The year’s not over with yet, but with the holidays coming up and a list of things I still want to do (top ten list, challenge wrap-ups, goals for 2012, etc.), I thought I’d post this now and do a follow-up later, if needed. Plus, if I never get around to writing all the reviews, at least I have one post I can refer to.  The books are listed in the order in which they were read.

5 Stars

Buffalo West Wing (Hyzy, Julie) {16 Jan 11}
Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil (Karpyshyn, Drew) {6 Feb 11}
Unchained (Ashwood, Sharon) {26 Feb 11}
Queen of Shadows (Sylvan, Dianne) {14 Mar 11}
Song of Scarabaeus (Creasy, Sara) {23 Mar 11}
The Hunger Games (Collins, Suzanne) {6 Apr 11}
Visions of Heat (Singh, Nalini) {12 May 11}
Magic Lost Trouble Found (Shearin, Lisa) {21 May 11}
Caressed by Ice (Singh, Nalini) {22 May 11}
Mine to Possess (Singh, Nalini) {24 May 11}
Magic Slays (Andrews, Ilona) {1 Jun 11}
Renegade Angel (Castle, Kendra Leigh) {6 Jun 11}
Frostbound (Ashwood, Sharon) {13 Jun 11}
Red Heat (Bruhns, Nina) {22 Jun 11}}
Touched by an Alien (Koch, Gini) {30 Jun 11}
Dragon Bound (Harrison, Thea) {2 Jul 11}
Storm’s Heart (Harrison, Thea) {5 Aug 11}
Branded by Fire (Singh, Nalini) {15 Aug 11}
Tiger Eye (Liu, Marjorie M.) {4 Sep 11}
Blaze of Memory (Singh, Nalina) {18 Sep 11}
Bonds of Justice (Singh, Nalini) {23 Oct 11}

4 Stars

Black Wings (Henry, Christina) {4 Jan 11}
Blood Spells (Andersen, Jessica) {20 Feb 11}
Whisper Kiss (Cooke, Deborah {28 Feb 11}
Paying the Virgin’s Price (Merrill, Christine) {12 Mar 11}
Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Vaughn, Carrie) {19 Mar 11}
A Taste of Magic (Madison, Tracy) {31 Mar 11}
Bound by Shadow (Windsor, Anna) {11 Apr 11}
Darkness Dawns (Duvall, Dianne) {17 Apr 11}
Visions of Magic (Hastings, Regan) {24 Apr 11}
Beyond the Night (Ware, Joss) {29 Apr 11}
Secret Society Girl (Peterfreund, Diana) {1 May 11}
Halfway to the Grave (Frost, Jeaniene) {9 May 11}
Just the Sexiest Man Alive (James, Julie) {2 Jun 11}
Master of None (Bateman, Sonya) {5 Jun 11}
Stormwalker (James, Allyson) {11 June 11}
Cold as Ice (Stuart, Anne) {4 Jul 11}
Sylvester (Heyer, Georgette) {10 Jul 11}
Kiss of Midnight (Adrian, Lara) {25 Jul 11}
Marked (Naughton, Elisabeth) {31 Jul 11}
Hostage to Pleasure (Singh, Nalini) {8 Aug 11}
Blood Bound (Briggs, Patricia) {13 Aug 11}
Heiress in Love (Brooke, Christina) {20 Aug 11}
A Regimental Murder (Gardner, Ashley) {27 Aug 11}
Kindling the Moon (Bennett, Jenn) {2 Sep 11}
Kiss of Crimson (Adrian, Lara) {8 Sep 11}
His Majesty’s Dragon (Novik, Naomi) {17 Sep 11}
Murder with Puffins (Andrews, Donna) {20 Sep 11}
Sins of the Angels (Poitevin, Linda) {30 Sep 11}
The Brain and the Beauty (Eliot, Betsy) {6 Oct 11}
Shadow Kin (Scott, M. J.) {8 Oct 11}
Flying Blind (Cooke, Deborah) {11 Oct 11}
Black Night (Henry, Christina) {29 Oct 11}

3 Stars

The Painted Lady (Metzger, Barbara) {10 Jan 11}
Not Without Her Family (Andrews, Beth) {24 Jan 11}
The Lord and Wayward Lady (Allen, Louise) {30 Jan 11}
Persecuted (Childs, Lisa) {27 Mar 11}
Hot Mama (Estep, Jennifer) {15 Apr 11}
Darkfire Kiss (Cooke, Deborah) {29 May 11}
Jedi Twilight (Reaves, Michael) {17 Jul 11}
Pride Mates (Ashley, Jennifer) {24 Aug 11}
Passions of a Wicked Earl (Heath, Lorraine) {24 Sep 11}
Viper Moon (Roland, Lee) {29 Sep 11}
Serpent’s Kiss (Harrison, Thea) {6 Nov 11}

Note: Due to the excessive amount of spam, I’ve added a password plugin. Please don’t let that discourage you from commenting.

Week ending 5 Feb 2011

Amazon.com

• On the Hunt (Anthology) (Showalter, Butcher, Andersen, Knight)

Barnes and Noble.com (gift card)

• Visions of Magic (Regan Hastings)
• Darkness Dawns (Dianne Duvall)

Audible.com (Not pictured) (credits + sale)

• Persuasion (Jane Austen/Anne Flosnik)
• Ill Wind (Rachel Caine/Dina Pearlman)
• The Convenient Marriage (Georgette Heyer/Caroline Hunt)
• The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (Lauren Willig/Kate Reading)

Why Shoot a Butler? (Georgette Heyer)

Title: Why Shoot a Butler?
Author: Georgette Heyer
Original Copyright: 1933
Copyright: 2009 (Sourcebooks); 329 pgs.
ISBN: 978-1-4022-1795-1
Series: N/A
Sensuality: N/A
Genre: Mystery

Summary: London barrister Frank Amberley is on his way to visit his uncle, Sir Humphrey Matthews, in the country. Opting to take his cousin Felicity’s so-called “short cut”, Frank gets lost and stumbles onto an interesting scene: a dead man in a car and a young woman standing in the road, claiming she didn’t kill him. Frank believes she didn’t murder the man despite the circumstances, but he’s sure she knows more than she’s telling. Revealing her presence at the scene of the crime to the local police would complicate things unnecessarily, so he omits the fact when he reports the murder and starts making his own inquiries.

Comments: I usually have a hard time reading mysteries because sometimes I figure out the clues faster than than the protagonist. Not so with this mystery. Frank keeps things to himself, so you really don’t know what he’s already discovered, and we have to guess what he’s up to until the author lets us in on his secrets — unless you’re his Aunt Marion. Lady Matthews is apparently a lot shrewder than anyone would guess, and manages to figure out much of the mystery, though only person who knows that is Frank. She’s my favorite character and Frank adores her. There was one character who’s behavior made me think that perhaps this person was the culprit or, the very least, an accomplice. Since this book is a mystery, I don’t want to go into too much detail about the characters and their actions, since I don’t want to give anything away.

Being a barrister, Frank’s familiar with crime in general, and motives, so he’s not a complete amateur when it comes to mysteries. He’s also abrasive and he has little respect for the investigative abilities of the local constabulary. And after seeing them at work, it’s not surprising. I imagined Frank to be like those characters in the old black and white movies. In fact, since the book was written in the 30s, I could easily picture Cary Grant, or one of his contemporaries, playing the part. It made it easier for me to “get” the characters and I enjoyed the book more for it.

This was my first Heyer mystery and I really like it. I will definitely be reading her others.

Finished: 1 October 2010

Rating:

Liked A Lot

Disclaimer: I purchased this book.

The meme is hosted by Reading at the Beach.

The rules are very simple: spotlight a book written by an author whose first or last name begins with the featured letter. Include the book cover, title and author, a synopsis, and link(s) to retailer(s). If it’s a book you’ve already reviewed, link to the review. Return to Reading at the Beach and leave a link in the comments.

This week’s letter is: H

This week pick: Heyer, Georgette — Why Shoot a Butler?

Why Shoot a Butler?

From Amazon/back blurb: On a dark night, along a lonely country road, barrister Frank Amberley stops to help a young lady in distress and discovers a sports car with a corpse behind the wheel. The girl protests her innocence, and Amberley believes her—at least until he gets drawn into the mystery and the clues incriminating Shirley Brown begin to add up…

Comment: I’ve never read one of her mysteries before, and I have to say that didn’t guess the murderer right away — and there’s more to the story than who killed the butler. Frank even makes the comment that his death is the least interesting part of the mystery. I’m almost finished with this book and I’m looking forward to reading her other mysteries.

Note: The link below is to Fantastic Fiction, which has a variety of purchase options (including on-line secondary markets) for the US and UK.

Why Shoot a Butler? (Heyer, Georgette) at Fantastic Fiction.

Teaser Tuesdays asks you to:

Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

Why Shoot a Butler?

The teaser:

“Horrid happenings, Aunt. I’ve been finding dead bodies.”
– from page 23, Why Shoot a Butler? (Georgette Heyer)

Why I picked this book: I’ve enjoyed Heyer’s romances, and I thought I’d try one of her mysteries.

By having that gap between finishing the book and when I actually sit down to put my thoughts on paper, I have a better take on which books stay with me.  Since I have to refresh my memory on some points, I usually have to do a little re-reading.  If I really love the book, I tend to keep reading after I found whatever it was that prompted me to refer to the book.  That’s a bit annoying, since I should be writing, not reading.  The harder it is for me to put aside the book, the more likely the book is going to be a 5-star book, flaws and all.

With that in mind, I’m going to go ahead and give ratings to the books I’ve already posted.  I’ll eventually update the individual review posts.  Reminder: anything I give a 3-Star or above is a guarantee that I will try other books from the author.

Five Stars:  LOVED!

• Dawnkeepers (Jessica Andersen)
• Bedded for Diamonds (a.k.a. Priceless) (Kelly Hunter)
• Ravenous (Sharon Ashwood)
• Dark Crusade (Lori Devoti)

Four Stars: Liked a lot!

• Driven (Eve Kenin)
• An Unladylike Offer (Christine Merrill)
• Ace is Wild (Penny McCall)

Three Stars: Enjoyable Read

• Slave to Sensation (Nalini Singh)
• Cousin Kate (Georgette Heyer)
• Shadow Game (Christine Feehan)

Cousin Kate

Author: Georgette Heyer
Copyright: 1968 (original)’ 2000 (Harlequin); 396 pgs.
ISBN: 0-373-83446-2
Series: NA
Sensuality: Kisses

Who: Kate Melvern and Philip Broome
Where & When: England, 1817/1818

As author Teresa Medeiros states in the Forward, this book is a departure — more Gothic suspense than high comedy — yet it is not as dark as other Gothics, because it still contains Heyer’s trademark secondary characters and humor.

The lovely orphaned and penniless Kate Melvern is at the end of her rope, so to speak. Released from her governess position for being too young, too pretty, and not accomplished enough, Kate has returned to her own nurse, Sarah Nidd and is seriously considering hiring herself out as a lady’s maid or seamstress. Sarah won’t hear of it and she writes to Lady Broome, half-sister of Kate’s father. Estranged, Kate has never met her Aunt Minerva and only knows what her father has told her of her ambitious relative. Kate has serious doubts that Lady Broome will help to her, so she is doubly shocked when her aunt comes in person to invite her to Staplewood.

Staplewood is the ancestral home of the Broome’s. The current baronet, Sir Timothy, is many years older than Aunt Minerva — who is his second wife — and his health is in decline. Their only child, Torquil, is a bit of an oddity. He has never been sent away to school and he has no friends. Prone to mood swings and severe headaches, his health is considered delicate and the young man is hardly ever out of the sight of his doctor or some member of the household.

Though Lady Broome is very kind and generous, Kate begins to feel crushed by such generosity and wonders how she will be able to ever repay her aunt. Though Kate has begged her aunt to allow her to be useful, Lady Broome has reassured her that Kate spending time with Torquil is ample repayment. Kate is bored with the idle lifestyle. There are no balls or other house parties — except the one dinner party attended by only Sir Timothy’s friends — to break up the monotony, and Torquil’s behavior makes him a poor companion.

The arrival of Mr. Philip Broome, Sir Timothy’s beloved nephew, adds some excitement and change to the household. Philip and Lady Broome do not like each other. She resents the influence Philip has with Sir Timothy and the high regard Sir Timothy has for Philip. Torquil is alternately happy to see him and convinced that Philip is out to get him. For his part, Philip is leery of Kate and believes her to be a fortune hunter with an eye on Torquil. After a couple of uninterrupted conversations with her, he soon realizes that he’s mistaken in regards to her character, and that she is unaware of the real situation at Staplewood.

I really enjoyed this book. Kate is one of the more level-headed, practical, Heyer heroines. Philip is strong, but not unduly arrogant and can admit that he may be wrong about what’s going on at Staplewood. Of course, they are perfectly suited for each other and the scene in which Philip proposes to Kate is the highlight of the book.

And one final note: Torquil? Seriously??

Started: 25 January 2009
Finished: 2 February 2009

Rating:
TBA

I don’t normally look at my stats. WordPress makes it easy for me to do so — and occasionally I glance at what search terms my blog popped up for, or which site most of my visitors were referred from — but for the most part I ignore them. Just for giggles though, I’ve been looking  at them a little more closely lately and had noticed a few trends, especially in regards to the searches. Out of curiosity, I dug a little deeper.

The all-time top search term my blog popped up in is not “babbling” as one would think.  It’s “Mr. & Mrs. Darcy”.  I suppose I should stop procrastinating and finish the rest of the series, considering how often some variation of the search term pops up in my stats.

You’d think, based on the above stats, that the review for “Pride and Prescience” would be the most viewed post or page on my blog.   It’s not.  It’s the 6th most viewed book review post (this excludes  “About Me” and the various challenge pages/posts that had higher view counts).

The top most view book review?

“These Old Shades”.  Georgette Heyer, and search terms referring to her books or characters, appear more frequently than almost any other subject. The other most frequent topic is Star Wars. There are three book in the top 10 most viewed reviews:

01. These Old Shades (G. Heyer)
02. Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil (J. Luceno)
03. Nicola and the Viscount (M. Cabot)
04. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (M. Stover)
05. Lady in Waiting (A. Herries)
06. Pride and Prescience (C. Bebris)
07. Darth Bane: Path of Destruction (D. Karpyshyn)
08. Maid of Honor (P. Marshall)
09. Magic Burns (I. Andrews)
10. Murder in the North End (P. Ryan)

This wealth of data tells me I should ditch the reading challenges that can’t accommodate Heyer, Star Wars, and the Darcy’s mystery series. Regency England and A Galaxy Far, Far Away. Wow.

Those were the all-time stats. Lately, I’ve been noticing that my blog pops up in searches for anything related to the Kate Daniels series or its author. Inquiring minds want to know if the main character hooks up with a certain Beast Lord in book three. Me, I think she’s in denial.

And people seemed to be anxious to learn the title of the third book in the White House Chef mystery series.  No idea.  Sorry.

And where do most of my visitors come from?

Brie’s blog, Musing of a Bibliophile.  I bet she voted for “Slave to Sensation” in my poll and will be stopping by to see what I think of it.  And I’m sure she’ll be by to see what I think of “Silent on the Moor“. So, I owe Brie and her readers a big “THANK YOU” for their many visits.

That’s all the fun I could handle for one day.

April Lady

Who: Lady Helen “Nell” Irvine and Giles Merion, Earl of Cardross

Summary: Despite the scandalous blemish on her family’s name, Lord Giles Cardross was convinced his lovely young bride cared for him. But as the bills and extravagant debts begin to mount up, Giles begins to suspect that perhaps his adored wife isn’t as innocent as he supposed. Especially since, as of late, she’s been unable to look him in the eye.

Comment: It’s been over a year – in fact 2 years this month – since I read a Heyer. The last was Bath Tangle. So far, I’ve enjoyed most of the books I’ve read.

I liked Nell. A sweet person, who over-spent her quarterly allowance when she loaned her roguish brother money. She then over looks a bill for a very expensive dress and is afraid to tell her husband about it. Her behavior has made Giles question whether she married him for love or for his money. Poor Giles. Here’s a man who’s truly in love, and is confronted with the possibility that the naysayers were right after all. And when he thinks Nell is responsible for what happened to the Cardross necklace, I really felt his anger and heart break.

I also liked Dysart. Even with all his crazy schemes, he’s a decent guy — if somewhat directionless. He’s a much better character than Letty, since he does try to help (in his own way) when all Letty cares about is getting her own way. I did not like Letty, Giles’ spoiled, self-centered half-sister, at all. Her thoughtless remarks served only to reinforce Nell’s insecurities regarding Giles’ true feelings for her. Yet Nell continued to be sympathetic to Letty’s cause. Her behavior throughout made me wish that Giles would like her up in the attic!

Started: 5 April 2008
Finished: 16 April 2008

Liked A Lot

Rating:

The Convenient Marriage

Author: Georgette Heyer
Copyright: 1934 originally; 2000, Harlequin
Series: N/A
Sensuality: Kisses
Violence: some dueling, if I remember correctly.

Where & When: England – 1776
Who: Horatia Winwood and Marcus Drelincourt, Earl of Rule

Summary: Marcus Drelincourt, Earl of Rule, decides to make an offer of marriage to Elizabeth Winwood, oldest daughter of the late viscount. The Winwoods are in dire straits, so Elizabeth accepts, though she is in love with a young army officer, Edward Heron. However, Horatia, the youngest sister, does not think this is fair. She goes to the earl with a plan: marry her instead. Intrigued, the earl agrees, though there is a big age difference between them. The seventeen-year-old new Countess of Rule is naive and makes mistakes. The earl, however, is patient and kind. He’s also falling in love with her. His gentle wooing is confounded by the fact an old enemy is trying to ruin Horry’s reputation. It doesn’t help that his former mistress has got her own scheme to drive a wedge between the earl and his countess. Horry gets herself into a pickle that she fears may spell the end of her marriage. She enlists the aid of her brother and his best friend, with hilarious results.

Comments: One of my favorites. I love it! Horry, with her stammer and faults, is still a girl with many good qualities. She loves her family, speaks her mind, and owns up to her mistakes. She’s brave and resourceful, too. Marcus, whom I’m madly in love with, is everything a hero aught to be: he did not have to accept Horry’s proposal to take her instead of Elizabeth. He’s a true gentleman, giving Horry the chance to explain herself and make her choices, even if he knows they aren’t the best for her. He gave up his mistress when he took a wife, which many men of the age did not. The supporting cast is exceptional. The villain, Lord Robert Lethbridge, is not-over-the-top. He’s a man with a grudge. Lady Massey, the former mistress, behaves like a jilted woman, but she never goes as far as Lethbridge in her revenge. Crosby Drelincourt, provides some comic moments as the dandified heir presumptive who feels his future has slipped away the day Marcus married Horry, though they have no child yet. But the best comedy comes from Viscount Pelham Winwood and his friend, Sir Roland Pommeroy. Their efforts to help Horry is a great piece of comedy. I was laughing so hard, I cried. I could not pick one quote from the entire escapade, so I chose something from earlier.

Favorite Quotes:
“You shouldn’t keep the front door open. What’s to stop people coming in and hitting you over the head? It’s preposterous.”
“I wish you would go home.”
— Viscount Winwood, Lord Lethbridge

Rating:

LOVED IT !!