1. Splendid by Julia Quinn.  I love stories of masquerades gone wrong, and this one is funny, warm and wonderful.  Read an excerpt here.
2. The Gilded Web by Mary Balogh.  Mistaken identities and bed tricks...what could be juicier?  I love the Earl of Amberley and found Alexandra interesting and believable.  Read an excerpt here.
3. Pleasure for Pleasure by Eloisa James.  I love the Essex Sisters Series, and Pleasure for Pleasure is by far my favorite.  Great twists, wonderful characters and a fabulous romance.  Read an excerpt here.
4. On A Wicked Dawn by Stephanie Laurens.  Amelia shocks the delicious Viscount Calverton by proposing to him!  Read an excerpt here.
5. Rules of Surrender by Christina Dodd.  Pygmalion gender bender.  Fabulous Distinguished Academy of Governesses Series.  Read an excerpt here.
6. The Pursuit of Marriage by Victoria Alexander.  Cute plot, funny scenes, great characters.  Read an excerpt here.
7. The Duke Next Door by Celeste Bradley.  Fabulous series.
8. Until You by Judith McNaught.  A little amnesia somehow makes for great hist-ro.  Read an excerpt here.

For those of you who are knew to Balogh, I highly recommend first trying her "Simply" Series. It is a wonderful collection of stories about the teachers from Miss Martin's School for Girls. Each has their own secret past that has driven them to their post, and the unraveling of those personal mysteries makes for great romance!

Here is an excerpt from my favorite, Simply Unforgettable.

"Panic clawed at her stomach.

...So much for wishing for snow. What sage was it who had once said that one should beware of what one wished for lest the wish be granted?

...The carriage slowed and rocked and slithered, and Frances jerked one hand free of her muff and grabbed for the worn leather strap above her head, convinced that they were about to tip right over at any moment. She waited to see her life flash before her eyes, and mumbled the opening words of the Lord's Prayer rather than scream and startle Thomas into losing the last vestiges of his control. The sound of the horses' hooves seemed deafening even though they were moving over snow and should have been silent. Thomas was shouting enough for ten men.

And then, looking out through the window nearest her rather than clench her eyes tightly shut and not even see the end approaching, she actually saw the horses, and instead of being up ahead pulling the carriage, they were drawing alongside her window and then forging ahead.

She gripped the strap even more tightly and leaned forward. Those were not her horses. Gracious heaven, someone was overtaking them--in these weather conditions.

The box of the overtaking carriage came into view with its coachman looking rather like a hunchbacked snowman bent over the ribbons and spewing hot abuse from his mouth--presumably at poor Thomas.

And then the carriage passed in a flash of blue, and Frances had the merest glimpse of a gentleman with many capes to his greatcoat and a tall beaver hat on his head. He looked back at her with one eyebrow cocked and an expression of supercilious contempt on his face.

He dared to be contemptuous of her?

Within moments the blue carriage was past, her own rocked and slithered some more, and then it appeared to right itself before continuing on its slow, plodding way.

Frances's fears were replaced by a hot fury. She seethed with it. Of all the reckless, inconsiderate, suicidal, homicidal, dangerous, stupid things to do! Goodness gracious, even if she pressed her nose to the window she could not see more than five yards distant, and the falling snow hampered vision even within that five yards. Yet that hunchbacked, foul-mouthed coachman and that contemptuous gentleman with his arrogant eyebrow were in such a hurry that they would endanger life and limb--her own and Thomas's as well as their own--in order to overtake?

But now that the excitement was over, she was suddenly aware again of being all alone in an ocean of whiteness. She felt panic contract her stomach muscles once more and sat back, deliberately letting go of the strap and folding her hands neatly inside her muff again. Panic would get her nowhere. It was altogether more probable that Thomas would get her somewhere.

And then she could feel the carriage rocking and slithering again and grasped for the strap once more. She looked out and ahead, not really expecting to see anything, but actually she could see a dark shape, which appeared to be blocking the way ahead. In one glimpse of near-clarity between snowflakes she saw that it was a carriage and horses. She even thought it might be a blue carriage.

But though the horses pulling her own had drawn to a halt, the carriage itself did not immediately follow suit. It swayed slightly to the left, righted itself, and then slithered more than slightly to the right--and this time it kept going until it reached what must have been the edge of the road, where one wheel caught on something. The conveyance performed a neat half-pirouette and slid gently backward and downward until its back wheels were nestled deep in a snow bank.

Frances, tipped backward and staring at the opposite seat, which was suddenly half above her, could see nothing but solid snow out of the windows on both sides.

She was aware of a great clamor from somewhere outside--horses snorting and whinnying, men shouting.

Before she could collect herself sufficiently to extricate herself from her snowy cocoon, the door opened from the outside--not without some considerable assistance from male muscles and shocking male profanities--and an arm and hand clad in a thick and expensive greatcoat and a fine leather glove reached inside to assist her. It was obvious to her that the arm did not belong to Thomas. Neither did the face at the end of it--hazel-eyed, square-jawed, irritated and frowning.

It was a face Frances had seen briefly less than ten minutes ago.

It was a face--and a person--against whom she had conceived a considerable hostility.

She slapped her hand onto his without a word, intending to use it to assist herself to alight with as much dignity as she could muster. But he hoisted her out from her awkward position as if she were a sack of meal and deposited her on the road, where her half-boots immediately sank out of sight beneath several inches of snow. She could feel all the ferocity of the cold wind and the full onslaught of the snow falling from the sky.

One was supposed to see red when one was furious. But she saw only white.

"You, sir," she said above the noise of the horses and of Thomas and the hunchbacked snowman exchanging vigorous and colorful abuse of each other, "deserve to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. You deserve to be flailed alive. You deserve to be boiled in oil."

The eyebrow that had already offended her once rose again. So did the other.

"And you, ma'am," he said in clipped tones that matched the expression on his face, "deserve to be locked up in a dark dungeon as a public nuisance for venturing out onto the king's highway in such an old boat. It is a veritable fossil. Any museum would reject it as far too ancient a vehicle to be of any interest to its clientele."

Fabulous, eh? Check her out!

And unfortunately, it was pretty apparent that it was one of Balogh's early books (or fortunate for her that her writing has grown up since the early nineties!).

As always, I love her detailed and less than perfect characters. But where The Ideal Wife fell apart for me was that it was...well, boring. The hero fell in love too soon, the wife just made a few uh-oh bonehead mistakes that he forgave quickly, and there was a lot of unsatisfying (for her) sex.

Recipe for disaster that ends up...well fine.  Kind of like an after-school special, in a naseautingly neatly packaged way.

The threads were all there for a classic, but not pulled taut enough to quite eek out the masterpiece Balogh usually produces.

I did manage to read the whole thing, but quickly passed it on to my mother not in the least regretting a missed chance to read it again.

"The six brothers and sisters of the Bedwyn family are introduced in A Summer to Remember. Aidan's story is told in Slightly Married, Rannulf's in Slightly Wicked, Freyja's in Slightly Scandalous, Morgan's in Slightly Tempted, Alleyne's in Slightly Sinful, and Wulfric's in Slightly Dangerous. Characters from One Night for Love and A Summer to Remember appear in some of these books." From Mary Balogh.com

Mary Balogh is the master at creating slightly imperfect heroines and heros.  Of course, most of the men are handsome and courageous.  But often, they are driven by forces from their upbringing, battling the demands of duty and honor.

The women are also brave and brassy.  But usually, the women are flawed.  Either low-born, "handsome" rather than beautiful, or full of deep, dark secrets from the past.

Villians play an important part in the Slightly series, as to mistaken first impressions.  This leads to a whole lot of action and movement.  She also is great with descriptive passages, helping the reader to envisage a place or person.

I wasn't a big fan of all the books in the series, but as a dutiful and voracious reader read them all.  If I had to pick, my two favorites were Slightly Wicked and Slightly Scandalous, mostly because they featured a lot of off-beat characters that you don't always get in romance.

But in that space, I've read Mary Balogh's Simply Perfect, which I mostly enjoyed and downloaded to the Kindle I received as a birthday gift. I've also now read Julia Quinn's new book. not available on Kindle but findable/buyable here.

I read all the Bridgerton books, which I liked, especially the later books. Generally speaking, I liked this too, but it just ended so fast that I'm hoping the second book is designed in the perfect way to make up for that. I'm sure it will.

I do not remember who recommended Slightly Dangerous, but I should like to kiss her. This book filled my heart to bursting. I am all aglow with warm fuzzies. This is why I read romance novels, and in particular Regency romance novels. In Slightly Dangerous, Ms. Balogh has created two remarkable characters whose biggest weaknesses are also their biggest strengths. They fight their unreasonable and nonsensical attraction, only to have love transform their lives into something better than they ever hoped they could be. I have fallen deliciously in love with both the hero and the heroine. I want to date Wulfric and be best friends with Christine. I want to be a member of the Bedwyn family, and plan to rush out and buy all their stories. Gotta love sibling sequels. :) Though Slightly Dangerous is the last book of the series, it stands perfectly fine alone. It is my first read of Ms. Balogh's, and again I would like to profusely thank whomever made the introduction.

The plot reads like a standard Regency, but the delivery is magical.

Christine Derrick is a widow living happily in genteel poverty with her spinster sister and mother. She is warm, outgoing and gregarious. She truly loves people. Wulfric Bedwyn, the Duke of Bewcastle, is her polar opposite. He is obscenely rich and terribly proper, with the personableness of a glacier. At a tedious country house party one woman refuses to cow to his icy stare. Her behavior is outrageous, climbing trees and laughing out loud and doing everything civilized persons ought not to do. But, of course, he finds himself attracted to her, despite despising her. Christine is likewise not enamored of the top-lofty Duke. When he asks her to be his mistress she is outraged. They submit to their attraction, but the encounter does nothing to end the damnable feelings. Nothing lasting can come of it, as she is inferior for the position of Duchess and he lacks a shred of warmth or kindness. Christine vows never to marry again after her first marriage slowly killed her girlhood dreams of happily-ever-after. They run into each other again and again, until finally the Duke makes his move. He invites Christine and her extended family-in-law to his country estate with all his siblings and their offspring for the holiday in an attempt to show her he has a heart. Lovely family moments and hi-jinx ensue.

Ms. Balogh weaves a beautiful love story with an lovely theme (p362):

"At last," he said. "I would not believe in our happily-ever-after until now."

"Oh, not happily-ever-after, Wulfric," she said. "That is such a static thing. I don't want happily-ever-after. I want happiness and life and quarreling and making up and adventure and-"

If you like an uplifting story of luv, true luv, this is the book for you.

I've always loved Mary Balogh's books. Always and forever I think. There is just something about her novels that compels me, not only because they tell tales of Love but because of its entirety. I believe I was born in the wrong time, I think I was intended to be born sometime when all the Dukes and Duchess were still popular. I really ought to have been born at that time, it seemed like a lovely time to have to live in.

Anyway, back to my review. I have just read Simply Magic a story of which took place somewhere in England. A story between a  teacher, Ms. Susanna Osbourne and a Viscount, Peter Edgeworth. Two very different world come to meet and soon they find themselve friends and not long after lovers. For a time they both denied that what the feel for each other is more than a friendship. After a long while of 'accidental' meetings, they soond find themselves admitting to each other that they cannot bear to see each other dancing with another.

I felt really really really excited when I first picked up this book. I have been keeping up with the series that started with One Night of Love. I was also very happy to have read familiar names such as the Bedwyns which appeared in almost all the series. Also some name that I had long forgotten, Lauren and Kit. Her books are all consistent; the time, characters, and the place and settings. That is what I admire most about her really: her ability to be consistent. Everything just falls right into place, for example the story with Morgan and Alleyne Bedwyn. If you look back you would have noticed that Alleyne was indeed in Morgan's story right at the very end. I have only come to the realization of that after I have read Alleyne's story.

Oh such wonderful stories they were!!!!!

I really have to stop writing like this. hahaha.

Anyway I enjoyed Susanna and Peter's story so much that I just had to buy another book...it's not within the Simly... series but its of another one that was previously written by her. I think it was just a reprint. Anyway the story never gets old since its already written to be a historical romance. Even if I read it over and over again I don't think I'd get wary of it. Anyway I'm off to the other novel from the the Gilded Web series. Wish me luck and I hope to keep myself at bay from the Bookstore..I really should stop spending...or else I'd be broke again tomorrow.

Lorda Bedwyna spotkałaby niechybna śmierć pod Waterloo, gdyby nie tajemnicza nieznajoma. Jednak rany nie są nawet w połowie tak bolesne, jak utrata pamięci. Lord nie wie, kim jest. Nie pamięta, jak trafił pod opiekę pięknej Rachel. Nie wie też, jak zdoła się jej odwdzięczyć. Aż odkrywa jej sekret i przysięga, że nie spocznie, póki nie ukarze niegodziwca, który doprowadził ją do desperacji...

Mary Balogh to mistrzyni pięknych, poruszających romansów historycznych, których akcja rozgrywa się w arystokratycznych sferach czasów regencji, takich jak: Między występkiem a miłością, Miłosny skandal, Przewrotny kusiciel. Jest laureatką najwyższych wyróżnień w kategorii romansu historycznego, w tym nagrody "Romantic Times" za całokształt dorobku literackiego.

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Lady Morgan Bedwyn is in Brussels soon after making her come-out in London. She is staying with friends in the busy, exciting, tension-filled days before the Battle of Waterloo. Half the fashionable world is there too as well as the massed armies. And Gervase Ashford, Earl of Rosthorn, has come there from Vienna after nine years of exile from Britain following a nasty scandal involving a woman who accused him of ravishing her, and a stolen heirloom.

Gervase's tastes do not usually run to very young women. But Lady Morgan, whom he first sees at a ball, is extraordinarily beautiful and holds his admiring attention for a minute or two. But it would have been only for a minute or two--if, that is, the friend with whom he has come to the ball had not mentioned her name. Bedwyn--it is like the proverbial red flag to the bull. It is a name Gervase has hated for nine long years, for he blames Wulfric Bedwyn, Duke of Bewcastle, for all his woes.

Mary Balogh is my favorite historical romance author. I have searched the Internet and used bookstores for her out-of-print books and she is one author whom I read over and over again!

This is the second time I've read Slightly Tempted. It is one of six books featuring the Bedwyn family which were written in 2003 and 2004. All six book titles begin with Slightly: ...Married, ...Sinful, ...Wicked, ...Scandalous, ...Dangerous, and ...Tempted. The family first appeared in A Summer to Remember and members have appeared since in several other books.

Morgan Bedwyn is the youngest (18 years old in this book) of the Bedwyn siblings and has many characteristics of the family, but also is her own person--strong and arrogant, but with an artistic temperment needing quiet and solitary time. Gervase Ashford is 30 and spent the last nine years in exile for a crime he did not commit. He is bitter and spent the years wandering Europe with little purpose, but nevertheless he became a stronger and independent person during his years of exile.

The book begins in Belgium before the Battle of Waterloo. Balogh does a good job of describing the scenes before, during and after the battle from the standpoint of people waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones. The chaos, uncertainty and fear come through on her pages. The obstinance, arrogance and often stupidty of the English aristocracy also are shown.

This is a book about revenge and lies and the many people hurt by them. Gervase uses Morgan to get his revenge on Wulfric Bedwin, Duke of Bedwin. When Morgan discovers this she turns the tables to seek her own revenge. Ultimately, they must each decide whether to forgive and trust again.

The reason Mary Balogh's books strike such a chord with me are the characterizations. She creates complex characters who don't always behave in admirable ways, but they grow and change during the course of her books. Often a character who is a villain in one book will show up in another and be redeemed through interractions with other characters. Some authors write good and interesting books, but their main characters tend to be similar from book to book. Balogh's characters are unique and each story is different. She tackles tough issues such as prostitution, abuse, revenge, poverty. I read one book by her and immediately want to start another!

Fire Study

• By Maria V. Snyder
• Yelena Zaltana series, Book 3
• Trade Paperback on sale March 1
• Fantasy series filled with adventure, intrigue and romance
• I read the first in this series (Poison Study) and really enjoyed it. The second (Magic Study) is in my TBR pile!

Tell Me, Pretty Maiden

• By Rhys Bowen
• Seventh in Molly Brown Mystery series
• Hardcover on sale March 4
• Set in New York City in 1902 with Molly Brown, an Irish immigrant sleuth, trying to run her own detective agency
• I read all the previous books in this series last year and really enjoyed them. I'm really looking forward to this release.

Chosen

• By P. C. Cast & Kristin Cast
• Third in House of Night young adult fantasy series
• Set in Oklahoma at school for "Marked" vampire-to-be teenagers
• Trade Paperback on sale March 4
• I enjoyed the first two books in this series and look forward to this one.

Tangled Webs

• By Anne Bishop
• New book in the Black Jewels fantasy series
• Hardcover on sale March 4
• The Black Jewels series is one of my favorites and this one sounds great!
• This new book features Surreal SaDiablo who gets trapped in a tangled web created by Black Widow witches.

Night Life

• By Caitlin Kittredge
• Nocturne City, Book 1
• Paperback on sale March 4
• A new urban fantasy series which sounds interesting. It is about a shapeshifting cop trying to stop a killer.

Simply Perfect

• By Mary Balogh
• Fourth in Simply Quartet series
• Hardcover for sale March 25
• Historical romance tells story of Claudia Martin & the Marquess of Attinsborough...a character in One Night for Love and several other books. Mary Balogh books are particular favorites of mine.

Magic Burns

• By Ilona Andrews
• Kate Daniels, Book 2
• Paperback on sale March 25
• Another urban fantasy series. I enjoyed the first book in this series.

Blue Eyed Devil

• By Lisa Kleypas
• Contemporary Women's Fiction/Romance
• Hardcover on sale March 25
• Lisa Kleypas is a favorite author. I enjoyed the first contemporary--Sugar Daddy--which has some of the same characters and plan to get this book when it comes out.

Poison Sleep

• By T. A. Pratt
• Marla Mason series, book 2
• Paperback for sale March 25
• I haven't read the first book in this series--Blood Engines--but I will be looking for it.
• Marla Mason is a sorceress and according to the website: "It's got monsters. It's got sarcasm. It's got death, destruction, sex parties, ancient gods, wisecracks, artifacts, oracles, dark alleys, and magical daggers. Come and see."

The books listed above are the ones I'm watching for in March. What books are you waiting for?

Anyway, with little time to lay around in the sunshine I did manage to read the following books:

Kay Hooper's, Sleeping With Fear. I've been waiting ages to read this book and for some reason found this particular story harder to get into than her previous books/series. I love the Bishop Special Crime Unit stories and particularly the skills of the members of the team. Finding out that Riley had under very weird circumstances been stripped of her skills was a bit disconcerting for me. That said, I really enjoyed the outcome of the book. It was one that I hadn't been able to pick from the start and I always love it when an author keeps me guessing. :-)

Mary Balogh's, Web of Love. This was the first Mary Balogh I've read and I have to say I'm not a great historical fan. Ms Balogh does a great job of setting scene and character in her writing and gave me a new appreciation of the hardships of the women who travelled with their men in wartime on the Continent. Personally, I found the Hero a little too Beta for my tastes, but overall the story still left me with that feel good of a wonderful happy ending after a series of trials.

Jane Porter's, Flirting with Forty. I absolutely loved this book. Again, it was a type of story I haven't read alot of, being first person and women's fiction, but it wasn't long before I was thoroughly entrenched in the character's lives, loves and losses. It also made me wonder if I haven't been guilty of the same type of exclusionary behaviour towards friends who have separated/divorced amongst our group. It's never easy to look at yourself and question your behaviour but Ms Porter certainly raised some questions in my mind. I've got her Odd Mom Out in my tbr pile and I'm really looking forward to it.

Nora Roberts', Blood Brothers. I have never read a Roberts book that I didn't like. Some I've liked a heck of a lot more than others (Angels Fall being one of those) and this book falls very firmly in that top category. I eagerly await the next instalment in this trilogy. There's something so helpless about knowing there's a rising evil that is gathering its strength from the past and that it is set to wreak its wrath on those both suspecting and unsuspecting. Bring it on!

In closing for this blog I have to skite about my own Alpha Male. How many men can go fishing catch a good feed of snapper for dinner AND manage to lasso a massive crayfish from the sea bed. Lasso, you ask? I kid you not! AM's fishing line had looped around the waist of the crayfish and the hook had latched itself back on the line, effectively lassoing the cray. As the AM was bringing the line up he was apparently cursing a blue streak about having hooked some sea weed...until his line broke the water and on the end of it was this big guy. Needless to say we thanked the big guy and the powers of the sea that saw him make a meal for about six or seven seafood lovers that afternoon. In all that dreck and bad weather that was Cyclone Funa we still didn't do too bad.

Editorial Styria

El señor de la isla de Hawfell de CATHERINE COULTER: (Col. Best seller, 288p., 18€)
Rorik es un guerrero vikingo tan fiero y salvaje como el mar del Norte en el solsticio de invierno. Mirana es una mujer amante de los pájaros, más ingeniosa que la mayoría de los hombres y fiel hasta la muerte. Rorik y Mirana son personas audaces, fieles a sí mismas, íntegras en sus principios.
Su vida cambia por completo el día en que Rorik y sus secuaces llegan a Clontarf, una fortaleza de la costa este de Irlanda, para acabar con la vida del hermanastro de Mirana. La tomarán como rehén, convirtiéndola en moneda de cambio.
Rorik es el señor de Hawkfell, una isla próxima a Gran Bretaña. Al poco de desembarcar con la prisionera se dará cuenta de que todo escapa a su control: las mujeres se han confabulado para darles una lección a sus esposos y les matan de hambre, la familia de Rorik busca vengarse de Mirana, un asesino acecha el campamento vikingo y una sucesión de acontecimientos alteran la vida en la región. Segundo libro de la serie vikinga.

Editorial Random House Mondadori- Plaza y Janés

Ligeramente escandaloso de MARY BALOGH: (Col. Narrativa femenina, 384p., 17€)
Tercera entrega de la romántica saga de los Bedwyn, protagonizada por la indomita lady Freyja.
La invitación para acudir a Bath no le habría podido llegar en un momento más oportuno a lady Freyja Bedwyn. Es la mejor excusa para alejarse de su hogar ahora que sus vecinos, Kit Butler y su esposa, van a ser padres. Orgullosa, altiva y testaruda como todos en el clan Bedwyn, Freyja no quiere dejar entrever que sigue dolida por la boda de Kit, su mejor amigo de la infancia y el hombre con quien estaba destinada a compartir la vida. No cree que pueda encontrar a otro como él.
Después de varios años trabajando de forma clandestina para el gobierno, Joshua Moore, marqués de Hallmere, acaba de regresar del continente. Cuando se dirige a Bath para reunirse con su tía, tiene un encuentro fortuito con Freyja en el que recibe un puñetazo. La segunda vez que se ven, ella lo acusa ante toda la sociedad. En la tercera ocasión, Joshua ya ha decidido que esta mujer con carácter es la única que puede ayudarle a huir de los planes matrimoniales que han concebido para él. Solo ella tendrá la audacia para fingir que ambos están prometidos en un noviazgo… ligeramente escandaloso.

Ángeles caídos de NORA ROBERTS: (16 Noviembre, Col. narrativa femenina, 528p., 21€)
Un brutal suceso cambió la vida de Reece Gilmore y la sumió en el miedo. Durante meses ha estado viajando por el país sin rumbo fijo, incapaz de echar raíces en ningún sitio. Hasta que una avería en el coche la obliga a detenerse en Angel’s Fist, un pintoresco pueblo de Wyoming. No sabe qué la ha traído hasta aquí, pero siente como si la hubiera guiado el destino. Cuando ve una oferta de trabajo como cocinera en un restaurante local, se presenta.
Poco a poco, Reece empieza a recomponer los pedazos de su vida y a volver a ser una mujer fuerte e independiente. Pero su sueño se trunca cuando presencia un asesinato y, excepto Jameson Brody, un joven escritor que vive en la zona, nadie le cree. Ella sabe lo que ha visto, porque antes ya ha vivido esta situación… y ahora no piensa permitir que un criminal se salga con la suya.

Secretos y sombras de MARY NICKSON: (9 noviembre, Col. Éxitos, 490p., 20.90€)
Hace cinco años, Isobel y Giles inauguraron un centro cultural en los edificios que rodean su gran mansion de Escocia y, hasta ahora, todo ha transcurido como la seda. Pero, igual que hizo en novelas anteriores, Lorna, la hermana de Isobel, les trae un problema que tendran que solucionar. Acaba de casarse con un senador vanidoso que no quiere saber nada del hijo de Lorna, por lo que Isobel debe encargarse de el...

Editorial Grupo Zeta-Vergara

Escándalo en primavera de LISA KLEYPAS: (14 Noviembre, Col. Amor y aventura, 352p., 17€)
«Quiero que hagas todo lo que alguna vez imaginaste que harías conmigo...» Con estas atrevidas palabras, Daisy Bowman, la última Wallflower que quedaba soltera, sella su destino con el único hombre que nunca creyó que la atraería.
Después de pasar tres temporadas en Londres buscando un marido para su hija, el padre de Daisy le advierte, de forma clara y contundente, que si no consigue encontrar de inmediato un marido apropiado, se casará con el hombre que él ha escogido para ella, que no es otro que el frío y distante Matthew Swift. Sin embargo, pronto nacerá entre éste y Daisy una fuerte atracción. Atracción que irá creciendo hasta transformarse en pasión arrolladora... pero entonces las cosas tomarán un giro inesperado. Cuarto libro de la serie Wallflowers.

El guerrero de la oscuridad de KINLEY MACGREGOR: (21 Noviembre, Col. Amor y aventura, 352p., 17€) 
A Merewyn su belleza le traía dolores de cabeza, y, tras un desventurado trato con una bruja, quedó transformada en una horrible arpía. La madre de Varian le promete devolverle su belleza a cambio de que seduzca a su hijo para que revele los nombres de los caballeros.
Varian y Merewyn pronto descubrirán que el único modo de salir vivos de esa encrucijada es confiando el uno en el otro. Les espera una fantástica aventura que los llevará a tierras extrañas y peligrosas, en las que los acecharán dragones, demonios y, también, sus propias emociones... Segundo libro de la serie Los señores de Avalon.

Debe ser amor de RACHEL GIBSON: (14 Noviembre, Col. Seda, 320p., 17€)
La mala suerte del detective Joe Shanahan tocó fondo la mañana en que se encontró cara a cara con Gabrielle Breedlove. Acababa de dar al traste con su tapadera rociándole con un bote de laca... y ahora sus órdenes eran hacerse pasar por su novio. Pero estar tanto tiempo junto a una belleza irresistible como esa trae complicaciones inesperadas. Y, para colmo, las incorregibles hermanas de Joe no desean otra cosa que organizarle una boda.
El oscuro encanto del detective es un imán para las miradas femeninas, pero ¿cómo puede Gabrielle sentirse atraída por un hombre que sospecha de ella y lo único que quiere es encontrar pruebas para detenerla? Aun así, no consigue evitar que sea el protagonista de sus sueños eróticos...

Un lugar llamado aquí de CECELIA AHERN: (14 Noviembre, Col. Para siempre, 368p., 19€)
Desde que su compañera de escuela Jenny-May desapareció cuando ambas tenían diez años, Sandy Shortt ha estado obsesionada con encontrar objetos y personas. Ahora, ya adulta, ha transformado su obsesión en su trabajo: ha montado una agencia dedicada a buscar personas desaparecidas. Pero cada caso no resuelto le deja a Sandy muchas preguntas. ¿Dónde van las personas que desaparecen? ¿Están vivas o muertas? ¿Han decidido esfumarse o han sufrido un destino cruel? Mientras estas dudas la consumen, la propia Sandy desaparece. Y encuentra todas las respuestas en un lugar mágico al que van todas las cosas y las personas que se pierden.

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Ediciones B, Plaza y Janés, Styria

Here's how they stacked up after Monday night:

Marie & Jonathan danced the Samba. Score: 21
Jane & Tony danced the Samba. Score: 26
Mark & Kym danced the Samba. Score: 21
Sabrina & Mark danced the Rhumba. Score: 28
Jennie & Derek danced the Samba. Score: 25
Helio & Julianne danced the Rhumba. Score: 23
Melanie & Maksim danced the Samba. Score: 29
Cameron & Edyta danced the Rhumba. Score: 26

For me, I always enjoy Sabrina, and I like Helio. I thought the week was kind of lame as far as performances go, and Melanie and Maks won, rightly so. I think if I, like Melanie Brown, had a cold, had to fly to England, do a video and learn to Samba, I would have fainted! But more gracefully. Really, more of a swoon, back-of-hand-to-forehead style. Yup.

Okay, maybe I would have hid under the covers of my bed and refused to come out while wailing "Leave me alone! I need cookies!"

On another note, and apart from Dancing with the Stars, All About Romance is running a charity auction as they did in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and they need your help! You could purchase fabulous books like a signed ARC of Mary Balogh's Simply Perfect, or Meg Cabot signed copies, or, if you have a romance novel you're aching to publish, a critique by Cindy Hwang, Berkley Executive Editor, and believe me, if you are an aspiring romance author, there is no one whose opinion matters more!!

So go ahead, buy something!! You'll be glad you did.

Here's the link:

http://www.likesbooks.com/katrina2007.html

Main Characters: Sophia Armitage and Sir Nathaniel Gascoigne

Description from book:

From beloved New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh comes this passionate tale of a proper lady who discovers just how desirable she really is after one very  improper night . . .

It was unthinkable. It was irresponsible. It was . . .

Irresistible

Sophia Armitage was a friend, indeed. She had agreed to help Sir Nathaniel Gascoigne find a husband for his cousin Lavinia in the glittering city of London - only half hoping that she'd find one for herself. Sophia knew the odds were against her. Men simply did not seem to be attracted to her - not in that way. Even her late husband had treated Sophia more as a companion than a lover. But then something shocking happened in London - Sophia found herself in the arms of Nathaniel himself! Not only did this act of indiscretion threaten their lifelong friendship, it revealed a depth of passion that defied everything Sophia believed about herself . . .

My thoughts:

What I would really like to know is who actually writes the descriptions that appear on the back of books. I'm often quite amused my the inconsistencies in the plot summary and the actual plot itself. In this case, Sophia does not ever agree to help Nathaniel find a bride for his cousin Lavinia. Sophia accidentally meets up with Nathanial and this three friends in the park. Nathaniel knew them all from his time in the army when Sophia was married to William Armitage. They renew their friendship - and then become more. However, Sophia was not actually looking for a husband. In fact, she seemed rather opposed to marrying again.  So, do the people who write the book descriptions actually read them??? I've always wanted to know.

Otherwise, this was an enjoyable book. I liked both Sophia and Nathaniel - and it was wonderful to see things take a positive turn in Sophia's life. She was married to a man who was gay, widowed early, blackmailed about her husband's sexual preferences and quite along through it all. Fortunately, Nathaniel and his friends were able to help - and stop the blackmailer. There was a wonderful side plot between Nathaniel's friend Eden and his cousin Lavinia. I would have loved to have read more about their relationship.

Read first on October 6, 2007

This is another book that made me get past another bias of mine - old characters. Maybe, when I'm also in my thirties, I'll get to appreciate them more easily but for now, I need to have a good reason to read such books and thankfully, Balogh gave one. Helena is older than Edgar by one or a few years by the way. Theirs isn't like a mushy love story but it's very much passionate and inspiring.

Remember Heartless? Well, this is about Lucas' brother Ashley and Anna's sister Emily. Emily's deaf by the way. And mute. But Balogh does a great job in making her express herself! A must read! Sweet and poignant!

Can't remember much of this - I think it's because the girl's a widow. Sorry, I'm used to reading books with either virgins or spinsters as heroines. If you're not like me then you could enjoy this story. I think I did, too, after I got past my biases.

This was probably the second book I've read of Balogh. The thing is with Balogh, it's best if you start with her Signet romances first. There, you'll be used to the slow pace she uses for her stories - she takes her time building her characters. It's all about the characters. The plot's strong, too, but the characters are what shines through. When you get used to that then that's the time you should start on her full-length novels.

Unfortunately, I did it the opposite. After Heartless, it was Truly and I'm afraid I didn't like the book. I just skimmed it I think since things were progressing too slowly for my taste.

Reviews in Amazon were in like mind, in the sense that with this book, you need to appreciate the slow gradual pace. If you can do that then you could like this!

Couldn't remember this again so went back to Amazon for reviews. There were only two but both of them gave it a perfect score. This is also connected to The Famous Heroine.

Not cute, not a tearjerker or even sensual, but you can feel the love between them definitely!

Funny and sweet. Another case of opposites attract. Balogh seems to love the name Francis, don't you think? :)

The first ever Balogh I've read. Although the story is very touching, I couldn't help but be turned off with the fact that the guy's so dandified! But when I got used to reading Balogh's books, I learned not to mind about it.

The opposite of Dancing with Clara in the sense that it's the guy who's plain here - or just not gorgeous - and the girl that's beautiful. But Balogh once more succeeds in making us see past the physical appearance and appreciate what's within. Love this one! This one is also connected to other Signets but I can't recall which ones though.