Review: Once a Princess by Johanna Lindsey

Once a Princess
Author: Johanna Lindsey

I remember reading this book many years ago when I was on a Johanna Lindsey reading spree. This time around, I was in mood for reading a good bodice-ripper. And Johanna Lindsey always delivers on that count!

It was a quick read and I enjoyed it. The story is very predictable, anyone can guess it by reading the description written at the back. Mostly it consists of a lot of hot scenes with a loosely woven plot to hold them all together. Very predictable and funny, but I enjoyed it.

I rate it a 4/5 for delivering what it promised!

Review: Never Love a Cowboy

Never Love a Cowboy by Lorraine Heath


Really liked the book even though most of it was highly predictable. The book was divided into two parts, the first one where Harrison and Jessey go on the great cattle drive, and the second where Harry, who is crippled during the drive finds a way to accept himself with the help of Jessey and his friends, each of whom have a past.

The second part of the story gives the book some depth. Most historicals would have ended with the female protagonist happily accepting the physical shortcomings and the characters living happily together, all in the space of a few pages. Heath gets into the depth of feelings felt by Harry, showing him as an unsufferable idiot who is angry at the world and himself. She traces the entire journey from him being unable to accept his disability to showing anger, depression and finally acceptance.

The characters are well etched out, both of them staying true to their pschye laid out intially itself. I liked the way all the other characters were shaped as well and am looking forward to read Kit's book as well. I have jumped the series, not reading the first part of the series, which I may also read.

All in all, once the book picked up some pace, I really liked it and you will too if you are a fan of Western Historicals.

I would rate it 3.5/5

Review: The Untamed Bride

The Untamed Bride by Stephanie Laurens


My rating: 2 of 5 stars


The book is the first in the Black Cobra Series. It has characters from the Cynster and Bastion series coming in. While it was good to read about the stories of the side-characters from other series and follow-up on characters of the older series, the book itself was very O.K.

The story of the Untamed Bride is the same, a group of officers with the East India Company, posted in India are summoned by the Governor to stop the menance of the Black Cobra, a cult which has terrorized the country and the Englishment residing there. The guys figure out in the first few pages itself who is the lynchpin, which obviously is a well-known member of the British Aristrocacy (coz to eliminate an Indian dacoit during the Raj would not merit a series after all). The series revolves around how these four officers plan to bring this guy to justice and find true love on the way (of course! what did you think this was about?).

As I read more books by Stephanie Laurens, I find them increasingly formulaic, even the writing is stale and repetitive. The themes are the same and the books are seeming increasingly verbous. I can safely skip over a few pages every now and then and be assured that I dont miss anything important to the story line. Its almost like the afternoon soaps!
I doubt I will be reading the remaining series.


*Read if you have not got enough of the Bastion or Cynster books.

Review: Love, Come to Me

Love, Come to Me by Lisa Kleypas


My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


Well, it was uncomplicated. Typical romance written in the 80s and early 90s, when books mainly revolved around the dashing, smart, rich alpha male. There is nothing really special

I really liked it because it took me to a time when I used to gorge on these.. happy and carefree days, when i could read, dream for sometime and move on to the next one :)

Review: Captive Bride

Book Details:






Author: Johanna Lindsey


Publisher: Avon (1977)


Book Summary: Under the desert stars of an Egyptian night, beautiful Christina Wakefield is overcome not with romance, but with terror--as she is kidnapped by an unknown abductor and held prisoner in his secret encampment! Enslaved by a man she thinks she hates, Christina is eventually awakened--in body and soul--by the passion of a man who wants her desperately.


My Review: A fresh look at an old favourite


My love of Historical Romance started with Johanna Lindsey books. I remember hot afternoons when I used to read her novels, especially the Malory series, at one go. Now, after many years, I decided to re-visit some of her books. I picked up Captive Bride as it was her first book and I could not remember reading it before. 30-40 pages into the book, I realised that, sadly, I had. Looking from a more mature perspective, and having an experience of reading a few hundred historical romances under my belt, I found myself not really liking Ms. Lindsey’s writing. This being her first book, you can clearly see how she has also matured through the years.


The book is a typical bodice-ripper, where the hero is an Alpha Male (obviously) and the heroine is wishy-washy and falls in love with him despite being kidnapped and threatened with physical abuse. He is an Englishman, who is also a Sheik, (it surprises me how many Englishmen end up as Sheiks in bodice-rippers) and gives the impression of being a spoiled brat, (I want her and I want her now... doesn’t matter if she does not want me). She seems the epitome of perfect woman, brave, beautiful, intelligent and has men all over falling at her feet. There is nothing new in the plot and the book is full of clichés.


Overall, I did not like the book as much as I had before. However, I rate it a 2/5 for old times’ sake. I read this as a part of my 100+ Books in a Year Challenge, Historical Romance Challenge, Historical Fiction Challenge and 2011 E-Books Reading Challenge.


Rating: 2/5

Jane Austen

The time has come for me to admit to a shameful secret... for a fan of historical romance novels, I have never read Jane Austen (gasp!).... I know I know it is absolutely shameful and the historical romance reader community will insist on returning my membership if there was any.. but I never did...

I have decided to remedy this awful oversight and start reading the goddess of romance...

on the side I have included a poll to help me pick the best novel to start with.. please do give your vote...

Review: When Someone Loves You (Darley Series, #2)

 Book Details:

Author: Susan Johnson                 Publisher: Brava (2006)

Book Summary: It was common gossip that "Duff" D'Abernon, Marquis of Darley, had returned from Waterloo a changed man. Gone was the reckless youth and in his place was a sullen recluse more interested in tending his horses than attending balls. But now the Marquis was entering the game again, openly flirting with the beautiful, witty, and thoroughly disreputable Annabelle Foster. Annabelle's no stranger to scandal. The actress-playwright is rumoured to have had liaisons with any number of powerful men, with an illegitimate daughter to show for it. She won't chance heartache again, even for a man as tempting as Duff D'Abernon. What she offers instead is a compromise: a true friendship between equals. Each agrees to the terms. A bargain is struck. And an idyllic summer begins. But what starts as friendship soon blossoms into searing passion. And the only thing worse than risking their hearts is not risking them at all...

My Review:

I am new to reading Susan Johnson, having read just one contemporary romance, Hot Pink, by her. I had liked the really hot bedroom scenes in Hot Pink, she being one of the few who don’t give the written version of the Bollywood favorite shots of fans, and flowers to depict bedroom scenes, or the romance writer descriptions of rapture and paradise. I picked up When Someone Loves you on impulse, thinking that the romance between an actress and a viscount set in 1800 England was bound to be interesting.

The story, while good, is nothing new to historical romance readers or any romance reader for that matter. The characters though seem two dimensional and the writing and the confusing dialogue fail to bring the plot together. The historical bits seem to have been added in as an afterthought and don’t really seem as part of the story. The two protagonists are instantly attracted to each other and are open to “being” with each other. Both don’t want to marry and value their independence, not unlike any modern romance. Nothing much seems to happen in the first half, while the second half is filled with one situation after the other, all of which seem to get resolved rather quickly and neatly. The author's attempt to flesh out the story and create depth by adding conflicts just make the plot go every which way. I was not even convinced that both the hero and the heroine really are in love, rather than just lust! The book has the signature Susan Johnson hot bedroom scenes though. All in all it is an OK read, if you have nothing more interesting on your shelves. Definitely not a keeper.

This was the second book in the series; I will try and read the first one, Someone to Love, the story of Duff’s parents.

I rate it as 2/5 as it was largely forgettable. I read this as a part of my 100 e-books Challenge, Historical Fiction Challenge, Historical Romance Challenge and 100+ Books in a Year Challenge. 

Rating: 2/5

Book Review: The Lost Duke of Wyndham

Book Summary:
Highwayman Jack Audley has never wanted to be responsible for an ancient heritage and the livelihood of others. But when he is recognized as the long-lost son of the House of Wyndham, his carefree life is over. If his birth proves to be legitimate, Jack will find himself with the one title he has never wanted: Duke of Wyndham. Original.


Jack Audley has been a highwayman.


A soldier. And he has "always" been a rogue. What he is not, and never wanted to be, is a peer of the realm, responsible for an ancient heritage and the livelihood of hundreds. But when he is recognized as the long-lost son of the House of Wyndham, his carefree life is over. And if his birth proves to be legitimate, then he will find himself with the one title he never wanted: Duke of Wyndham.
Grace Eversleigh has spent the last five years toiling as the companion to the dowager Duchess of Wyndham. It is a thankless job, with very little break from the routine… until Jack Audley lands in her life, all rakish smiles and debonair charm. He is not a man who takes no for an answer, and when she is in his arms, she's not a woman who wants to say no. But if he is the true duke, then he is the one man she can never have…


Review: This book is the first part of a two part series and is paired with Mr. Cavendish, I Presume… The book starts off with on an interesting note, with the hero, retired soldier-turned highwayman, Jack Audley, trying to rob the dowager Duchess of Wyndham and her companion Grace Eversleigh. However, what follows is a little fantastic (even for a historical romance). The dowager recognizes Jack as her long-lost grandson at first encounter itself, simply by observing his charm and seeing the top half of his face (the bottom half is covered by a mask). She gives him a ring which belonged to his father as proof. Of course Jack recognizes the ring, and of course, he is the true Duke (it IS a romance after all!). The duchess then goes on to kidnap him the next day (easily) and brings him to her castle to restore him to his rightful position as the Duke of Wyndham, displacing the current Duke, Thomas, who she dislikes for some reason (though I don't know why, he seems perfect!). In the midst of all this, there is that instant attraction between him and the heroine Grace Eversleigh.


Grace is shown as a calm and collected woman, who is in control of her emotions. The author has gone so far with the character that the heroine comes across as spineless, timid and uninteresting. She takes a lot of nonsense from the Duchess to whom she feels indebted to for rescuing her from an unpleasant situation with her cousin. She is also torn between her loyalty to Thomas and her growing attraction to Jack. There is a friendship between her and Thomas and at one point I had hopes that the story will take a twist with Grace or Thomas acting on the attraction... But, sadly the author stuck to her formula and led the heroine unerringly to Jack.


Whereas this is all standard fare, what sets this story apart from other Julia Quinn books (most of which I thoroughly enjoy) is that the hero is not very convincing. Despite his protestations, he just goes along with the dowager's plans. The heroine is like one in a Bollywood movie, perpetually confused… she loves Jack but can't decide if she wants him to be a Duke or not...The most interesting character of the novel turns out to be Thomas. He displays true Hero quality and steps down when Jack's legitimacy is proven and also his relationship with his long-term fiancée Amelia is intriguing.


The book has the expected Julia Quinn charm and humor, but doesn't have that LOL quality exhibited by her previous books. There are times of great humor but, most of Jack's dealings with the dowager, though sometimes funny, often fall flat. It would be great if she had also come back with some snappy reply. But, that would not do as she is portrayed of the bitchy grandmom (à la Lalita Pawar) who has lost her sense of humor. It almost seemed as if the author had drawn up a list of qualities for each of her character and has not allowed them to stray from the script. The characters (except Thomas) almost feel one-dimensional, either black or white, with very little room for grey... I would have loved some wickedness in the novel, with some characters actually behaving out of character. Alas, that does not happen…


The novel ends predictably with Jack, despite his lack of skills, becomes the Duke, and is hugely successful at it. Grace, doing credit to her name, visits the bitchy dowager, even though she doesn't have to... And they live happily ever after…


All in all a good read, but not memorable. I rate this one as 3 as I enjoyed reading it and am definitely looking forward to reading the second part of the series, Mr. Cavendish, I Presume… I can't wait to see what happens to Thomas!


Rating: 3/5
I read this as a part of my 100 e-books Challenge, Historical Romance Challenge, 1^st in a Series Challenge, Historical Fiction Challenge and 100+ Books in a Year Challenge (Almost all of them! Good choice!).