REVIEW: Don't Bargain With The Devil by Sabrina Jeffries

The School for Heiresses Series, Book 5


I jumped in on this series with this fifth installment of The School for Heiresses series without having read the first four books. I was told it could be read as a stand alone, which turns out is indeed true. I had no problem figuring out the details surrounding the series story arc and while there were a few references to characters and couples who obviously starred in previous novels, it was easy enough to fill in the blanks.

The School for Heiresses is a series that centers around the women who attend and teach a unique, private school for heiresses at which these impressionable, young women are taught to make wise decisions about the men who will inevitably pursue their hand in marriage. In other words, how young heiresses can avoid fortune hunters.

The school was founded by Miss Charlotte Page Harris, a young widow whose husband had spent her inheritance, leaving her with nothing upon his death a few brief years later and now she wishes to educate young women from making the same mistakes. In addition to learning to steer clear of men determined to acquire the heiresses fortunes, the girls are taught arts such as music, dance, needlepoint, and so on, as well as academic subjects, a rare endeavor for a school in the early 1800s. Miss Charlotte Harris was able to establish this school only because of the help of her anonymous benefactor who refers himself to her as "Cousin Michael" and communicates with her only through letters. Her school would not be as successful as it is without the financial help of "Cousin Michael" or his experience, knowledge and support through their frequent exchange of letters. He is probably Miss Charlotte's dearest friend and confidant, despite the fact that she could pass him on the street and never know it.

Lucinda Seton is a recent graduate of Miss Harris' School for Heiresses and has recently had her heart broken by the man she had been expecting to marry. Lucy isn't just broken hearted, she's angry, for her suitor claimed she is not suitable to be his wife because of her Spanish heritage on her mother's side and because of her outspoken tendencies, but he would, however, be willing to keep her as his mistress. Outraged, she ends their courtship and accepts a temporary position as art teacher in the School for Heiresses.

The story begins when Lucinda takes a walk along the edge of the school's property and wanders to the orchard in the adjacent property. Lucy is a free spirited young woman and can't resist the opportunity to lay under the trees with her hair splayed about her and daydream for a spell. Of course, her hoyden behavior is discovered by a mysterious man who turns out to be the school's new neighbor and herein begins the trouble for the school . . . and Lucy. Her fiery spirit and sweet innocence immediately attracts the attention of this man, and in turn, Lucy is equally intrigued and attracted to him, even though she tries desperately to fight it.

It turns out the new, mysterious neighbor is none other than the famous Spanish illusionist, Diego Montalvo who reveals intentions of opening a pleasure garden (an amusement park of sorts for adults) on the property. Miss Harris and her peers are outraged at this prospect, fearing it will be the ruin of both the school and its students and attempt to thwart Senior Montalvo's plans at all costs.

Unbeknown to anyone but his butler, Diego Montalvo has ulterior motives for taking up residency next door to the school. In truth, he is on a mission to reclaim his family's estate in Spain by locating the long lost granddaughter of a wealthy and influential Spanish Marques to whom he is in debt and returning this heiress to her family in Spain. It just so happens that clues of this woman's possible whereabouts lead him to this area.

As Lucy works hard at stopping Diego's apparent plans to build the pleasure garden, she also struggles to resist his charms. Diego, in the meantime, is searching for the missing Spanish heiress and as he falls for Lucy, he fears she is the one he has been looking for but cannot ever have.

Don't Bargain With the Devil is a fun and fast paced, albeit fairly straightforward romance between a kind, open hearted young woman and an entertaining man who fell for the woman he couldn't have and would only end up hurting in order to fulfill promises made in his past. Most of all, I admired Lucy throughout the story for her strength and her resolve to stay true to herself and those she cares about. Her kind heartedness allowed her to give those she cared about the benefit of the doubt when it appeared they didn't have her best interests in heart. Plus I thought she had a great sense of humor.

Diego's honor and good intentions fell a little short for me. I understood his attraction to Lucy and his desire to have her as his wife, but at the same time, I wanted him to work harder at deserving her. He started his acquaintance with her with grand lies and soon resorted to trickery--and some really cheesy lines-- to keep her attention. He wasn't a mean or cruel man and didn't want to hurt Lucy, but he did it anyway. I understood the honor and importance in keeping the promises he made to his deceased father and those he made with the Spanish Marques to whom he is indebted, but if he loved Lucy, even if he thought he couldn't have her, I wanted him to come straight with her much earlier on than he did.

Sadly, Diego was not the only man who lied to Lucy. Other important men in her life lied to her or about her and while they all thought they had her best interests at heart, no one truly considered being truthful with her until they got caught up in their lies.

While the story was fairly straightforward and at times predictable, it was an enjoyable read and made me think how fun it would have been to be reading this series since it's first installment. I was happy that Lucy got the happily ever after that she wanted and deserved, but I hope the men in her life realize what an amazing woman she is to have forgiven them so easily for lying to her.

The relationship between the Miss Charlotte Harris and her anonymous benefactor, "Cousin Michael," as revealed in letters exchanged between them throughout the story, was very intriguing and certainly raised my curiosity about the outcome of their relationship, enough so that I picked up their story and the final novel in The School for Heiresses Series, Wed Him Before You Bed Him.

You can visit the author's website at http://www.sabrinajeffries.com/ .

Play FreeRice and feed the hungry.

FreeRice is a non-profit website founded by John Breen in October 2007 who donated the site to the United Nations World Food Program in March 2009. It's an educational online vocabulary game that generates donations from sponsors the more it gets played. I played it once or twice over a year ago, and then forgot it for a while. Then I was at LeeAnn's blog a few days ago and saw she had a link to FreeRice on her sidebar. Of course, I clicked straightaway to play. I've been playing on and off for the last couple of days, generating free rice for hungry people around the world. My vocabulary level is improving, too! I'm currently at level 42 out of 60 and determined to raise it.

All money raised by the site goes toward feeding the hungry. You can find information about FreeRice in the FAQ section at the FreeRice website and at the UN World Food Program website. Want an abbreviated version of the FreeRice program and it's success? Read this article.

Go play! Click here on FreeRice or click on the FreeRice graphic on my my sidebar. It's fun, easy, educational and you're helping to feed the hungry.

REVIEW: My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent

Audiobook. Narrated by Amanda Ronconi
1 hour 48 minutes.

This is the novella prequel to Rachel Vincent's new young adult series called Soul Screamers. It is currently available as a FREE audiobook on audible.com and a FREE Kindle ebook at amazon.com that can be downloaded to your Kindle or to your iPhone Kindle App. (The iPhone Kindle App is available free at iTunes).

Book review:

Book blurb:

It was supposed to be a fun day, shopping at the mall with her best friend. Then the panic attack started and Kaylee Cavanaugh finds herself screaming, unable to stop. Her secret fears are exposed and it's the worst day of her life.

Until she wakes up in the psychiatric unit.

She tries to convince everyone she's fine--despite the shadows she sees forming around another patient and the urge to scream which comes burbling up again and again. Everyone thinks she's crazy. Everyone except Lydia, that is. Another patient with some special abilities....

The book blurb accurately explains to what takes place in My Soul to Lose. The story is the prequel novella to the Soul Screamers series, and is best read if you intend on continuing with the series as it is akin to a several chapter prologue to the next novel.

My Soul to Lose is a story of the awakening of Kaylee's ability to sense death or the shadows that appear around someone before they die. It starts as a panic attack, but soon she feels despair and fear deep in her soul. And as much as she tries to resist the urge to scream, she can't fight it and its as though her vocal cords take over on their own and she can't help but scream.

My Soul to Lose is an introduction to Kaylee and her "curse" and has established a premise to what sounds like a very interesting series. I felt empathy for Kaylee--knowing what she experiences is very real, but also knowing no one would believe she sees and feels shadows of death. I hope that in the next book she finds some answers to what she experiences, is able to take command of it, and possibly use her ability to help people. I plan on continuing Kaylee's story with My Soul to Take, the first full length novel to the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent.

My Soul to Take My Soul to Save

Published August 1, 2009. Available January, 1, 2010

AVAILABLE NOW.

Visit author Rachel Vincent at http://www.rachelvincent.com/

My first audiobook experience:

I downloaded the audiobook of My Soul to Lose about three weeks ago onto my iPhone from audible.com and finally listened to it this morning. As this was my first time listening to an audiobook, I wasn't really sure what to expect or if I'd even enjoy listening to a book when I could be reading it. I ended up listening to the first few minutes of the book three or four times. At first I found it disconcerting, I think in part because I had to get the character names straightened out in my head. I had to hear the names a couple of times and who was what character... the main character, the friend, the boyfriend, the cousin, and so on. It's not that the story is confusing at all, but rather I needed it repeated a couple of times so I got my bearings. It was entirely my own issue, I think, after being so used to reading names that get imprinted in my mind immediately as opposed to hearing them and them not sinking in.

Then once I repeated the first few minutes a couple of times, it took a few minutes for me to get used to the narrators voice and her rhythm. I don't think it was more than five minutes and the narrator successfully brought me into the story and I was listening with the same concentration and comprehension that I would have if I were reading it myself. I have to say, I really enjoyed my first audiobook experience and I'm definitely open to listening to more audiobooks in the future.

I'll also add that listening to an audiobook is really conducive to multitasking, too! I weeded my entire front and side yard landscaping while listening to the book. At one point I was so into the book, that one scene made my eyes tear up and it took me a second to realize I couldn't see the weeds at my finger tips. ;)

Do you listen to audiobooks?

Loving Larissa Ione! Part II

I made a post back in March titled Loving Larissa Ione! (Part I) about loving author Larissa Ione's work, specifically her Demonica Series. In case you've been living under a paranormal romance rock, you've probably already at least heard of Larissa's Demonica series by now. Today, Larissa unveiled her newly renovated website and that's loaded with new Demonica content. 

If you're new to the Demonica series, it's an exciting, dark paranormal romance series that has a full cast of interesting characters, great dialogue, and heart wrenching story lines. The series is based on the goings on at Underground General Hospital (UGH)--  a hospital established just for demons and other beings who go bump in the night and sometimes in the day. For the most part, demons and their fellow non human beings live unbeknown to humans, although there is a select group of humans called Aegis who act as the protectors of human kind. At first, the sole mission of the Aegis is to indiscriminately kill all demons, vampires, weres and fallen angels. By the end of the third book in the series, however, the Aegis are at least a bit more discriminating in who they kill, so there is some hope for a peaceful co-existence between species. In the meantime, there's a lot going on in this world to keep the good demons (et. al.), the bad demons (et. al.), the good humans and the bad humans quite busy. Which in turn keeps Larissa busy writing more Demonica novels. 

The next Demonica novel, and the fourth in the series, is Ecstasy Unveiled due out on January 26, 2010. I'm not going to mention whose book it is in this post for the benefit of anyone who hasn't yet read the first three books in the series, because I think it is a bit spoilerish. If you really want to know, you can find out at Larissa's newly renovated website at http://larissaione.com/blog/ where Larissa has some great new Demonica content, including an excerpt of Ecstasy Unveiled, several deleted scenes from the first books and a new Readers Page. 

Larissa's blog now has a new look, too, and to celebrate, Larissa's holding a fantastic giveaway on her blog with some really excellent prizes. Check it out at http://larissaione.com/blog/blog-home/.

Larissa also has a story in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2 due out on September 21, 2009. The story is titled Eternity Embraced and is set in the Demonica world. Poke around the website for an excerpt. It sounds great. 

I'd love to find out what other authors are featured in this anthology besides the few authors listed on the cover--Jennifer Ashley, Dawn Cook, Caitlin Kittredge, Diane Whiteside, Eileen Wilks, and Larissa Ione. Does anyone know more? 

If you enjoy gritty, intense paranormal romance and haven't yet read a Demonica novel, I urge you to read one now. The reading order is Pleasure Unbound, Desire Unchained, and then Passion Unleashed. 

Christmas in July II GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by my blog and entered my Christmas in July giveaway. It's great to see readers interested in used books. I used to be a little obsessive about having my books all shiny and new, but over the last year or so I've come to appreciate a well worn book almost more.  

Twenty-seven readers left entries in the giveaway and I entered them in the list randomizer at Random.org to randomly select the three lucky winners (see details at end of post):

Margay

Hilcia

Armenia 

Congratulations!

Please email me your two book selections from my Shelfari prize shelf and I'll get them out to you this week. You can find my email address on my blogger profile page. In case two or more of you request the same book, it'll be first come, first served. Of course, if the book was already claimed, I'll let you know and you can select something else.

Thanks again to everyone who entered.

Happy Reading! :)

List Randomizer

There were 27 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

margay
hilcia
Armenia
Pam P
tracy
cathy M
I heart book gossip
Wanda
Amy M
kh
Mari
Mary G
sarai
Kytaira
michelle G
Mariee
crystalGB
pams00
Sweet Vernal Zephyr
jamie
elaing8
CJ
Hilda
shooting stars mag
Razlover
tetewa
delitealex

Timestamp: 2009-08-03 16:27:09 UTC

REVIEW: Broken Wing by Judith James

Broken Wing is the debut novel by author Judith James, published in November 2008. It was my intention to read Broken Wing in late 2008 after it received so many raving reviews from romance readers starting with the glowing recommendation from KristieJ of Ramblings On Romance, but life got in the way and I never even got around to buying the book. It turns out I wasn't the only one, as orannia of Walkabout figured out, and she instituted a Broken Wing Reading Challenge, motivating me to finally read it.

By the way, there's an interesting post at The Good, The Bad, and The Unread titled Can A Blogger Make a Book? written by Wendy the SuperLibrarian about how Kristie may have single-handedly spurred the success of Broken Wing. Definitely food for thought.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

An historical romance set in the Napoleonic era, Broken Wing is an epic tale of adventure, survival and love. Lady Sarah Munroe and her half brother Ross, Earl of Huntington, have traveled from England to a Parisian brothel in order to find their young brother who has been lost to the family for the last five years. It turns out young Jamie has been living in the brothel, yet has survived the ordeal unscathed only because he was under the protection of the brothel's most prized prostitute, Gabriel St. Croix. Abandoned when he was a young child, Gabriel St. Croix's past is hauntingly disturbing. He was sold and traded, used as a catamite and later bound in servitude to the Parisian brothel. His sordid life has left him cold and distant, yet despite all of this, he was compelled to protect a Jamie from a similar fate, often at great cost to himself.

When Sarah and Ross are reunited with their young brother, they can hardly believe he is unharmed. When they explain to Jamie that they will be taking him home, Jamie refuses to go anywhere without Gabriel. Sarah and Ross are incredibly grateful for Gabriel's care and protection of Jamie, so while Ross is reluctant to bring a prostitute to live in his home, Sarah convinces him that it would soothe Jamie to have his protector at his side as he adjusts to a normal life again. Ross and Sarah establish a employment contract with Gabriel for one year of service as a companion to Jamie, an offer that Gabriel does not hesitate to accept, knowing it is a rare opportunity for a life finally free of violence, abuse and prostitution. Perhaps he can actually be at peace.

Gabriel is welcomed in Sarah and Ross' home like family, but Gabriel remains cold and distant. Obviously his experiences so far in life have left him with little, if any, concept of what it's like to belong with someone . . . family, friend, or lover. With patience and through simple companionship, Sarah teaches, or rather, shows Gabriel these things not just because she feels compelled to heal him, but because being with Gabriel, sharing life's simple beauties simply comes naturally to her. She doesn't set out to make him forget his past or make him forgive those who abused him. Rather she accepts him for the man he is and only wishes to show him that he can still have family, friendship and love. While Sarah is not unaffected by Gabriel's inherent sensuality, she first and foremost recognizes a man who could use a friend. In time, and through innocent friendship, Gabriel learns about friendship, acceptance and eventually they fall in love.

At about the halfway mark of the novel, Gabriel and Sarah separate for what they hope is only six months, but an unfortunate series of events tears them apart for much longer. During their separation, Gabriel is subjected to more atrocities. Some he commits himself in order to stay alive, and some that are not only cruel in their own nature, but doubly cruel because it seems he is destined to repeat living a life of abuse and deviant servitude. Thankfully he has warm, loving memories of Sarah's companionship and affection and he has befriended a Frenchman during this time of separation, both giving him the strength and courage to persevere yet again, and this time to hopefully do what he must to beat his demons once and for all. It is difficult, however, after living the life he has to believe oneself worthy of things so pure such as unconditional acceptance, friendship, and love. He never forgets what Sarah has given him, but he struggles to once again find himself worthy of such things from her--a struggle that costs them both dearly.

Broken Wing has a larger than life feel to it, in part, I think, because of the time span of the story and in part to wide array of settings at which the story takes place. Unlike most romance novels that take place over a few short months or even days, Broken Wing takes place over four years which in addition to making the romance part that much more realistic, it also lends a superb epic tone to the novel. There are also enough flashbacks and references to the past that make the novel feel like it spans a lifetime.

The story also takes the reader to the most amazing albeit frightening places. From a brothel in Paris to a stately manor along the ragged coast of England; from a privateer's ship sailing stormy seas to cities along the Barbary coast; from rebel fighting in the deserts of northern Africa to the beautiful countryside of Morocco and back again to Paris and London. All with amazing attention to historical and descriptive detail right down to the food, clothing, and weapons. Author Judith James certainly paints a vivid picture with her words.

Broken Wing is a most beautiful and memorable historical romance. It's not a simple story of romance and happily ever after. It chronicles the dark adventures of Gabriel St. Croix, who despite living a life of travesty after travesty, finds true, unconditional love and acceptance in an amazing woman, Lady Sarah Munroe, whose words and affections nurture him in ways he never imagined. Broken Wing is an achingly beautiful, epic romantic tale of survival and love.



Look for Judith James' second novel, Highland Rebel, in September 2009.

You can visit author Judith James at her website http://www.judithjamesauthor.com.

REVIEW: Stolen Fury by Elisabeth Naughton

Stolen Fury is author Elisabeth Naughton's debut novel, and first in the Stolen trilogy--a romantic suspense trilogy immersed in archaeological treasures and those who seek them.

Archaeologist Dr. Lisa Maxwell has spent well over a decade researching the existence and possible whereabouts of three ancient marble reliefs based on the three Furies in Greek mythology. For strong personal reasons, Lisa Maxwell has developed a dangerous obsession with finding these elusive artifacts. At the opening of Stolen Fury, Lisa Maxwell narrowly escape with her life after having descended into a deep cave on Jamaica where she has found Alecto, one of the three Furies.

Before continuing with her quest to secure the other two Furies, Megaera and Tisiphone, Dr. Lisa Maxwell proceeds to Milan, Italy where she gives a presentation at the University there. It is at this presentation where Lisa meets Rafael "Garcia" when he rescues her, so to speak, from unwelcome advances from one of her colleagues. Rafael invites her out for a drink and one thing leads to another and they are in Lisa's hotel room about to indulge in a single night of passion. Before they consummate their passion, however, Rafael drugs Lisa and steals Alecto from her hotel safe.

Lisa wakes up furious at herself for giving in to Rafe's seduction and even more so for allowing Alecto to be stolen from her after all she's done to get her hands on it. Relentless in her determination to secure all three Furies, Lisa enlists her twin brother's expertise as a Chicago detective to determine Rafe's true identity and whereabouts. She finds out that Rafe "Garcia" is art thief Rafael Sullivan. She shows up at his Florida doorstep within a week of their encounter demanding he return Alecto to her. Of course, he doesn't give up the artifact for he has his own reasons for wanting the Furies. However, he acknowledges Lisa's drive and skill, so he convinces her to team up with him in their search for the other two artifacts. Both are reluctant to join forces, but she has the archaeological knowledge and skills and he has the resources, and together they're more likely to unearth the remaining Furies before someone else does, and there are definitely other factions out for the Furies. Both Lisa and Rafe think they will figure out a way to dump the other once they've acquired all three artifacts. What neither one don't count on, however, is falling in love along the way.

Stolen Fury is a smart and sassy romantic suspense with action and adventure, a complex plot and characters full of passion and depth. The adventure begins on the very first pages and is non stop until the very end. From dangerous descents into caves to car chases to dodging bullets to dives into deep blue holes in the Caribbean, the adventure never seemed contrived and always advanced the plot. The plot surrounding the competition trying to take out Lisa and Rafe and find the Furies themselves was complicated, but not so much that it's difficult to follow, and added surprise plot twists and character developments to an already exciting suspense. In addition, the cast of secondary characters that included Lisa's family, particularly her twin brother; Rafe's family including his mother, younger delinquent brother, and his ex-wife really added extra depth and humanity to the story, making the Stolen Fury that much more memorable.

At first glance, I was expecting the main characters Dr. Lisa Maxwell and Rafe Sullivan to be casted to stereotypical roles; the over ambitious archaeologist out to prove herself and the ruthless, conniving thief who would stop at nothing from achieving his fortune. They join efforts and fall in love, the end. On the contrary, the author surprised and delighted me with these two characters. Their motives for hunting for the three Furies are not at all what I expected and not what each expected of the other, either. I loved discovering the hidden depths of character at the same pace that they each learn about each other as well. Learning about Lisa and Rafe's pasts, their families, and what drives their ambitions added to the mystery and suspense of the plot and at the same time softened their tough treasure hunter exteriors. Not only that, but their motives and agendas sort of shift as the story progresses, leading to some very tender scenes and character revelations.

Oftentimes a novel of romantic suspense is either character driven or plot driven, yet in the case of Stolen Fury, the author successfully accomplishes both. Naughton has written a tale that expertly intertwines the personal journeys and the love story of the main characters with the action plot that the two become one and the end result is an extremely entertaining and rewarding novel.

Brimming with real adventure and suspense, passionate characters, lively dialogue, and a tender romance, Stolen Fury has easily become one of my favorite reads this year.

GRADE: A

What other readers are saying about Stolen Fury:

Sandy M. at The Good, The Bad & The Unread

Sarah at Monkey Bear Reviews

Casee at Book Binge

Daniel S. Boucher at The Novel Blog Check it out... from a man's perspective!

Stolen Heat, the second novel in Elisabeth Naughton's Stolen trilogy hit bookshelves just yesterday and I can barely wait to read it.




Look for the third installment in the trilogy, Stolen Seduction in January 2010.

You can visit the Elisabeth Naughton at her website at http://elisabethnaughton.com/ and her blog at http://elisabethnaughton.blogspot.com .

Be sure to check out the amazing contest Elisabeth Naughton is running through August 15, 2009.

It's Christmas In July II

Christmas is five months from today, and since Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 11, 2009, it's even less than five months away. I can barely believe it, but I bought my first Christmas gift this week! Truthfully, I wasn't intentionally holiday shopping, but I came across a great deal on a great gift for my husband so I pounced on it. I remembered that I did a little Christmas in July book giveaway last year, so I thought it would be fun to do it again this year. 

There are a lot of generous giveaways out there for new releases and brand new books, but well, times are tough and I'm trying to stick to a reasonable book budget, so I'm only going to be giving away books from my own bookshelf this time. These are books that I may or may not have read and are either gently used, accidental doubles, or ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) for books that were published in 2008 or earlier. Some of them are hand me downs from my friend Kate who gets lots of books from authors and publishers and she occasionally, and very generously, passes them on to me. A couple of the books that are ARCs have plain card stock covers, not the glossy colored cover art. I thought I'd mention that just in case you're a cover art junkie. ;)

I'm going to give three winners up to two books each, because I'm fairly certain two paperbacks fit into a medium padded envelope and can be mailed first class for about three bucks. All you have to do is leave a comment here in this post by Saturday, August 1, 2009 12 pm EST and I'll use the random.org to select the winners. 

Open to US and Canada addresses only and obviously you don't have to celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah or any other holiday to participate. 

The books on my giveaway shelf can be found on my Shelfari prize shelf. Just click on the link. 

In Blueberry Fields

Blueberry season is finally here in our corner of the world. 

My family loves blueberries. They're sweet, delicious and they're so incredibly good for you, too. What's not to love about these little blue beauties?

Yesterday, my daughters and I headed to our favorite local farm to pick some blueberries. 

Making our way to the blueberry field.

Let's start here and pick our way down this whole row . . .

Filling up the basket. 

An official "field" test. 

Luckily they passed the test, so we're bringing them home.  

Of course, the lovely outing isn't complete until there's some sisterly displays of . . . affection?

Definitely sisterly love and affection.  ;) 

Time to go home and eat our fill of blueberries. 

Blueberries by the handful . . . on cereal . . . in pancakes . . . in smoothies . . . and baked into some delicious blueberry treat. Our family favorite is Blueberry Pound Cake. 

The recipe is from the July 1998 issue of CookingLight magazine. I can't believe I've been making this cake for 11 years!  

REVIEW: Bound By Your Touch by Meredith Duran

Last summer I read and loved the historical romance The Duke of Shadows, by debut author Meredith Duran. Since then, I've been highly anticipating the release of Bound By Your Touch, which hit bookshelves on June 30, 2009. Although not as poignant and emotionally gripping as The Duke of Shadows, Bound By Your Touch is a unique and compelling story with plot of mystery and romance, and engaging characters that kept me intrigued from beginning to end.

It's 1884, and Miss Lydia Boyce is eldest of three daughters in the Boyce family and is left assuming the unofficial role of head of the household, as her mother is long dead and her father, well known Egyptologist Henry Boyce, spends his time in Egypt as an artifacts dealer in order to fund his archaeological research there. Lydia is a learned scientist and scholar herself, supporting her father's research and funding in Regency England while also managing the household affairs that include being steward for her two younger sisters. Considered a spinster at 26 years old and after having been jilted by the man she loved when he ends up marrying her younger sister instead, Lydia has accepted, if not embraced, the fact at she will most likely remain unwed. Fortunately for her, she has her interests in science to keep her happily preoccupied.

Lord James Durham, the Viscount of Sanburne is a dilettante and a nuisance. He's a rich, spoiled, daft kind of fellow who pretty much spends all his time drinking and partying with his friends and doing whatever he can to anger and disgrace his father. James' father is the Earl of Mooreland and it is obvious to everyone that James is not only a disappointment to the Earl, but also a huge thorn in his side. Based on this brief character profile, James Durham doesn't sound like a very like-able character at all, yet there is an intelligence and kindness about him that makes the reader wonder if there are hidden reasons behind his behavior. Of course there are reasons and very real and severe reasons at that, and the author slowly reveals James' true character as he and Lydia get to know, understand, and inevitably love each other.

Lydia and James first cross paths when he so rudely interrupts and disrupts her presentation, at which she is trying to secure support and financial funding for her father's work. James barges into the auditorium, stealing Lydia's audience while drawing attention to his fantastic new archaeological find. James does this solely in a one-up-manship against his father, but in the end, his artifact is denounced as a fraud on the spot by none other than Lydia herself. This "confrontation" sets the tone of their relationship throughout the rest of the story in which they spend most of the time in each other's company verbally sparring with one another. It's not like they argue just to be antagonistic towards each other. It's more that they are often of differing opinions or perceptions of each other. Their frustration with trying to understand the other exacerbates the tension in their conversations and in their relationship as a whole.

When James confronts his supplier, he learns that fraudulent artifacts are being shipped from Egypt and in fact, the evidence indicates the source of the fakes to be Henry Boyce. Lydia is adamant about her father's integrity and sets out to prove his innocence at any cost. Lydia and James share information and resources as they try to uncover the truth about the source of the frauds. By the end of the story they do that, and so much more. Despite their near constant bickering when they are in each other's company, they are drawn to the excitement and level of intelligence and wit they share. Upon each meeting, Lydia and James not only develop a deeper understanding and respect for each other, but also for themselves.

The following passage is a great example of a typical exchange between Lydia and James. They learn so much about each other, yet still have this wall of understanding--or should I say misunderstanding-- between them that frustratingly doesn't break down.

"And if I asked about my own character? Oh, I know you've decided I'm paranoid. But would the scientist share with me her other observations?"

The curiosity in his voice seemed genuine. But why would he care what she thought of him? She ran an anxious finger over the door latch. [ . . . ]

"You're a butterfly," she said. "Aimless by nature, useless by choice, and highly decorative. Annoying, when you flap into someone's face."

To her irritation, he laughed. Surely there was no greater nuisance than a man who did not mind being insulted! What weapon could a woman employ against him?

"A butterfly? All right, Miss Boyce, well done. Yes, I rather like that. A butterfly, pinned in a very nice glass cage."

A few more stinging words between them and Lydia changes her analogy and says he's "not a butterfly, but a billiard ball. You crash about in the most aimless way--". James responds by acknowledging that, yes, Lydia clearly disapproves of him. When she's not kissing him, that is. It's quite an amusing and telling scene. Lydia speaks her mind, flinging several stinging, yet intelligent remarks his way, getting more and more ruffled by the minute, and while James does retaliate with a few biting remarks of his own, he maintains a calmness and amusement of Lydia that clearly shows his approval of her.

Bound By Your Touch is wonderfully written and the realistic, yet also very unique premise and characters were all very engaging. The development and treatment of the relationship between Miss Lydia Boyce and the Viscount James Sanburne was equally captivating and satisfying. Their conversations were often times amusing, sometimes moving and always intelligent. It was a joy to watch Lydia and James slowly come to understand each other, learn about themselves, teach other lessons on family, love, and forgiveness, and see that they are really more alike than not and that they indeed are a perfect match.

GRADE: A

You can visit author Meredith Duran at her website http://meredithduran.com .

Meredith's next novel is Written On Your Skin and comes out on July 28, 2009.