Most Absurd Conflict Ever and Other Fun Stuff

I just gobbled up a bunch of books in the last several days. Elizabeth Hoyt's To Desire A Devil, Amanda Quick's With This Ring, and An Affair Before Christmas by Eloisa James. 

In a nutshell....

Amanda Quick is the master of the universe. The first 13 pages of With This Ring are absolute perfection. Her writing never ceases to amaze me...she can nail an entire scene with a single word. Everything about this book is perfect...the storyline is tight, the characters are larger than life, the mystery engaging, the humor is spot on. Leo, the Mad Monk of Monkcrest, and Beatrice, secret author of "horrid novels," are a fantastic pairing. Honestly, I just cannot get enough of Amanda Quick's romances. 

Elizabeth Hoyt's To Desire A Devil was a good ending to the series. Not as good as To Beguile A Beast, which I adored. I had a problem with Reynauld ripping off his shirt in the House of Lords to expose the scars on his back. This scene did not ring true for me. However, I really enjoyed the backstory about Reynaud's experience in the colonies. What attracted me initially to EH's writing is that her historicals are a little bit edgy, earthy, lusty, sometimes downright nasty (in a good way). I love the juxtaposition of the formality of Regency England and the lusty sexuality of her characters. However, this book seemed more like a traditional historical to me, it was definitely lacking the intense sexuality found in To Beguile A Beast. 

As of yesterday, I have discovered the most ludicrous central conflict ever to grace a romance novel. 

A hairdo.

Yes, that is correct. Eloisa James' An Affair Before Christmas explores the failing marriage of Poppy and the Duke of Fletcher. Why, you ask, is their marriage failing? Well, Fletch thinks Poppy is frigid in bed, when in actuality, her hair is itchy and she is unable to concentrate on the pleasure he is attempting to give her. 

(Yes, I was speechless, too). Hee hee hee heeeeee.....Oh my goodness, this is so absurd it is delicious. Truly!

In Poppy's defense, her hairdo is one of those big, perfumed, powdered monstrosities, with glued-on feathers, etc. And there are a few other reasons the marriage is not working out, but suffice it to say, once the hair conflict is resolved, everything else "falls into place"--pun intended. In spite of an overabundance of sub-plots involving dukes, duchesses, mother-in-laws from hell, etc., Eloisa James manages to spin a remarkably romantic tale. I was completely engrossed in Fletcher's determination to win back the woman he loved. The end is very sweet and satisfying and very romantic. I just adored this snippet of dialogue....

*****

"Poppy, what did you think that Christmas was for?"

"Nibbling on gingerbread men?" she whispered.

"I'm your Christmas gingerbread man," he said.....

*****

Love it! What a great line! :)

Thanks to everyone who stopped by for Sven's interview yesterday. A winner will be announced soon.

Penelope

Review of To Beguile A Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

To Beguile A Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt

When I first read Elizabeth Hoyt's debut novel, The Raven Prince, I was amazed. The last time I read a debut novel and thought, Holy Mother, here's a new author I am already addicted to, was the book Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan. (If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it!) The Raven Prince had a preposterous premise for the book, but nevertheless, Hoyt's writing is so fabulous that I truly didn't care. I absolutely fell in love with her "hero"- and I use that term very loosely, because Hoyt's heroes are flawed men, warts and all. The hero of To Beguile A Beast is no exception. Sir Alistair Munroe is horribly disfigured from an extremely traumatic wartime incident. He is cranky, blunt, irritable, and rude. I love him! And luckily for him, eventually beautiful Helen Fitzwilliam does, too. Hoyt's sex scenes are among the best written by a historical romance author...very earthy, lusty, and real. No flowery prose or formalities here. You get a very real sense of the characters' physical attraction, and that is not so common in historical romance. The underlying message about physical beauty is a theme I really like...Helen was chosen as a mistress by an arrogant duke because of her beauty, but it means nothing to her since he treats her as a possession. Alistair is so disfigured that small children scream in horror when they see him. And yet Helen and her children learn to love the man he is inside...filled with honor, integrity, and intellectual curiosity. As my faithful readers know, there is nothing I like better than the redemption of a broken man through the love of a good woman (Sydnam in Balogh's Simply Love, Zsadist in JR Ward's Lover Awakened, Zarek in Kenyon's Dance With The Devil). Watching the transformation of Alistair's crumbling castle and ruined life, into a home filled with love, and a future filled with hope, is a wonderful journey for the reader. I absolutely adored this book, and I know that it will be re-read many times in the future. Thank you Elizabeth Hoyt for creating another masterpiece for romance lovers everywhere. Grade: A+

Wishing Alistair Munroe was my next door neighbor,

Penelope