Recent Reads {The Black Swan}

The Black Swan by Philippa Carr - This is the sixteenth in Carr's Daughters of England series, and is set in Victorian England. It focuses on Lucie Lansdon, the daughter of a respected politician. Her beloved father is murdered near the beginning of the story, and as the key witness, Lucie is able to identify the assassin, leading to his execution for the crime. She is haunted by her grief and by the worry that she may have condemned an innocent man, but another blow is yet to come. The rising young politician that she is planning to marry is kidnapped while on a diplomatic mission in Africa and she later receives word that he has been killed. In the meantime, her childhood companion (sort of a sister - the relationship is complicated and is the subject of the previous book in the series) Belinda, comes back from Australia, and convinces Lucie to go with her to visit Belinda's father in France. Lucie develops a fast friendship with a brother and sister and eventually returns to England with them and winds up marrying the brother. There is danger lurking around every corner for her, it seems, and her happiness and her very life are threatened.

In keeping with the Gothic romance style of this series, there are suggestions of haunting and questions raised about Lucie's mental stability; and there are sinister men with questionable motives in mysterious and ancient castles. It also struck me as I was reading this one that the standard advice given to young ladies facing great grief and tragedy throughout this series has been "you need to get right away from it"; the family and friends always seem to believe that removing from the scene of any horrible event and "putting it right out of your mind" is the cure-all for getting over the death of loved ones or the trauma of witnessing or being a part of something tragic.

By the same author: The Changeling; The Witch From the Sea; The Lion Triumphant; The Miracle at St Bruno's.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {Loving Mr Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley}

Loving Mr Darcy by Sharon Lathan - I should have known better, after suffering through the inanity of the first book in this series. Actually, I did know better, but I'd intended to read all three so I set out to get through the second. This offering is just as full of repetitious bedroom scenes, and just as devoid of anything resembling plot as the first. In fact, I could sum up the book as follows: Darcy and Elizabeth continue to be completely ruled by raging hormones and immature obsessive passion all the way through Elizabeth's pregnancy. There is a pattern to most of the chapters that basically describes some tedious detail of their daily life and then includes a rehash of the standard breathless rush to the bedroom to once again reach the heights of passion and delight. <insert eyeroll here> 

What the book lacks in plot, it makes up for in complete absence of direction and momentum. What it lacks in intelligent dialogue, it makes up for in overly sentimental and repetitious moaning and wheezing of endearments during lustful encounters. (Both Darcy and Lizzy frequently "wheeze" during their lovemaking - not very attractive, in my opinion, but it provided a moment of amusement for me when I read it.)

Elizabeth's progressing pregnancy tends to give the illusion of a storyline, but mostly it serves as a reason for Darcy to be sentimental and overprotective, and for the reader to (presumably) be even more impressed that Elizabeth continues to be just as lascivious and enthusiastic in the bedroom as her baby bump grows. Towards the end of the book, Darcy takes Elizabeth on a tour of Derbyshire and plays the part of tour guide. There are several chapters of description of the sights and history of the region, which are frankly, horribly boring, and are still punctuated by their insatiable lust. The bedroom scenes became boring long ago, because they are all basically the same. Then they are set upon by highwaymen at one point and unbelievably, even that event turned out to be ho-hum because it was resolved within the chapter, and completely predictably. How can you include a scene with an armed robbery, violence and attempted rape and murder, and still not achieve a sense of tension or crisis in the narrative? Incredibly, Lathan manages it.

As in my review of the first book, I do have to temper my harsh criticism with something positive. I really do appreciate a point that I think Lathan is trying to make. I have the impression that by being very clear that Darcy and Elizabeth have both remained completely chaste until their marriage, and then indulging in scene after scene of their intense physical satisfaction within marriage, the author may be attempting to show that the most secure and fulfilling marriage relationship is best achieved by waiting until the wedding and being completely faithful to each other. That said, I firmly believe that the point could have been made more effectively with far less description of "burgeoning desires" and "evidence of arousal" etc. 

Why these books are receiving favorable reviews is completely beyond my understanding. Despite my original intention to read all three in this series, I refuse to put myself through the literary torment of even skimming through the third. I have the book which I believe is intended to be the fourth, and focuses on a character Lathan invented, Darcy's uncle Dr George Darcy. In hopes that it might actually have something sort of resembling a storyline, I may give it a chance at some point. My hope is slim, however. 

By the same author: Mr & Mrs Fitzwilliam Darcy; and one of the novellas in A Darcy Christmas. Neither of which is worth your time or trouble either, and certainly not any of your money, in my opinion.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {The Changeling}

The Changeling by Philippa Carr - I must say I like the cover art on the edition I have much better than the one above, but anyway... I had been reading through Carr's "Daughters of England" series again and left off quite awhile ago. (And I haven't bothered writing about them as I read them either - the last one I mentioned on the blog was #3 in the series, and this is #15! oops.) I picked up where I left off and just finished this one, which is set during Victorian England. (The series follows a family tree from mother to daughter, beginning in the time of Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn. Each is a romance novel in a rather gothic style - high drama and adventure, with dark secrets and hints of the supernatural.) Young Rebecca Mandeville is not at all happy when her widowed mother married Benedict Lansdon, and resents many of the changes it brings to her life. Worst of all, her mother dies in childbirth, and Rebecca helps to mother her young sister, Belinda. Their relationship with Benedict is distant at best. Rebecca brings another child into the family circle when a tragedy at a party leaves Lucie an orphan. Just because of the title, the reader clues into the possibility that Belinda may just be a changeling early in the story, but the clues don't fall into place for the characters right until the end. In the meantime, Rebecca and Benedict begin to develop a friendship amid the other tragedies and mysteries that surround them and their loved ones. Of course it all comes right in the end, although it's amazing to me how placidly they all seem to accept the startling revelation about the changeling at the end.

By the same author: The Witch From the Sea; The Lion Triumphant; The Miracle at St Bruno's.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Tuesday's Treasures {The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations}

This post is copied from my main blog, Homeschool Coffee Break, but because this link-up is about books, my contributions will appear here too!

Hi, my name is Kym and I'm a grammar geek and word nerd. My kids would say I'm a grammar nazi, but I think that's a little harsh. I am a little obsessive about correcting them when they misuse "me" and "I" but that's become something of a family joke now, and the boys say it wrong on purpose half the time just to mess with me. And they love it when they can catch me getting something wrong. Of course, just because I'm a grammar nerd doesn't mean that I never make mistakes, or that I avoid speaking (or writing) using slang or extremely informal style. If you've ever talked to me in person or read some of my stuff on message boards or Facebook (or even here) you probably already know that. In fact, I've noticed lately that I use a lot of sentence fragments. I figure it's okay because this blog isn't for college credit. 

That background may help explain why I'm fascinated by this book and consider it so much fun. I have a horror of mispronouncing words. I remember being stumped by the word "calliope" and how much my hubby teased me when I got it wrong. I guess he figured he scored one on the grammar nerd! Not so much any more, but I used to provide lots of amusement to my American friends because of my "Canadian accent" and for using the British pronunciation of some words. I found the big book of beastly mispronunciations by Charles Harrington Elster in the library's book sale bin and for 25 cents I could not pass it up!

I'm just nerdy enough that I actually read this book cover-to-cover for enjoyment, and I still refer to it when a pronunciation issue comes up. It backs up my opinion when I claim that sports reporters say "fracas" incorrectly, or when I get irritated over someone saying that something is "patently false" while using a "patently incorrect" pronunciation, or when I insist that "New England Primer" and "paint primer" are not said the same way! It also proves my case that I am not mispronouncing "advertisement" or "lieutenant", merely using the British pronunciation. As I said, I am not always right, and have been surprised to find that I have been saying "congruent" and "alumnae" incorrectly. Thankfully, many words listed in this book have more than one correct or accepted pronunciation, so we sometimes find that although we aren't using the preferred pronunciation, at least we're not wrong. It's not just a book listing pronunciation either, most of the entries are accompanied with an explanation of the word origins and how the accepted pronunciations have changed over time, and often presented with droll humor. 

Are you second-guessing yourself on some of the above words? (I second-guess myself often, just because the book has shown that what we hear most often is not always correct!) Here are the answers from the expert, as found in my book:

• advertisement AD-ver-TYZ-ment (American); ad-VUR-tiz-ment (chiefly British)
• alumnae uh-LUHM-nee. Do not say uh-LUHM-ny.
• congruent KAHNG-groo-wint. Stress the first syllable.
• fracas FRAY-kis, not FRAK-is
• lieutenant loo-TEN-int (American always); lef-TEN-int (British)
• patent when used to mean "obvious" the pronunciation is PAYT'nt; for all other meanings the pronunciation is PAT'nt
• primer an introductory textbook is a PRIM-ur; paint is PRY-mur

This book is fun and educational for word nerds! Everyone around me may say EK-struh-OR-di-ner-ee but I know it should be ek-STROR-di-ner-ee and will say it correctly. But no matter how wrong it is, I guess I will probably keep saying FUNG-gy even though I now know that it is supposed to be FUN-jy. Old habits die hard.

What words do you wonder about? Leave a comment if you'd like me to check the book for the correct pronunciation! 

The original post is linked at Every Bed of Roses for Tuesday's Treasures. Blog about a book on your shelf, one you're reading, or one you found at the library.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {The Good Knight}

The Good Knight by Sarah Woodbury - Sometimes you can find something really good among the freebies for Kindle. In my opinion, The Good Knight was one of those finds for me. A mystery with a bit of romance, and set in medieval Wales - no wonder the description had me hooked! The story was not a disappointment either, with well-developed characters and an intriguing mystery. At times I did feel a little confused, as if there was some background I had missed, and I did check to make sure this wasn't the second of a series! It is the first in this series, although a prequel novella is available as well. Most of the missing pieces were supplied later in the book, so other than those few moments of "did I miss something?" or disconnects in the storyline, the story was quite satisfying, and the twists and turns in the mystery plot kept me wondering and guessing along with Gareth and Gwen as they unravel the knots of murder, conspiracy theories, and political maneuvering. The ending was a bit abrupt - it felt like there should be a bit more, but maybe that's so I'll read the second book in the series?

Gwen is the daughter of a court bard, who also happens to be a spy for one of the Welsh princes. When her party stumbles upon the scene of an ambush on the way to a royal wedding, she renews her contact with the knight who was courting her before he was dismissed from his lord's service. Gareth is also a spy, and together they work to find out who conspired to murder the king who was on his way to be married. There are plenty of suspects to consider, but when Gareth himself is accused of the crime, things really get complicated. Turns out that very few characters in this book are completely trustworthy or can be neatly categorized as "good guys" or "bad guys". And as a bonus, at the end I found out that some of the characters and plot are based on actual events.

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {Mr & Mrs Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One}

Mr & Mrs Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan - Have you ever read a book from the Best Seller List that everyone else was raving about, but it totally left you flat? That's kind of what my experience with this book was. I'm glad I only borrowed it and didn't pay for it, and I am baffled as to why this author is acclaimed by many as one of the best writers of P&P sequels. 

My first complaint is that this "novel" doesn't even have a storyline! When I was in school, I was taught that a good story has to have some kind of conflict that is resolved. There is little of that in this selection, and as such, there is no ongoing plot to tie the book together. As the book starts with the Darcy wedding day, the wedding night jitters that Elizabeth experiences are presented as being a sort of conflict, but of course that is resolved within the next chapter and this sets the tone for the rest of the book (I'll get to that in a moment because it is another complaint.). Then there really is nothing else that might qualify as conflict until almost the end, when Elizabeth suffers an accident that threatens her health and when Darcy discovers that the inappropriate advances of another man were the cause of the accident, he challenges the man to a duel. But overall, I can summarize the "plot" and save you the trouble of reading the book this way: Darcy and Elizabeth get frisky in every room of Pemberley, and nothing else very interesting ever happens. Actually, their panting and lustful obsession isn't very interesting either, because it's just the same thing recycled in every chapter.

That is my second complaint - essentially the book is a series of bedroom scenes, actually the same scene presented over and over again with some minor variations in location and position, and each one accompanied by a sickly sweet and ridiculous 'dialogue' of "Precious love... I need you so... Beloved wife... Adored husband..." BARF. Okay, I'm glad they love each other and have a mutually satisfying marriage bed - I'd expect no less - but 1) I don't need to hear or read about it over and over again; and 2) it's just very badly done and unbelievable. Like I said, same scene over and over again with a couple of minor variations. At least they are not overly graphic in terms of dirty language or body part descriptions, but still. There is little storytelling value in all the "rising desire... blissful union... breathless passion..." nonsense that makes up at least three-quarters of the pages.

I also take exception to the reader reviews that say "this could have been written by Austen herself" and wonder whether those readers have actually read any of Austen's works or just some of the poorer fan fiction. Thankfully, Lathan does have a solid command of the English language and the writing itself is not bad, but it certainly is not comparable to Austen's style, especially the dialogue.

To be fair, there are some things I did appreciate about this book. Having read some fan fiction that was riddled with horrible mistakes in everything from grammar to historical accuracy, I was glad to find little to complain about in that regard. There were a couple of word usages that I thought were out of their time (for example, Elizabeth telling Darcy he was "cute" as if they had suddenly been transported to the 1980s) but overall that aspect of the writing was very good. Inasmuch as I hated the repetitious and unrealistic lust scenes, I need to say that I truly appreciate that Lathan's Darcy and Elizabeth both remained chaste until their wedding day. It seems to be popular among the fan fiction writers to portray Darcy as a complete rake with vast sensual experience, and in my opinion this is completely opposed to the character Austen created. Lathan's Darcy makes it very clear to Elizabeth that he has waited for marriage. (This actually creates a problem though, because on their wedding night, he seems to be extremely knowledgeable. Lathan "solves" this problem by having him confess later to Elizabeth that he is in possession of a couple of "instructional" books. Good grief.) And Lathan does a commendable job of having the characters continue to act in keeping with their descriptions by Austen, although their dialogue is certainly simpler.

After so many complaints about the book, it shames me somewhat to admit that I will probably read the rest of this series, simply because I have the fourth book and feel like I should read those in between. I have no great expectation that the second and third will differ much from this one, so it likely won't take me long to get through them. I plan to skim the lust scenes since they are all the same anyway. 

By the same author: one of the novellas in A Darcy Christmas. It's interesting to note that my review of that particular story was summarized as "Not much of a storyline, but I had no complaints either." I guess since it was a short story and Elizabeth was heavily pregnant, there was probably only one lust scene. LOL

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {A Lasting Impression}

A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander - Tamera Alexander is quickly becoming another favorite author of mine, although this is only the second of her books that I've read. This historical novel is set in Nashville shortly after the Civil War. Claire Laurent wants so much to be recognized as an artist in her own right, and to be able to create paintings that will make that "lasting impression", but it doesn't seem possible as long as her father expects her to paint copies of paintings that he and a family friend fraudulently sell as originals. When the gallery is robbed, it appears that Claire's life may be in danger so she is sent to Nashville. Things don't turn out as planned on her arrival, and determined to build a new life for herself and put her dishonest past behind her, she applies for a position as the personal liaison to Mrs Adelicia Acklen, the wealthiest woman in America at that time. Sutton Monroe is a lawyer who works for Mrs Acklen and becomes Claire's very good friend. The growing relationship between Claire and Sutton is threatened by the possibility of the details of Claire's past being uncovered. Despite her determination to be honest in all her dealings, Claire realizes that telling her new employer that she once participated in art forgery is very risky so she doesn't volunteer any information. Sutton becomes involved in investigating the art fraud case, although Claire doesn't know it. This sets up an interesting tension all the way through the story. I found myself almost holding my breath throughout, wondering when Claire's past will be exposed and how. The storytelling is rich and suspenseful, and the romance brewing between Claire and Sutton is tender and heart-warming.

I do need to take issue with part of the description on the back cover -

When she's forced to flee her home, her path collides with attorney Sutton Monroe, who shows her kindness by not turning her in to authorities. But when he later refuses to come to her aid, Claire fears she's sorely misjudged him.

How did I miss the part when he "refuses to come to her aid"? I honestly didn't see that anywhere in the book, and I was actually watching for it. Perhaps not the most accurate book jacket description, but that shouldn't detract from an excellent historical novel with drama and romance along with lovely historical detail.

By the same author:  To Whisper Her Name

©2008-2013 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/