Month: November 2012

Interview with Sophie Barnes + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Author Interviews> blog tours> Giveaways

Today I’d like to welcome Sophie Barnes.  Her latest book in The Summersbys series, The Secret Life of Lady Lucinda, is coming out on Tuesday.  I’ve reviewed the first two books in the series, Lady Alexandra’s Excellent Adventure and There’s Something About Lady Mary here and here.

Marlene: Hello Sophie! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Sophie: Hello Marlene! Thank you so much for having me here today – I’m thrilled to be your guest =) I was born in Denmark and go back there once a year to visit my family, have an international upbringing and studied design before realizing that writing was what I really wanted to do. The characteristics that best describe me are probably (in no particular order): dreamer, artist, mother, wife, nature enthusiast and tranquil.

Marlene: Describe a typical day of writing? Are you a planner or pantser?

Sophie: Ha ha – I’ve been asked this before, but my answer has changed since then =) I’m a pantser turned planner and I truly feel as if that’s made a really positive impact on my writing (quietly hoping that nobody disagrees…lol). It’s certainly made it easier for me to get a feel for the overall book and work out plot issues before I write myself into a corner and have to waste precious time on re-writing a chapter or two. As for my typical day, I take the kids to school at 8:30 in the morning and return home as quickly as possible so I can get started on my writing. When there’s a deadline pending, I do little else but write, which means that household chores like vacuuming and ironing are put on hold (yes, there are many dust bunnies under our beds and couches =)). On average, I write between 2000 and 3500 words per day, and then of course there’s a lot of social networking as well, so I keep busy =) At 3:30 I pick up the kids from school and do very little work until they go to bed, after which I may do a bit more.

Marlene: Wow, you have had an incredible year! How does it feel to have four books (plus a short story) published in a single year?

Sophie: Exhausting! LOL – it feels wonderful, even though I haven’t quite gotten used to the idea yet after all this time. It’s still a bit surreal and I sometimes wind up telling myself, “You’re an author – you’re actually an AUTHOR!!!”

Marlene: And is there a story behind your seemingly overnight success? (There’s usually a TON of work behind becoming an “overnight” success).

Sophie: Yes, there is a TON of work involved, and to be honest, I’ve worked my fingertips to the bone this past year, but I wanted to make a mark and get my name out there, so I decided that the best way to go about it would be to publish as much as possible as quickly as possible and then do a lot of social networking. The titles have also helped I think (work of genius from my editor and marketing department), since they don’t fade in with the rest – they’re different and so are the covers.

Marlene: On your website, you say that you never thought you’d make a career out of writing. Would you like to tell us the story of what happened to make you change your mind?

Sophie: I believe there are a few key factors involved. First of all, I was living in Africa until a couple of years ago where my husband was working and I was staying at home. Being the creative sort that I am, I embarked on several projects just for the sake of doing something with my time. The kids were born, and they became my focus. Then one day, I walked into the local bookshop and picked up Julia Quinn’s book Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. I had no idea who Julia Quinn was, but decided to try out her book which promised to be entertaining. Not only could I not put it down once I started reading, but when I finished I thought, why not write a book like that – how hard can it possibly be? Well, I definitely underestimated the difficulty in writing a book, but I was determined and so I wrote How Miss Rutherford Got Her Groove Back between naptimes, play sessions and while I waited for the kids to fall asleep in the evenings. At the end of the day, it’s all a question of how badly you want that dream of yours to come true =)

Marlene: And why did you choose to write Regency romances in particular? Was there any other part of the romance genre that caught your attention?

Sophie: I’ve always been a huge fan of historical fiction in general, and when I went through a phase in my teens where I decided to read only the classics, Jane Austen was my favorite. I love the film adaptations of her novels – there’s just something so utterly romantic about that whole era where etiquette ruled and the slightest misstep could lead to ruin. When I discovered that there was a whole genre dedicated to that period, I felt as though I’d stumbled upon a vast treasure =) That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy romances set in Victorian times or the occasional medieval one, but the Regency as grabbed my interest for now and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

Marlene: Please give readers a little introduction to the Summersby family?

Alexandra, Ryan and William Summersby are the Earl of Moorland’s three children with Alexandra being the youngest and William the oldest. Raised by their military father after their mother’s untimely death, all three of them, including Alexandra, have been trained as soldiers and have carried out work for the Foreign Office. In There’s Something About Lady Mary, however, Ryan has chosen to abandon this line of work in favor of pursuing a medical career since he’s more intellectually inclined. The plot takes place a year after Alexandra rode to France on a secret mission to find her brother William who’d been accused of treason. Fast forward another year and we meet William once again. He’s the sort of person who always makes an attempt at looking at a situation rationally rather than acting on impulse like his sister. In The Secret Life of Lady Lucinda, he’s decided to take a wife and settle down. Being the level-headed character that he is, he’s picked his bride based on logic, only to find himself saying his vows to a woman who unexpectedly traps him.

Marlene: Will there be more books in this series? What is next on your schedule?

Sophie: There might be in an indirect sort of way – I have a few story ideas for Michael Ashford’s (Alexandra’s husband) sisters Cassandra and Caroline. This will have to wait however since I’m working on a different trilogy at the moment with entirely different characters.

Marlene: Now can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read your books?

Sophie: My writing is fast paced with a sense of humor and with a deliberate attempt to add interesting little facts so the reader may walk away feeling as though they actually learned something.

Marlene: What words of advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Sophie: Don’t give up, no matter what anyone says. Write every day, even if you don’t feel inspired – once you get started, the words and ideas will come. Join RWA and read all the advice those monthly magazines have to offer and do not let that manuscript sit in a drawer for years on end just because you’re too afraid of what people might think. Finally and very importantly, don’t be a diva – treat everyone with kindness and respect, because truthfully, romance writers, editors and bloggers alike, are some of the loveliest, most helpful people you’re likely to meet.

Marlene: Tell me something about yourself that I wouldn’t know to ask.

Sophie: When I was fourteen I won a writing contest at school – nothing big or anything, but enough to surprise my friends. They couldn’t believe that I (for whom English is a second language) beat them (they were British). Perhaps I should have realized then that this was where my future lay, but I was stubborn and wanted to study design. Fun fact – I wrote that story on my way to school the morning it was due =)

Marlene: What book do you recommend everyone should read and why that particular book?

Sophie: Tough question since there are so many! Right, I’m going to suggest Pride and Prejudice since that’s my favorite Austen book of all time.

Marlene: Coffee or tea?

Sophie: Coffee in the US and tea in Europe please =)

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I’ll be popping in throughout the day to chat with you and to answer any questions you might have.

If you’d like to follow my blog tour, I’ll be back tomorrow at Seduced by a Book for another interview.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Sophie

Born in Denmark, Sophie has spent her youth traveling with her parents to wonderful places all around the world. She’s lived in five different countries, on three different continents, and speaks Danish, English, French, Spanish and Romanian.She has studied design in Paris and New York and has a bachelor’s degree from Parson’s School of design, but most impressive of all – she’s been married to the same man three times, in three different countries and in three different dresses.While living in Africa, Sophie turned to her lifelong passion – writing.

When she’s not busy, dreaming up her next romance novel, Sophie enjoys spending time with her family, swimming, cooking, gardening, watching romantic comedies and, of course, reading. She currently lives on the East Coast.

Placed to find Sophie: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

There’s Something About Lady Mary

Mary Croyden lives a simple life . . . and she likes it. But when she inherits a title and a large sum of money, everything changes. Forced to navigate high society, Mary finds herself relying on the help of one man—Ryan Summersby. Determined not to lose her sense of self, she realizes that Ryan is the only person she can trust. But Mary’s hobbies are not exactly proper, and Ryan is starting to discover that this simple miss is not at all what he expected . . . but just might be exactly what he needs.

 

The Secret Life of Lady Lucinda

Lucy Blackwell is desperate, reckless, and maybe a little bit crazy. That’s the only possible explanation for tricking a man she doesn’t know into a dance, a kiss, and an engagement—all in the middle of the biggest ball of the year! But Lord William Summersby is the final piece of her grand plan, and she’ll do what it takes to make this marriage of convenience work—as long as it’s convenient for her. She just never counted on falling in love . . .

Review: There’s Something About Lady Mary by Sophie Barnes

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by Edelweiss
Formats available: Mass market paperback, ebook
Genre: Regency romance
Series: Summersby #2
Length: 270 pages
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Date Released: November 13, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Mary Croyden lives a simple life . . . and she likes it. But when she inherits a title and a large sum of money, everything changes. Forced to navigate high society, Mary finds herself relying on the help of one man—Ryan Summersby. Determined not to lose her sense of self, she realizes that Ryan is the only person she can trust. But Mary’s hobbies are not exactly proper, and Ryan is starting to discover that this simple miss is not at all what he expected . . . but just might be exactly what he needs.

The outline for There’s Something About Lady Mary has some similarities to the first book in the Summersby series, Lady Alexandra’s Excellent Adventure. A man who thinks he is quite conventional but actually isn’t falls in love with a woman who is very unconventional. But because he thinks he is conventional, he spends much too much time trying to change the reasons that attracted him in the first place. Sparks, tension, and misunderstandings ensue.

The role reversal in Lady Mary’s story is that the conventional male is Lady Alex’s brother Ryan Summersby. After having grown up with Alex, he really should have known better than to think that a simpering society miss would actually suit him in the first place!

Ryan is tasked by a friend, the head of the Foreign Office, to keep an unofficial eye on Lady Steepleden, by any means necessary. Meaning that if he has to fake an affection, that’s just fine with Lord Percy. Lady Steepleden might be in danger.

The problem is that until Lady Steepleden returned to London, she had no idea that she was Lady Anybody. As far as she knew, she was just Mary Croyden, the daughter of an exceedingly excellent surgeon. She never knew that her father was the Marquess of Steepleden, or that he’d petitioned to have her inherit his title and his estate. All she knew she’d inherited was his medical instruments. Her father had taught her all he knew, even if she couldn’t be licensed as a surgeon in England. On the battlefields in Europe, no one had cared that she was female, only that she could save their lives. And she had.

But her father had more secrets than she knew. He was a member of the aristocracy. A wealthy and titled member of the aristocracy. And someone had murdered him for a secret that he kept, using the confusion of Waterloo to cover their tracks. Whoever killed him, now they sought Mary.

And Ryan discovered that his assignment was less onerous, and more dangerous, than he ever expected. He thought he’d be protecting some society chit he wouldn’t be able to stand to be around.

Instead he found a woman who challenged him at every turn. But one who couldn’t see through her own insecurities to believe that he might find her attractive, especially not when their initial relationship began on a foundation of lies

But before they can find a future, they have to figure out the past. If they live that long. And if they can keep their misunderstandings from tearing them apart.

Escape Rating B+: The author was very careful to include her historical precedents for Mary’s medical practice in her notes. She knew that the first question that would crop up would be whether a woman could or did practice during the Napoleonic era. Apparently the answer is yes. Along with a whole slew of other medical precedents. Just because something wasn’t regular practice didn’t mean it wasn’t known.

About the story, again, this was fun to read. The suspense angle kept the pace cracking along. Trying to figure out what Mary’s father had been investigating that had gotten him killed, and who had betrayed him, heightened both the drama and the pathos, as it was his friends and colleagues who  had turned on him.

Watching Mary and Ryan negotiate their relationship formed the core of the story. Ryan has to change his conventional attitude, but Mary has to compromise. Unlike Alex, Mary can’t continue doing exactly what she’s been doing–London is not a war zone. But Ryan has to find a way to bend, a lot, to make it work. The solution they find seems realistic, in the circumstances. They fit.

I’m looking forward to older brother William’s story, The Secret Life of Lady Lucinda. I can’t wait to see what sort of woman turns out to be his match!

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Lady Alexandra’s Excellent Adventure by Sophie Barnes

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews
Format read: paperback provided by the publisher
Formats available: Mass Market Paperback, ebook
Genre: Regency Romance
Series: Summersby #1
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Date Released: June 5, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

It’s going to be a wild ride…

Lady Alexandra Summersby is not your average society miss. Not only is she more likely to climb a tree than she is to wear a dress, but she has also sworn off marriage. Alex loves taking chances, which is how she finds herself embroiled in a secret mission as she races across the country with the Earl of Trenton. But Alexandra is about to discover that the real danger lies not in duels, but in her completely unexpected reaction to Lord Trenton’s company.

Michael Ashford, Earl of Trenton, is a man of duty. Honorable, charming, and a hit with the ladies, he’s never had trouble staying focused—until now. Lady Alexandra is like no other woman he’s ever met, and suddenly the prospect of marriage seems far more appealing. Now, to convince Alexandra that a life together could be an adventure like no other…

Sophie Barnes specializes in creating Regency heroines who seem improbably larger-than-life, and then making their square-peg-in-the-round-hole characters seem, not just reasonable for their particular circumstances, but absolutely the right woman for whatever normally staid and conventional male starts out attempting to shave off the edges of their unique charms.

Take Lady Alexandra Summersby for example. Every male in her entire family seems to work for the Foreign Office. In other words, she’s the one female in an entire family of spies. Her mother is deceased, and if it wasn’t tragic, I’d say the poor woman died of fright.

But Alex was raised in the trade, so to speak. With every single member of her family in the secrets business, it is somewhat logical that she be able to defend herself. If anyone’s cover is blown, she’s a target. The only problem is that Alex is much too good at it. She’s a much better with the sword than either of her brothers. She’s much better at most of the “trade” than her brothers.

So when her oldest brother, William, is accused of colluding with Napoleon (instead of being the spy for the English that he really is), Alex gets herself attached to the investigation, with her father’s consent. Her younger brother Ryan goes along as chaperone.

The man leading the expedition, Michael Ashford, Earl of Trenton, thinks he is taking the two younger Summersby sons to France to investigate the case. Only when the party arrives in France does Alex reveal that she is Alexandra. Michael is angry, not only at the deception, but at the danger that a woman brings to the investigation. He does not see the possibilities.

Alex does not see that there is danger. She can defend herself. Very ably, too. But she has never dealt with the possibility that men will attack her, and in numbers, simply because she is a woman with a sword.

Michael tries to force her back into a conventional role, one that Alex cannot occupy. She loves herself as she is. She will never be a demure miss. No matter how much she has discovered she wants to attract Michael’s attention.

Alex is afraid to love. And it turns out that Michael will settle for nothing less. In the middle, there remains the question of Alex’s brother William. Exactly who is he working for in Napoleon’s court?

Escape Rating B: Spies never occupy a conventional role in society. So the idea that Alex might be as unconventional as she is in this story, while surprising, isn’t all that hard to swallow. It just made her more interesting to watch. Her naivete that her sword would protect her from all the problems of being a woman travelling as a man did seem just that, a bit naive.

In so many recent Regencies, in order to make the heroine a person that modern readers can identify with, the authors have resorted to using bluestockings as heroines. While I enjoy the bluestocking heroine as much as the next reader, being one myself, it is refreshing to see a story where the heroine is a woman of action. It’s a tad unconventional, but it works. There are always non-conformists. And spycraft is one of the oldest professions, one in which women have always taken part.

The emotional center is the relationship between Alex and her family, and then between Alex and Michael. Alex is afraid to love because her father sincerely loved her mother. He slid into a deep depression when she died, and left Alex to her own devices. Something that contributed to her tomboy tendencies. Alex is afraid to love anyone that much.

Michael needs a wife, but he also needs a partner. Someone who won’t bore him. Someone who understands his service with the Foreign Office. Alex challenges him. Her family also serves the Foreign Office. They can work together, if she can get past her fears, and if he can get past his conventionality to figure out that her very unconventionalness is what he really needs.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Dual Review: A Royal Pain by Megan Mulry

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 1 Star> book reviews> Dual Review> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Latin Lover> The Rocket Lover

Format read: ebook received from the publisher through NetGalley
Release Date: 1 November 2012
Number of pages: 352 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s website, Amazon, Kindle, Book Depository

Blurb:

Bronte Talbott follows all of the exploits of the British royals. After all, they’re the world’s most preeminent dysfunctional family. And who is she to judge? Bronte’s own search for love isn’t going all that well, especially after her smooth-talking Texan boyfriend abruptly leaves her in the dust.

Bronte keeps a lookout for a rebound to help mend her broken heart, and when she meets Max Heyworth, she’s certain he’s the perfect transition man. But when she discovers he’s a duke, she has to decide if she wants to stay with him for the long haul and deal with the opportunities– and challenges– of becoming a royal.

Our Thoughts: 

Marlene: A Royal Pain was just that, an absolute pain to read. I hate to put it that way, but the pun is just right there waiting to be said. I finished because I said I would. And I was on an airplane and “what the heck”.

Stella: I’m sorry to say but I completely agree. *sighs* Which is even sadder since from the moment I read its blurb I was predisposed and predestined to love it, I mean it is my go-to fantasy the normal, ordinary girl meeting and falling for a handsome guy, who is later revealed is an aristocrat *dreamy sighs* So yes, I was so much looking forward to this book and not only it did not deliver but after 28% I realized I was skipping entire paragraphs because the pages just didn’t hold my interest and found the heroine so frustrating and irritating, that despite several forced attempts to keep on reading, after 60% I gave up, I just hated it, or rather the heroine so much. So all my respect and hats off to Marlene for persevering!

Marlene: This story had all the absolute worst hallmarks of chick-lit, and if I’d known it was chick-lit, I would have steered far, far away. Bronte Talbott is whiny and self-centered. She comes across as TSTL (that’s too stupid to live) on multiple occasions. Max is all too often her doormat, except for the times he gets completely fed up and throws a temper tantrum.

Stella: I wouldn’t have disqualified A Royal Pain based on the fact that it was chick lit, I’ve read some that were so entertaining and funny they remain my go-to comfort reads, but I completely agree as to your comments regarding the heroine. Since the story is told through her POV (even if it’s not 1st person narrative), the reader must feel a connection or at least be interested in the heroine’s story but Bronte was such a whining, bitchy, egotistical, shallow, immature, petulant heroine (and yes I could go on), behaving like a churlish adolescent most of the time feeling sorry for herself, that not only did I not feel any smypathy or connection with her I downright disliked and despised her 🙁 (E.g. when she gets together with the dreamy hero, spend a whirlwind romance but they break up, she calls him after she finds out he’s a duke, so we have no idea if she had called him without that bit of information or if it was part of her motivation to reconnect). Oh and her constantly going on and on about how much she hated her father even though he has been dead for several years now and didn’t do anything exceptionally bad rubbed me the wrong way too. She acted as a whiny teen. She was an ungrateful, spoilt, moody and whiny heroine, who irritated me to no end I would have liked to slap her to make her snap out of her “me me me” egocentric world. Everyhting was only about her, she didn’t care about others they were just there to be her soundingboard, she didn’t give a damn about what was going on with her friends, mom, boss, she just wanted to unload her “problems” on them.

And another one of my problems regarding her character was that she was so crude, look at this scene where they are about to make love and Max confesses his love and proposes:

She wanted him so badly, her body wanted him so badly.
“Say it, Bron.” He was lying along the length of her back now, his voice so close to her ear, it was almost as if it was coming from the inside of her head.
“I’ll say anything, Max.”
“Say you’ll marry me, Bron.”
“Put it in, Max.”
“You have such a way with words, darling.”
“Please, put it in.”

Marlene: Their entire relationship is founded on an incredible lie of omission. Max hides his identity. This is kind of realistic, once you get past the idea that there’s a royal duke running around that no one has heard of, but when he gets mad at Bronte for not being willing to handle his first, but not last, ultimatum, he’s lost all credibility. Not that he had much.

Stella: I found Max a very two dimensional character (not that Bronte had more depth, but she definitely had more “screen time”), he was constantly described as incredibly handsome, warmhearted and the ideal dreamy hero, but not much beside that. He really was all that is considerate, enamored with the heroine (I found it happened way too soon, after weeks of glimpsing her he was already envisioning forever). I would have liked for his character to be better developed.

Marlene: The thing is, Bronte goes into the relationship with Max on the rebound. She tells him this. He’s only going to be in Chicago for 8 more weeks and then he’s going back to England. He never tells her that he’s planning for their relationship to be longer term, because she’s very gun-shy after the way her last relationship ended. (The fact that she was totally stupid about her last relationship notwithstanding).

Max has decided, and he never tells Bronte. In their last two or three days together, Max’ dad has a heart attack, and he has to leave instantly. Of course he does. But while he’s packing, he drops the bombshell that he wants a long-term relationship with Bronte and wants her to go with him to the UK. And if she doesn’t come with him, right now, she’ll never see him again.

Bronte is not a student. She’s a supposedly high-powered advertising exec of some kind. She could drop everything if they already were in a long-term relationship, but for someone who is supposedly just a fling, not if she wants to still have a career when she gets back. And whoever he is, he’s been lying to her. Not to mention, Bronte has some serious commitment issues.

Stella: Hm, I really can’t keep it short if I go into discussing their relationship because I found it completely unbelievable, unrealistic and phony (and not the part of the hero being a duke, but the normal dynamics of their relationship). But regarding that “big” break up point of Max being under shock that his dad was going to die, and he clearly tells Bronte that he is lost and needs her, the person he loves to be with him during this hard time, and that she just says no I found that completely heartless. And interesting how we see this scene completely differently Marlene, because for me when Max asks her to go with him, I understood it as he needed her support during this heartbreaking time and not an immediate answer for the HEA-until-we-die-part. And speaking of Bronte’s job, cue the eyeroll. She is a successful ad exec and she uses her boss and potential top client as her BF/shrink? Tearing up and chatting about her breakup when they are meeting for a business talk?! Talk about unprofessional.

Marlene: It went downhill from there. Both mother-in-laws were shrews of various breeds (of course they were. they always are). They break up once, and nearly fall apart at least one more time. And all of the problems revolve around Bronte’s issues and Max’s high-handedness. That and the expectation that they should read each other’s minds. Spare me.

Stella: Yeah, I couldn’t connect or be interested in their romance either as Bronte and her stupidity just drove me up the wall.

Verdict:

Marlene: I did not like these people. The author didn’t make me care what happened to them, or whether they resolved their problems. Or even whether they ever saw each other again. My iPad is too expensive to bang against the wall, which is the only thing that saved this one from being a wallbanger. Or a bulkhead-banger, since I was on an airplane at the time I read it.

I give A Royal Pain 1 star.

Stella: If it isn’t clear by now, I’ll repeat it once more: I very much disliked A Royal Pain. I hated the heroine and found the way the plot twists and turns were executed immature, the writing didactic and thus irritating, and couldn’t care for the heroine’s romance, because I actually was rooting against her. I know it’s a sacrilege of the romance genre, but I didn’t want her to find her HEA with such a nice guy. He deserved much much better than her. So no, A Royal Pain was truly a torture to get through, and in the end, I couldn’t do it…

I also give A Royal Pain 1 star and I’m still looking for that perfect oridnary-girl-meets-love-of-her-life-aristocrat-contemporary-romance, so if you have read such, please let me know!

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Tudor Rose and Tudor Rubato by Jamie Salisbury

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by the author
Formats available: ebook
Genre: contemporary romance
Series: Tudor Dynasty #1
Length: 114 pages
Publisher: Jamie Salisbury
Date Released: November 28, 2011
Purchasing Info:Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance

Amadeus Tudor is rock star royalty. Tudor is part of a musical dynasty, who has risen to a level of fame usually seen once in a lifetime. He’s the front man for Tudor Rose, one of the top selling, most beloved rock bands in recent memory.

Zara Middleton, long time former manager and publicist to Tudor Rose has been brought back into the fold, this time as Amadeus Tudor’s personal body guard. Someone is out to harm Amadeus, the question is who. And why would someone want to harm him? He has no known enemies, his fans as well as his business associates adore him.

As the new tour gets underway, unsettling things begin to happen and Zara wonders who among Amadeus’s new management team she can trust.

The tour also finds Amadeus and Zara inseparable. As Zara becomes aware of long ignored feelings and emotions toward her former client, Amadeus takes charge, determined not to lose the only woman he’s truly loved again.

Format read: ebook provided by the author
Formats available: ebook
Genre: contemporary romance
Series: Tudor Dynasty #2
Length: 100 pages
Publisher: Jamie Salisbury
Date Released: November 9, 2012
Purchasing Info:Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Having survived a near-death experience all Amadeus Tudor wants to do is escape to the countryside of Scotland with his wife Zara so the two can have some much needed down time together as a couple and work on rebuilding their relationship. Life for the past couple of years, however has been “a long, strange trip (it’s been)”* for the internationally acclaimed rock star, with no signs of stopping.

But before the couple can even get away, tragedy hits close to home forcing the couple into almost delaying their new adventure. Grace Tudor, the family matriarch insists the two embark on their new adventure and recommitting to each other immediately.

The change of scenery proves exactly what Amadeus needs to reboot his songwriting and his all encompassing bond with Zara. Together they embrace their new adventure as slowly Amadeus, with the guidance of music icon, Peter McNichol embarks on what promises to be another notch in Amadus’ career.

The road is full of twists and turns for the pair as one moment finds them frolicking in the meadows outside Edinburgh to the next learning the shocking and sinister side of one of Amadeus’ own brothers.

Jamie Salisbury’s Tudor Dynasty is one long and winding road, with all due apologies to Lennon and McCartney. And it’s also a rock and roll fantasy. At least a rock and roll fantasy love story. But that’s what makes it so much fun. How many of us haven’t had at least one daydream about marrying a rock star?

In Tudor Rose Zara Middleton lives that dream, and discovers there’s a nightmare at the heart. Not with the love of her life, Amadeus Tudor, but with someone in the shadows around him. Zara used to be Amadeus’ manager, but she left. Working with him wasn’t enough when all they could be was friends.

When she returns, she discovers immediately that what she felt wasn’t one-sided. But the threat she’s there to combat is also real. Zara came back because someone is sending threats, and it seemed easier to find out the truth from the inside of the tour. So while Amadeus’ band, Tudor Rose, tours, Zara goes along as his girlfriend, and later his wife.

The attacks escalate, someone is sowing dissention among the other band members, causing friction on and off the stage. Then things get violent, and the story ends in a near tragedy. Amadeus is attacked by stealth. Someone poisons him at a party.

Tudor Rubato picks up six months later. Amadeus is finally out of a long coma, but the cost was dear. Zara lost the baby she was carrying. Their marriage and partnership are in trouble.

While their situation is in turmoil, the attacks continue, on the personal and professional fronts. The perpetrator turns out to be much closer to home than anyone could have suspected, or even feared.

No amount of money or fame in the world can protect someone when their family betrays them.

Escape Rating B-: Tudor Rose gets off to a very fast start. There’s so much history between Amadeus and Zara, it almost reads as if there was a story that took place before Tudor Rose that we haven’t seen. (If there isn’t, the story before they get together might make a great prequel.)

The rock star who helps move Amadeus’ career to the next level, seemed so familiar, I actually googled him to see if he was real. He’s not, but he ought to be. The band fracturing read as if it were ripped from an issue of Rolling Stone, although the reasons behind it turned out to be much nastier.

It’s hard to rate these separately. I read them back to back, and they read as a single story. That being said, Tudor Rubato ends on a terrible cliffhanger. I hope it’s not another year before we find out what happens next!

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Review: Blaze of Winter by Elisabeth Barrett

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | 2 Stars> book reviews> Originally published at Book Lovers, Inc.> The Rocket Lover

Format Read: ebook provided by NetGalley
Number of Pages: 310 pages
Release Date: September 10, 2012
Publisher: Loveswept
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Star Harbor #2
Formats Available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Author’s Website | Publisher’s Website

Book Blurb:

Frustrated with her job in Boston, social worker Avery Newbridge welcomes the opportunity to reassess her life when family asks her to help manage the Star Harbor Inn. Trying to figure out her future is overwhelming enough, but she doesn’t count on distraction in the form of one Theo Grayson, the gorgeous, green-eyed author who she knows is trouble from the moment he saunters into the inn.

Not only does he have a talent for writing swashbuckling adventures, but Theo also has a soft spot for big-hearted damsels in distress, especially a woman who’s great at helping everyone—except herself. Avery’s demons challenge him, but for desire this hot, he isn’t backing down. With every kiss and heated whisper Theo promises her his heart . . . if only Avery is willing to open up and accept it.

My Thoughts:

This was originally posted at Book Lovers Inc.

This book drove me bonkers. More specifically, Theo and Avery drove me bonkers. I like Star Harbor, and I like the people there. Deep Autumn Heat, the first Star Harbor book, was a lot of fun. And although the relationship between Seb and Lexie had its share of ups, downs and misunderstandings, the reasons made sense. They worked. Or when they didn’t, the reader knew why they didn’t.

Avery comes home to Star Harbor because her Aunt Kate, the woman who raised her, is recovering from cancer and chemotherapy. Kate needs help running the Star Harbor Inn. And Avery needs a break from her position as a social worker in Boston. Avery handles substance-abuse cases, and she just lost a client that she thought was going to make it. She’s questioning her judgment, and her ability to stay detached enough or invest herself enough. Or where that line is.

Theo Grayson is a big-name author. T.R. Grayson. He left Star Harbor for San Francisco years ago. But he seems to have lost his spark, and writer’s block has set in. He’s come back to Star Harbor to see if he can find himself, his real self, again.

Both Avery and Theo are home for two months. In the winter. In a small town on the New England coast. With every single person in town shoving them together. And Christmas is coming.

Verdict: The reader gets a fairly clear picture of what is going on in Theo’s head. He comes home and gets a handle on what’s been wrong with his writing. He writes nautical historical fiction in the same vein as C.S. Forester and Patrick O’Brian, so he needs the inspiration of the water, the coast, and the New England history he grew up with. Coming home unsticks him.

He also falls in love with Avery pretty much at first sight.

Avery has stuff to work out. She’s not sure whether she’s cut out for social work. She emotionally invests in her clients a lot. It’s what makes her good at her job, but it also devastates her when a client relapses or fails. She’s decided that her time back home will be spent without relationships. She clearly has other issues, but she doesn’t articulate them, even to herself.

She doesn’t want to get involved with Theo. She’s attracted to him, very, but not interested in a relationship. Even a fling while they’re both in town. The reader doesn’t get any clear picture of why not.

And Theo decides that he’s going to override any objections she has and seduce her anyway, because he’s decided that’s what he wants. Since she’s physically interested, her mental and emotional reservations aren’t important. He figures he’ll get her to overcome those later.

And that’s where the story derailed for me. Even though I couldn’t figure out why she didn’t want a relationship, she was clear that she didn’t want one. I couldn’t get past that, as much as I like the people and the town.

The secondary story between Avery’s Aunt Kate and the man who seems to have been pining for her forever was wonderful. The suspense plot that almost seemed like the Inn was haunted, not bad at all.

But Theo and Avery? I couldn’t get past the beginning. He knew best, and he decided that her objections didn’t matter. That plot went out when? The 80s?

I give Blaze of Winter 2 sadly disappointed stars.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Guest Post: Marie Treanor on Writing Unreality + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | blog tours> Giveaways> Guest Posts

I’m very pleased to welcome Marie Treanor back to Reading Reality! I had the pleasure of interviewing Marie back in August for the publication of her Serafina and the Silent Vampire, and she’s back to introduce us to her Gifted series with Smoke and Mirrors. I’m loving Smoke and Mirrors so far, I’ll have a review up as soon as I finish this stage of my moving adventure.

But in the meantime, here’s Marie on why she created a new, paranormal country in the back of the old Soviet Republics. 

Writing Unreality by Marie Treanor

One of the things I like to do in my writing is to set my fantastical story full of paranormal beings and magical happenings, in actual locations that I know well or have at least visited. For me, it grounds the unreal characters and events in the real world, and can add besides a pleasantly exotic atmosphere.

However, I confess I went a little off-piste in my latest book, Smoke and Mirrors. It does open in Edinburgh, Scotland, a city I lived in for several years, and moves across the river into the “kingdom” of Fife for a spell – also well known to me. But after that, the action shifts to the totally fictional ex-Soviet republic of Zavrekestan.

I had to make Zavrekestan up, because the country itself is very much part of the story – almost a character in its own right. I had this idea about an isolated country, poor and politically unstable, and outwardly not very interesting to outsiders, where paranormal activity abounds. One village in particular produces an amazingly high proportion of psychics. Within the country, the existence of the “Gifted” is an open secret, but they’ve survived the centuries without persecution or scientific study by not talking out of turn. Thus the Gifted can quietly help with the odd problem for their ungifted brethren and still remain an official secret.

However, how feasible would it really be to keep such a secret in this age of globalization, easy travel, and social networking? To say nothing of the world’s fascination with paranormal activity. So, at the start of Smoke and Mirrors, the secret’s starting to escape. A Russian soldier stumbled upon it during Zavrekestan’s war for independence, and, now a major player in organized crime, he’s determined to profit from it. Plus, my rebel hero, Rodion Kosar, has catapulted across the world, using his fire-gift in combination with his formidable intelligence, in order to rob banks and art galleries and other impregnable institutions, putting the Gifted’s secrecy at considerable risk. Add in the Scottish born daughter of a Zavrekestan refugee, who writes fiction about her own unacknowledged gifts of foresight, and things get a little explosive. 🙂

Anyway, my vision of Zavrekestan is of a large, mostly rural country made up of spectacular mountain regions, and vast plains and forests. A beautiful, mysterious place where the people speak a language that’s almost completely unknown outside its own borders. Politically, it’s drifted from one tyranny to another, so it has a dissident under-class and a powerful secret police force. Poverty has led to crime, and certain regions around the Russian border where even the police fear to tread. So, not a very safe country either, but I hope it’s as fascinating and exciting to readers as it is to me.

I thoroughly enjoyed “inventing” Zavrekestan, and like the actual characters, it seemed to grow as I wrote. In fact, I’ve just finished writing a first draft of the second book in this series, and I found myself learning even more about the country with each chapter. As if it’s not bad enough having your own characters tell you what to write, now I have a whole country at it!

So, if you were a Gifted Zavreki – maybe you’re telepathic, talk to the dead, heal by touch, dream the future, start fires with your eyes – would you keep it a secret, or tell the world? And why?

Marie Treanor lives in Scotland with her eccentric husband and three much-too-smart children. Having grown bored with city life, she resides these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing sensual stories of paranormal romance and fantasy.

Marie has published more than twenty ebooks with small presses, (Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press and The Wild Rose Press), including a former Kindle bestseller, Killing Joe. Blood on Silk: an Awakened by Blood novel, was her New York debut with NAL.

Connect with Marie on Facebook.
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Join the party on her new blog: Marie Treanor’s Romantic Theme Party

Smoke and Mirrors by Marie Treanor (The Gifted #1)

Deceit and desire, and a treasure beyond price…

When struggling Scottish writer Nell Black accepts a one-off job with the police, translating for an arson suspect from the isolated ex-Soviet republic of Zavrekestan, she stumbles into a terrifying world of organized crime and paranormal abilities that turns her whole belief system upside down. Faced with an incomparable thief, hit men who spontaneously combust, gangsters, drug dealers, British Intelligence and a fiery goddess, Nell no longer knows who to trust. The man who saves her life is a criminal to whom deceit is second nature. He has more smoke screens and more plans in motion than anyone else can keep track of. He is, moreover, probably insane. Even his fellow gangsters are afraid of him. So why is he the one man Nell wants to touch her?

Rodion Kosar is in trouble. His convoluted plans all lead to one goal – the retrieval of his treasure – and to achieve that, he needs Nell to believe he isn’t the bad guy. He has many reasons beyond his own desires to make love to her. Especially when a plan goes wrong and he has to play dead before someone really kills him – either the police, the menacing Russian crime lord known as the Bear, or the powerful Guardian of the Gifted whom he’s defied once too often. Nell’s burgeoning gift of second sight could be his best route to the treasure, and yet keeping her with him spells danger. For Nell has her own agenda, her own mission, and she could just as easily cause his final downfall.

Buy at: Amazon | B&N

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Interview with Author Cherry Adair + Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Author Interviews> Author Q&A> blog tours> Book Giveaway> Giveaways

Today I’d like to give a warm welcome to Cherry Adair. Cherry is the author of the T-FLAC action/adventure romantic suspense series, and the latest book in her series is titled Ice Cold. I’ll tell you right now that the action (and the romance) in Ice Cold is plenty hot! Check out my review for more of the sizzle. And if you want a paperback copy of Ice Cold for yourself, you’ll have a shot at the end of the interview.

Meanwhile, here’s Cherry!

Marlene: Hi Cherry! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Cherry: I was born in Cape Town, South Africa. My mother was a well-known opera singer and actress, and  my father was a second rate magician who took one look at her up on stage and declared that he was going to marry her. They got married a couple of weeks later. I trained as an interior designer at the University of Cape Town, then came to America in my early twenties and opened my own interior design business in San Francisco. My husband came in to look for wallpaper (it was a Wednesday <g>). By Sunday we were engaged, two weeks later we were married. That was 30 plus years ago. I still refer to him as my first husband just to keep him on his toes. Lol.

I’ve always loved to write, and sold my first book –The Mercenary– in 1993. A couple of years later I sold my interior design business in San Francisco to write full time. I write three different worlds. T-FLAC, my counterterrorists, Cutter Cay, underwater treasure hunters, and Lodestone, in which a main character has a sixth sense after a near death experience, giving him the ability to see the GPS location of a lost object or person. Currently I’m writing book # 36.

Marlene: Describe a typical day of writing? Are you a planner or pantser?

Cherry: I’m a Night Owl. I come alive at about 10 P.M. and then fall into bed at about 6 or 7 A.M. As long as I get about 8 hours sleep it doesn’t matter when or how I manage them. When I’m on a deadline (which is most of the time) I sleep in four or five hour stretches, and write in-between.

I was a pantser until I sold my first book. Then I saw the error of my ways. My right brain gets annoyed when my left brain insists on logic. <g> Now I spend a week plotting and doing basic research before I even open a Word document and write Chapter One. Plotting well enables me to use my left, analytical brain before I jump into the story with both feet. Still, even when the book is well plotted, I loathe writing the first draft. It always feels as if I’m writing. One. Word. At. A. Time. Once that’s done, and I have what I need on the page, it takes a crowbar to get me away from the story as I layer and texture all the fun parts into it.

Marlene: What drew you to write romantic suspense?

Cherry: I’ve always enjoyed reading romantic suspense, and still do when I have the chance. But I consider what I write action adventure, more than romantic suspense. I love the running, chasing, shooting, wild monkey sex of action adventure. <g>

Marlene: And how do you research the military/adventure/suspense sides of the romantic suspense equation?

Cherry: I do a huge amount of research for all of my books. I do basic research before I start writing. I know what weapons my character uses, and the skills they’ll need as the story progresses. I always start with the plot, and what I need my characters to do, or what I want their experiences to be so they’re prepared for what I’m about to throw at them. There’s a lot of information to be had online, but my biggest resource is my little black book, where I keep contact information for all sorts of interesting people. People like nuclear physicists, tech people, bomb disposal experts, Navy SEALs, a famous biologist, a botanist, a lovely man who (allegedly lol) sells weapons to shady people. . .I even have some of his shady people in my black book. Lol I collect people’s skills like other women collect shoes (I collect shoes as well of course. <g>) I also have people listed by their language proficiency. (Foreign languages, not swearing. <g>) I have some pretty famous people between those pages, and some people whose number I call and the call is rerouted electronically in an awesome spy-way. I also have great contacts at some of the agencies, FBI, CIA etc. People love to talk about what they do (well, most of them). And I love, love libraries where I spend hours getting completely lost in research. Information is everywhere.

Marlene: For those newbies among us, could you give a quick intro to T-FLAC and the T-FLAC series?

Cherry: Terrorist Force Logistic Assault Command is a privately owned counterterrorist organization based in Montana. The idea was conceived on a very long, very smoky return flight from Italy many years ago. Eight T-FLAC, and six T-FLAC/Psi books, and two new series later, I’m back in the world of counterterrorists and hot sexy espionage with ICE COLD. I had SO much fun writing this book, it was like being back with old (incredibly sexy lol) friends.

Marlene: What can readers expect of Ice Cold?

Cherry: For those who have not read any of my books – let me sum them up quickly for you. Running-chasing-shooting-wild monkey sex-action-adventure. A little over the top-a lot sexy.

ICE COLD is the story of  two counterterrorist operatives. Cyber-geek Honey Winston and bomb ‘whisperer’, Rafael Navarro as they race across Europe in search of a bomber determined to bring the organization they work for to its knees.

ICE COLD is a cat and mouse game, with plenty of twists and turns. And while the story is running-chasing-shooting-falling-down-icy weather-hot sex-sexy-romantic action adventure, at the heart of it, it’s the story of two people learning each other and eventually falling in love.

Backcover copy for ICE COLD:
T-FLAC operative Rafael Navarro will never allow another woman to suffer the consequences of his dangerous life. But in a world where a terrorist can do more damage with a keyboard than a bomb, he needs the expert help of a cyber-geek. And fast.

Fellow operative, and cybercrimes specialist Honey Winston prefers computers to people. But when a serial bomber threatens the world’s financial infrastructure, she’s forced to work closely with Navarro, whose notorious skill in the bedroom is as legendary as his dexterity defusing bombs.

Honey and Rafael must fight sparks hot enough to melt their resolve, and push beyond fear itself, as they join forces in a bid to race the clock before a sinister and lethal bomber proves just how much they both have to lose.

T-FLAC is back, and the timer is counting down in the most pulse-pounding explosive op yet—

About Cherry
New York Times bestselling author Cherry Adair’s innovative action-adventure novels have appeared on numerous bestsellers lists, won dozens of awards and garnered praise from reviewers and fans alike. With the creation of her kick butt counterterrorist group, T-FLAC, years before action adventure romances were popular, Cherry has carved a niche for herself with her sexy, sassy, fast-paced novels. She loves to hear from readers.

Places to find Cherry: website | twitter | goodreads | faceboook

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Review: Ice Cold by Cherry Adair

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | B Reviews> blog tours> book reviews
Format read: ebook provided by the author
Formats available: Trade Paperback, ebook
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Action Adventure Romance
Series: T-FLAC #17
Length: 348 pages
Publisher: Adair Digital
Date Released: October 14, 2012
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

T-FLAC operative Rafael Navarro will never allow another woman to suffer the consequences of his dangerous life. But in a world where a terrorist can do more damage with a keyboard than a bomb, he needs the expert help of a cyber-geek. And fast.
Fellow operative and cybercrimes specialist Honey Winston prefers computers to people. But when a serial bomber threatens the world’s financial infrastructure, she’s forced to work closely with Navarro, whose notorious skill in the bedroom is as legendary as his dexterity defusing bombs.
Honey and Rafael must fight sparks hot enough to melt their resolve, and push beyond fear itself, as they join forces in a bid to race the clock before a sinister and lethal bomber proves just how much they both have to lose.
T-FLAC is back, and the timer is counting down in the most pulse-pounding explosive op yet—

Only in the 21st century do you get action-adventure by mixing a cyber-geek with a bomb expert. Last century it used to just be fists, knives and guns. Not that there weren’t plenty of those involved in Cherry Adair’s Ice Cold. And the action, between the sheets (when there were any sheets) and otherwise, was anything but cold.

Ice Cold is Adair’s 17th foray into the operations of T-FLAC, the secret agency that she created to tell her stories of action, adventure and romantic suspense. Even though it was my first trip, I didn’t feel left behind by the plot or the set-up. I was immediately immersed in the story. Parts of it felt like a good TV or movie spy plot. But I like those. It used just enough of the familiar tropes to pull me right in.

T-FLAC is like any secret agency: it has special ops, and it has special operatives. Many live their jobs to the exclusion of any other life. Some go rogue. Eventually, those two types come into collision. It makes for edge-of-your-seat suspense hoping that the “good guys” are going to win.

And that not too many of them are going to go down in the line of fire along the way.

Ice Cold starts out with a loss. Honey Weston, the cyber-geek, loses her boss, and ends up taking his field assignment. Rafael Navarro is the bomb expert. They are chasing a serial bomber who seems to be bombing banks, and the surrounding city blocks, for no particular good reason.

Chasing down that reason is the suspense part of the story. Watching Navarro pursue West is the romance. Because he only does casual sex, and she doesn’t bother with sex at all. She sees a player, and he sees a woman under the ice princess exterior she cultivates.

And while they are distracted with each other, someone is targeting them.

Escape Rating B-: I found myself wondering if Honey Weston was an intentional homage to Honey West, or if her name just accidentally sounded like a girl from a James Bond movie. It took me a while to take a woman named “Honey” seriously as an agent. Maybe that was the point. Honey Weston is deadly serious, even if she looks like a supermodel.

Until the very end of the story, I never felt like I was missing something by not having read the rest of the series. It probably would have added depth if I had, but I didn’t feel lost. This is terrific! There’s always some hesitation at breaking into a series in the middle.

But at the end, the villain, who had been so incredibly clever up until that point, came off as extremely bwahaha crazy. Some of her crazy was personal to both Navarro and Weston, and I wondered if it had come up in earlier stories, but mostly, she just went too far into crazytown. How could she have planned so meticulously up until that point and then gone so far off the deep end just at the sight of Navarro and Weston? It was a bit much.

However, I had a lot of fun with this. I could see the whole story playing out in front of me. It would have made a terrific movie. All I needed was the popcorn.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Remembrance Day – Veterans Day 2012

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Holidays> Veterans Day

The holiday we celebrate as Veteran’s Day in the U.S. began as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth countries. It is celebrated on November 11, or specifically on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, in accordance with the armistice that ended the First World War in 1918.

Nearly a century ago.

It was the last war fought with mounted cavalry. And the first war fought with tanks. It’s also the first war that brought the concept of “shell-shock” into common parlance. Today we call it PTSD.

Lord Peter Wimsey, one of the most popular (and beloved) amateur detectives in mystery, suffered from shell-shock. Just think about that for a minute. The condition was so common that Dorothy L. Sayers, who wrote the Wimsey stories during the 1920s through the 1940s, thought nothing of making her hero a victim of this debilitating condition. And she does debilitate Wimsey with it on several occasions in the series.

The Wimsey stories are still worth reading. They offer a marvelous perspective on upper-class life in the 1920s through the 1940s, and the entire series has finally been released as ebooks.

But if you are looking for a 21st century fictional perspective on World War I, particularly of the historical mystery persuasion, take a look at Charles Todd’s two series. Charles Todd is the pseudonym for the mother-and-son writing team of Caroline and Charles Todd.

They have two World War I series. The Bess Crawford series, starting with A Duty to the Dead, follows the life and occasional adventures of a combat nurse during the war. Some of the dead bodies that Bess discovers do not die from either natural causes or enemy bullets. But due to Bess’ position as the daughter of a long-serving regular-army colonel, the reader gets a picture of the British Army during the war, and also the Home Front when Bess goes on leave.

Their second, and longer-running series, featuring Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge, takes place after the war. But the war is still very much a factor, because Rutledge lives with it every day. He came back from the trenches with shell-shock, and his superiors are always waiting for it to reclaim him. The first book in the series is A Test of Wills.

And for one of the most fascinating perspectives on the First World War, take a look at Paul Fussell’s The Great War and Modern Memory. This is not fiction. This is a book about how history is remembered, and it’s a classic for a reason.