Over the last couple of months, whenever I’m not reading Temeraire, I buried my nose in selected regency romance releases, one by a new-to-me author and others by favourites.  Coincidentally, all four books involve some sort of scandal while the 5th was a finale to a series I’ve followed.

First, the one by a favourite author … Secrets of Surrender by Madeline Hunter.  This long awaited sequel to Lessons of Desire was well worth waiting for, IMO. Ms Hunter seldom disappoint, and this book continues where the last books left off, focusing on Alexia’s cousin, Roselyn Longworth.  Having fallen on hard times, Roselyn made a huge mistake in believing that her protector cared for her until one humiliating evening when he decided to auction her off to the highest bidder amongst his dinner guests.

Fate placed Kyle Bradwell in her path as rescuer, but while Roselyn was retuned safely and unharmed to her family, the threat of that scandalous evening hung over her head.  Kyle stunned her with a proposal of marriage which Roselyn could not refuse.  Yet, as the couple settled down to learn to love each other, a family scandal which destroyed her reputation reared its ugly head again, only this time they face ruin as Kyle pulled out all stops to save her tattered reputation.

Once again, Hunter delivers with her usual panache in fleshing out little known social history, poignant descriptions and touching moments that are bound to win fans.  IMB rating: 4.0

The Book of Scandal by Julia London has a story arc that was certainly imaginative but suffered a little bit in some places.  The central plot revolves round the estranged Nathan Grey, Earl of Lindsey, and his wife, Evelyn.  Nathan hurried to London to retrieve his erstwhile wife when he learnt that she’s about to get embroiled in a royal scandal from which the family reputation will never recover.

The New Year is off to a good start with these goodies bagged during a recent online shopping spree:

Princess of the Sword, by Lynn Kurland, which I’ve just finished reading last night

Queen of Dragons, a long awaited sequel by Shana Abe to The Smoke Thief and The Dream Thief, which I’ve been hunting for a while.

King of Sword and Sky, the third instalment of the Tairen Soul series by C L Wilson

Last but not least … two recent works from a fave author of mine, Eloisa James:
When the Duke Returns, and Desperate Duchesses

My trepidation when it comes to male authors is well documented on this blog, particularly when it comes to the genre of romance. I believe I’ve categorically dismissed male authors as romance writers largely because they tend to be more narrative than descriptive in their story-telling.

Well, after reading Nicholas Sparks’ A Walk to Remember, I take that back. For that’s how he told the simple, sweet tale of small town romance … using straight forward narrative. And it worked so well he had me shedding tears.
Told in first person through the voice of Landon Carter recalling through flash black how he met and fell in love with the terminally ill Jamie Sullivan, the local pastor’s only daughter, readers get to witness the beauty, purity and power of first love. The book was inspired by the author’s sister, and truly deserves the rave and praises it has received since fist published in 1998.