Audiobook Review: The Garden Intrigue by Lauren Willig

I've been in love with Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation light/comic/contemporary/historical/academic/spy series (didja get all that?) since it debuted.  I'd never listened to any of the audiobooks, though, so I took a chance on listening to The Garden Intrigue, the eighth full-length book in the series.

Goodreads summary: Secret agent Augustus Whittlesby has spent a decade undercover in France, posing as an insufferably bad poet. The French surveillance officers can't bear to read his work closely enough to recognize the information drowned in a sea of verbiage.

New York-born Emma Morris Delagardie is a thorn in Augustus's side. An old school friend of Napoleon's stepdaughter, she came to France with her uncle, the American envoy; eloped with a Frenchman; and has been rattling around the salons of Paris ever since. Widowed for four years, she entertains herself by drinking too much champagne, holding a weekly salon, and loudly critiquing Augustus's poetry.

As Napoleon pursues his plans for the invasion of England, Whittlesby hears of a top-secret device to be demonstrated at a house party at Malmaison. The catch? The only way in is with Emma, who has been asked to write a masque for the weekend's entertainment.

Emma is at a crossroads: Should she return to the States or remain in France? She'll do anything to postpone the decision-even if it means teaming up with that silly poet Whittlesby to write a masque for Bonaparte's house party. But each soon learns that surface appearances are misleading. In this complicated masque within a masque, nothing goes quite as scripted- especially Augustus's feelings for Emma.

My thoughts: I wish I had read this one instead of listening to it. Even though the dialogue was enjoyable, the prose sections seemed prolonged and tedious, and it was hard to maintain interest in either the romances or the espionage.  I'm not certain if I would have enjoyed it more in text form, but as it was, it was was my least favorite Pink Carnation book since The Seduction of the Crimson Rose. 

The dual contemporary and historical storylines meshed well, as always, but that didn't mean either was particularly interesting.  Modern historian Eloise Kelly spends most of her time navigating a tricky house party and trying to figure out who broke into her email, while the historical plot centers around the creation of a masque to entertain Napoleon.  There wasn't much furtherance in Eloise's relationship with her "cute, grumpy guy," Colin, and the historical romance between Emma Delagardie and Augustus Whittlesby was lackluster as well.  I didn't see much chemistry between them, probably because Willig shows them falling in love during a brief exchange of notes and seems to stop there.  As a result, their relationship lacked depth and passion, both things Willig has demonstrated extremely well in the past (The Masque of the Black Tulip is particularly well done).

Book Review: Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb

When I was a kid, my favorite board game was Clue, and I was reminded of how much that game rocked as I read Celebrity in Death, the newest installment in J.D. Robb's Eve Dallas series.  The beginning of the book read like a scene right out of Clue — a dead body appears during a dinner party and everyone there becomes a suspect.  As the novel progresses, it becomes both a character study and an exercise for Eve to prove with facts what she knows by instinct.

Goodreads summary:  Lieutenant Eve Dallas is no party girl, but she’s managing to have a reasonably good time at the celebrity-packed bash celebrating The Icove Agenda, a film based on one of her famous cases. It’s a little spooky seeing the actress playing her, who looks almost like her long-lost twin. Not as unsettling, though, as seeing the actress who plays Peabody—drowned in the lap pool on the roof of the director’s luxury building. Talented but rude, and widely disliked, K. T. Harris had made an embarrassing scene during dinner. Now she’s at the center of a crime scene—and Eve is more than ready to get out of her high heels and strap on her holster, to step into the role she was born to play: cop.

My thoughts: One of my greatest fears is that Robb (aka Nora Roberts) will one day decide she's had enough of Eve, Roarke, Peabody and the rest of the crew, and will stop writing this series.  I cannot get enough of the In Death books, and I've reread each of them multiple times.  I even love the books I don't love, if that makes sense.  Celebrity in Death was just one of those books — it wasn't my favorite Dallas book, but I loved it nonetheless.

After the intense emotional drama of New York to Dallas, where Eve confronted the ghosts of her past, Celebrity in Death returns to the standard Dallas formula, with all the standard characters.  This time, though, Robb puts Eve right at the center of the mystery — the murder occurs at a dinner party she attends, and the victim is playing the role of Detective Peabody in a Hollywood film.  Eve knows from the beginning that she's dealing with an enormously arrogant killer, and as the title shows, celebrity is indeed a motive.

Best of Romantic Literature: Captain Wentworth's Letter

I've always been more a Persuasion girl than a Pride & Prejudice one.  Make no mistake, I do love Mr. Darcy.  But I've always thought that Persuasion was Jane Austen's greatest and most mature work, and Captain Wentworth her greatest and most swoon-worthy hero.  On a day when romance is so often tawdry and commercialized, I thought it appropriate to share one of the most beautiful love letters in literature.

I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in

F. W.

I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter your father's house this evening or never.   

Le sigh. With a guy who can use words like that, is it any wonder Anne Eliot waited for nine years and never found Captain Wentworth's equal?

Guest Post + Giveaway: Joan Swan on Firemen as Heroes

A big welcome today to author Joan Swan!  Her debut release, Fever, is one of the most anticipated romance releases of the spring, and is already garnering her praise.  Fever is steamy and edgy and really fantastic (my review will be published closer to its release date).

Today, Joan is going to give us her opinion on that age-old question — What makes firemen such great heroes?  Joan has a pretty good perspective, since she's married to one. (Lucky Joan!)

Joan Swan: My Phoenix Rising series is based on a hazmat firefighting team that was in the wrong place at the wrong time and suffered severe injuries when a military warehouse exploded, exposing the team to secret chemicals that should never have existed. These chemicals instill paranormal abilities within the team members, and while they heal and move on in their own way—some staying with the fire service, some not—firefighting is one of those jobs that never really leaves them. Once a firefighter, always a firefighter.

Even in real life, firefighters are heralded as heroes. Fiction only raises them up another notch. So what is it about firefighters that make them such desirable heroes? I think it’s the 4 Ss: strong, smart, sensitive and sexy.

Strong: From climbing flight after flight of stairs with a hundred pounds of gear to hiking miles of forested terrain in triple digit heat, a firefighter’s job is extremely physically demanding. They need to be able to not only lift twenty foot ladders, but throw them—vertically. Common duties include carrying unconscious victims as dead weight, dragging miles of hose, controlling a hose spray jetting out at 150psi, repelling from multi-story buildings…

I could go on, but I think they’re sounding pretty darn strong already.

Smart: From the way these guys act when they don’t have a hard-on for fire, you’d swear they ranked below the IQ of their TV remote. I mean, they’re such GUYS! They say stupid guy things, make stupid guy noises, play stupid guy practical jokes.

But with firefighting, Darwin’s law prevails: survival of the fittest—in this case, fittest of mind, not just body. Firefighters need to understand the physics of fire. They need a deep working knowledge of weather, machinery, building construction, tools, vehicles, emergency medicine, psychology…

You get the point.

Sensitive: I think this is one of the main differences between firefighters and cops. Firefighters need to be sensitive. Cops need to be tough. 

Firefighters come in and care for the injured or sick and often deal with the family as well, which takes patience and compassion and serious people skills. They need to be persuasive but understanding, commanding yet considerate. Charm is a huge benefit to firefighters dealing with the public and they pick up on that quick (see Smart above.)

Most firefighters are great with kids—because, honestly, they’re just big kids themselves. All fire departments are a huge part of the community and are invited to every function where you will find them handing out candy, stickers, balloons and rides on the fire engine to the kids. Firefighters can often be found inside classrooms giving demonstrations or guiding a tour of 30 kids through the firehouse.

Sexy: If Strong, Smart and Sensitive aren’t enough to = Sexy… consider: These guys:

• Cook
• Clean
• Do Laundry
• Are polite
• Workout everyday
• Know how to fix almost anything
• Appreciate strong women
• And…look awesome in uniform

What do you think, are firefighters good heroes? What do you love most in a hero? Who is one of your most recent favorite heroes and why? 

Author Bio:  Joan Swan is a triple RWA® Golden Heart finalist and writes sexy romantic suspense with a paranormal twist.  Her debut novel with Kensington Brava, FEVER, releases February 28, 2012.  Her second novel, BLAZE, follows in October, 2012. In her day job, she works as a sonographer for one of the top ten medical facilities in the nation and lives on the California central coast in beautiful wine country with her husband and two daughters.

Fever: When Dr. Alyssa Foster is taken hostage by a prison inmate, she knows she's in deep trouble. Not just because Teague Creek is desperate for freedom, but because the moment his fingers brush against her skin, Alyssa feels a razor-sharp pang of need... 

A man with a life sentence has nothing to lose. At least Teague doesn't, until his escape plan develops a fatal flaw: Alyssa. On the run from both the law and deadly undercover operatives, he can only give her lies, but every heated kiss tells him the fire between them could be just as devastating as the flames that changed him forever... (Release Date: 2/28)

Giveaway: 

• A print copy of FEVER, US/Canada shipping.
• All comments are eligible for tour grand prize of either a COLOR NOOK or KINDLE FIRE.
• Enter:http://joanswan.com/giveaways/blog-tour-ereader/

UPDATE:  A winner has already been chosen - thank you for stopping by!

Buy links:  Amazon| Barnes & Noble | Booksamillion

Joan's links:  Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Book Review: Secrets of the Lost Summer by Carla Neggers

I so appreciate books – especially romances – where authors have clearly taken the time to do the necessary research and base their story in reality.  I've read too many books where shoddy research and/or superficial fact-checking have allowed obvious errors to make it into print.  I also respect an author who can build a story around a relatively unknown historical event and make me want to research the history on my own.  In Carla Neggers' newest book, Secrets of the Lost Summer, she builds her romance around the real-life creation of the Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts, where the government disincorporated and subsequently flooded four towns in order to supply clean water for the city of Boston.  The facts of the story were simultaneously fascinating and upsetting, but they made for a compelling background to Neggers' contemporary romance.

Goodreads summary:  A wave of hope carries Olivia Frost back to her small New England hometown nestled in the beautiful Swift River Valley. She's transforming a historic home into an idyllic getaway. Picturesque and perfect, if only the absentee owner will fix up the eyesore next door.…

Dylan McCaffrey's ramshackle house is an inheritance he never counted on. It also holds the key to a generations-old lost treasure he can't resist…any more than he can resist his new neighbor. Against this breathtaking landscape, Dylan and Olivia pursue long-buried secrets and discover a mystery wrapped in a love story…past and present.

My thoughts: The romance in the story was okay, but what really kept me reading were the details and the stories about the Swift River Valley and the Quabbin Reservoir.  I spent hours studying accounts of how the residents of four towns were summarily dismissed from their homes in the 1930s, and how their towns were then flooded to supply clean drinking water to Boston.  Most of the towns and homes were razed before the area was flooded and cemeteries were relocated, but there are still some structures underwater.  The story is both an amazing feat of modern engineering and a heartbreaking tale of how the livelihoods of a few were sacrificed for the benefit of the many.  (See more on Quabbin Reservoir.)

Book Review: The Bro-Magnet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Wait – don't turn away from The Bro-Magnet and its awkward cover!  I admit that I judge books by their covers all the time – the prettier and sparklier the outside is, the more I want to read it.  Good thing I didn't let the unfortunate packaging keep me from reading Lauren Baratz-Logsted's newest rom-com about a regular guy who needs a few lessons in how to win the girl.  The book was everything that was great about chick lit, and the male point of view put a fresh, fun twist on the genre.

Goodreads summary: Women have been known to lament, “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” For Johnny Smith, the problem is, “Always a Best Man, never a groom.” At age 33, housepainter Johnny has been Best Man eight times. The ultimate man's man, Johnny loves the Mets, the Jets, his weekly poker game, and the hula girl lamp that hangs over his basement pool table. Johnny has the instant affection of nearly every man he meets, but one thing he doesn't have is a woman to share his life with, and he wants that desperately.

When Johnny meets District Attorney Helen Troy, he decides to renounce his bro-magnet ways in order to impress her. With the aid and advice of his friends and family, soon he's transforming his wardrobe, buying throw pillows, ditching the hula girl lamp, getting a cat and even changing his name to the more mature-sounding John. And through it all, he's pretending to have no interest in sports, which Helen claims to abhor. As things heat up with Helen, the questions arise: Will Johnny finally get the girl? And, if he's successful in that pursuit, who will he be now that he's no longer really himself? 

My thoughts: Oh, Johnny!  There were so many things I liked about him, and Baratz-Logsted turned the quintessential "guy's guy" into a really likable, even lovable, hero.  He kept me laughing with his goofy attempts at romance, and he dispelled my doubts about a chick-lit book told entirely from the male perspective.  Johnny was such a great leading man – loyal, funny, generous and endearingly awkward – and he and Helen were the perfect match.  His attempts to become "a girl's guy" are simultaneously funny and cringe-worthy as he takes on everything from throw pillows to General Hospital.

The Bro-Magnet isn't a terribly complex story, but it is heartfelt and sincere, and it's about more than just Johnny winning the girl.  He has a close circle of family and friends, and his relationships with them add depth to the story.  In fact, seeing how Johnny interacts with his loved ones made me root even more for him to find romantic love.  Baratz-Logsted gives him a quirky voice that some readers might find off-putting, but I loved it and thought it made Johnny stand out in a sea of books filled with cookie cutter heroes.  I definitely recommend this short, sweet read.

Rating: A-

Distributor: TKA Distribution

Publication Date: December 11, 2011

Sensuality: Lukewarm

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review.

Book Review: Home Front by Kristin Hannah

The traditional military/separation romance generally follows the same pattern: Strong guy loves his family but must leave them to do his duty to his country, much emotional drama ensues.  In her newest book, Home Front, Kristin Hannah turns that familiar plot on its head and writes about a female warrior who is deployed at the moment her family needs her most.

Goodreads summary: All marriages have a breaking point. All families have wounds. All wars have a cost…

Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life – children, careers, bills, chores – even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm’s way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider she has always understood the true meaning of duty. 

In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own – for everything that matters to his family.

My thoughts: Kristin Hannah's books usually make me cry.  A lot...a whole lot.  Home Front is no different.  As she writes about family, friendship, duty, honor and love, Hannah is perceptive and deliberate.  Her characters are well drawn, with depth and personality, and the issues they face are difficult, yet they felt so real.  She deals deftly with a lot of sensitive topics, including America's involvement overseas and the debt the country owes to its servicemen and women.

Jolene was a bit wooden at first, but it quickly became clear that she keeps her emotions tucked away where she doesn't have to face them.  Her time in Iraq makes her face her own fears, and those scenes were especially painful as I had to imagine all the stresses deployed parents must face.  For much of the book, though, Michael infuriated me.  I couldn't sympathize with his position and treatment of Jolene, and I didn't think the recent loss of his father warranted his jerky behavior. Thankfully, he redeems himself in the end, and becomes the stand-up guy Jolene has always believed he was.  Perhaps the best part of the book was Jolene's relationship with her best friend, Tami.  Their friendship was everything a lifelong relationship should be, and their reliance on each other was inspiring.  As in all Hannah's books, Home Front's ending is bittersweet, and it stuck with me long after I finished reading it.

As someone who has very little knowledge of the lives of military families, I can't comment on the accuracy of Home Front, but it felt very real.  Hannah bases her knowledge on her interviews with Warrant Officer Teresa Burgess (watch Hannah interview Burgess) so I have to imagine it's all very real. In the very best of ways, Home Front reminded me a of Susan Wiggs’ The Ocean Between Us, one of my favorite contemporaries about a family divided by love and duty.  For a personal look at the sacrifice our military families face, I highly recommend both these books.

Home Front has also been released on audio from Macmillan Audio.  For a sample, check out this clip of Home Front here.

Rating: A-

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publication Date: January 31, 2012

Length: 384 pages

Sensuality: Minimal

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review.