a good book, and the ending is as satisfying as any other Blake historical. I wonder-- Blake returned to historical romances with Arrow to the Heart after writing a string of contemporaries-- can the difference in her typical power structure be attributed to the influence of more contemporary, "modern" expectations?

Review: A Walk in the Wood

Title: A Walk in the Wood
Author: Anna Gilbert
Publisher: Dell
Original Date of Publication: 1989
Genre/Sub-genre: Gothic/ romantic suspense
Part of a Series? Not that I know of

This was a really, really good book. Publisher's Weekly called it "Uncommonly meaningful romantic suspense", and once I got over being offended on behalf of the romance genre, I realized that it may actually be a good way of describing this book. I really enjoyed the twists and turns in the plot, and the overall depth of the work -- the ending, while satisfying and whole, does not tie up every loose end, leaving some things realistically ambiguous. It is very well written; a lot of lines made me stop and admire Gilbert's power of description. The heroine is a great female character -- rational, intelligent, and strong-willed. The ending, while probably predictable for some, took me completely by surprise. I didn't devour the book in one sitting like I usually do with my favourites, but my interest remained constant enough that even though I paused I did finish it, which is not generally the case for me (usually it's all or nothing). I would recommend this book to anyone who wants good writing and good romance combined, and who doesn't mind sacrificing the sex scenes to get it.

Review: Hunter's Moon

Title: Hunter's Moon
Authors: C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp
Publisher: Tor
Original Date of Publication: 2004
Genre/Sub-genre: Paranormal Romance
Part of a Series? Yes, the A Tale of the Sazi series

This book has a great hero and possibly the weakest, most irritating heroine I've ever encountered. He's a hitman and she hires him to kill her at the beginning of the novel -- she can't even do that herself. The rest of the novel is a chronicle of her complete dependency on him. He helps her become more detached from her cruel and manipulative family, he gets her a psychiatrist, he fixes her security system, he finds her friends, rescues her from kidnappers and actually lives for her, actually breathes and makes her heart function for her, near the end of the novel. And then he marries her, thereby ensuring that she'll continue to cling to him for the rest of her life. At the beginning of the novel she is a multi-millionaire, but she did not earn this money -- she won the lottery. At the end of the novel everyone thinks she's dead and she loses the money, so when she becomes married to Tony (the hero) her financial independence (the only form she had) is gone as well. She says herself that the only reason she can think of living is for him. At no point does she think for herself or act for herself in the whole fucking 328 pages. All she does is whine and cling to Tony.

If you can stomach all that, Tony is a good character, and it's interesting to read a romance novel written entirely from the male perspective. However, as the only selling point for the novel, it's a bit weak -- as good as he is, it's hard to respect him, because he loves a complete moron.

Kelley Armstrong: Exit Strategy

Title: Exit Strategy
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher/Series: Spectra
Original Date of Publication: June 26, 2007
Genre/Subgenre: Mystery/Romantic Suspense
Part of a Series? Yes - Nadia Stafford Series


Exit Strategy is the first book in a new series by Kelley Armstrong, or at least I assume it is the first book in a new series. As far as the romantic element goes, it leaves a lot to be desired, but in a good way. There is a well-done UST (unresolved sexual tension) between the main female character Nadia and Jack. The plot of the book is original, and Kelley once again shows her talent for writing an excellent mystery in the midst of a story of real-seeming characters with realistic personal problems. I've always admired the way Kelley could make a werewolf or a witch seem real to me, and she continues the trend with Nadia the cop-turned-assassin.



I suggest this book to people who are fans of the Women of the Otherworld series, as well as those who enjoy fast-paced mysteries with a hint of romantic undertones. The assassin plot is believable, and I highly enjoyed seeing the opposite side of the spectrum in a mystery. It is a nice change from the police/FBI novels I'm used to.



From an author's point of view, keep an eye out for the chapters from the perspective of the victims, and the killer. They were my favourite part of the book because they allowed an insight into things the reader may not have been able to see otherwise. For the romantics out there, make sure to pay special attention to the one in the theatre.

Review: The Rest Falls Away and Rises the Night

Title: The Rest Falls Away and Rises the Night
Author: Colleen Gleason
Publisher/Series: Signet Eclipse
Original Date of Publication: January and June 2007
Genre/Subgenre: Paranormal-Historical Romance
Part of a Series? Yes - The Gardella Vampire Chronicles

I read these two one after the other, so I'll review them together rather than separate them. I tend to view this type of series as one continuous book rather than several complete books anyway, which is one reason I've been so resistant to them. I prefer books that can stand alone. However, The Rest Falls Away has a very positive review by J.R. Ward on the cover, and J.R. Ward is currently my favourite romance author, so I thought I'd give Gleason's series a try.

I wasn't disappointed. The heroine is basically Buffy the Vampire Slayer of the Nineteenth-Century (from the television series, not the movie). She is strong and capable in ways that are not off-putting in the least. I'm normally annoyed by more than one man in the heroine's life, but it does not bother me in this series. Like Bitten, I think it's pretty clear who she's going to end up with in the end. Because this character doesn't show up in Rises the Night until page 180, there's something a little flat in her relationship with the other guy. Still, I don't feel much irritation over drawing out the romance of one heroine and heroine over several books because I like the hero and heroine and I'm interested in how things will play out. I'm bitter about having to wait, though.

Review: Scottish Ecstasy

Title: Scottish Ecstasy
Author: Rebecca Sinclair
Publisher/Series: Kensington Books
Original Date of Publication: 1993
Genre/Subgenre: Historical Romance
Part of a Series? No

I have several weak spots when it comes to romance. One is that I am a sucker for heroes with names like "beast" and "devil", so Alasdair "the Devil" Gray reeled me in. There's also just something about the portrayal of Scottish men in romance novels that's just so cute and sexy at the same time.

This is a good book. The author tends to drag her scenes on endlessly, which becomes a good thing about 200 pages in when the sex starts, but it was a bit irritating before that. It seemed more like self-indulgence on the part of the author than genuine good writing. Of course, it's all subjective.

The heroine's accent got annoying, and all the "yers" and "mauns" seemed to make me even more conscious of the cornier bits of dialogue (though there weren't that many, really). Still, overall it was enjoyable.

Review: Devotion

Title: Devotion
Author: Katherine Sutcliffe
Publisher/Series: Jove
Original Date of Publication: 1996
Genre/Subgenre: Historical Romance
Part of a Series? Sort of...Miracle is about this hero's twin brother

Devotion is a lot like Flowers from the Storm, though in my opinion it's better because the heroine is smarter, more articulate, and more real. It's a refreshing change: the heroine is outspoken and sexually aware (though still a virgin), and the hero is a near-catatonic lump for a good portion of the novel. The ending is a bit different than most formula romances, but I liked it. I really enjoyed this novel and it also has the virtue of being a very quick read -- I polished it off in five hours or less, and I'm no speed-reader.

Review: Too Close to Home

Title: Too Close to Home
Author: Maureen Tan
Publisher/Series: Silhouette Bombshell
Original Date of Publication: 2006
Genre/Subgenre: Contemporary Romance
Part of a Series? No

This is surprisingly gritty for a Silhouette -- I guess "Bombshell" is supposed to be a darker series. Too Close to Home features child abuse, murder, and a morally problematic ending, even for me, who likes heroes based on literary representations of Satan, and who openly has a crush on Hannibal Lecter. In a way, the very last line of the novel makes it seem as if conservative family values are offered to cancel out the problematic part -- hey, we're having a baby, so it's okay that _____ (I won't give it away).

At least the book has me thinking, instead of shrugging and moving on to the next one. Silhouettes and Harlequins (which are now apparently one and the same, and it seems I was the last to know) generally don't satisfy me-- they're not dark enough, not meaty enough. Too regulated. This one had that feel in a way, but also surprised me by being darker than I knew was possible under this publisher.