Since I’m sick* and way behind on reviews, I’ve realised the only way to catch up is to make them speed reviews and post a whole batch at once.
The Age of Napoleon; Alistair Horne, eng, 235
Interesting, but a little choppily written, and also the author assumes you know certain things and never explains them, [...]

Posted on July 7th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: A-Z Reading Challenge, B, Book Blowout, C, Classics, D, English, GLBT interest, Historical, History, Lifestyle, Mystery, Religion, Romance, Science Fiction, Sex, sexuality & gender, Speed reviews, Swedish, To Be Read, Young Adult | 1 Comment »

A Strong and Sudden Thaw
by RW Day

For the Here Be Dragons reading challenge.
English
333 pages
Iris Print
ISBN: 978-0-9787531-1-5
First line: There’s an old scenic view about halfway up the mountain, alongside where the old highway runs.
Back cover blurb:
Dragons in Virginia?
Nearly a hundred years after the Ice changed the face of our world, the people of Moline work [...]

Posted on June 22nd, 2008 by Love
Filed under: A, English, GLBT interest, Here Be Dragons, Romance, Science Fiction | 2 Comments »

Mr. Darcy Presents His Bride
by Helen Halstead

For the Back to History reading challenge.
English
310 pages
Ulysses Press
ISBN: 978-1-56975-588-4
First line: What a joy it is to have a worthy topic of conversation, to hold the power to amaze!
Back cover blurb:
In Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen brought together one of the most beloved literary couples of all time—Elizabeth [...]

Posted on May 27th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: Back to History, D, English, Historical, Romance | 3 Comments »

Linas kvällsbok 2
by Emma Hamberg
Title translated to English: Lina’s Nocturnal 2

For the A-Z reading challenge.
Swedish
303 pages
Bonnier Pocket
ISBN: 978-91-0-011399-5 (in the same volume as Linas kvällsbok 1)
First line: Jag har inte skrivit en rad sedan den femte juni.
Back cover blurb:
I Linas kvällsbok 2 lär Lina 16 år oss om det här med att välja. Tryggt [...]

Posted on March 17th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: A-Z Reading Challenge, C, Chick lit, Romance, Swedish, Young Adult | 2 Comments »

Lost in Austen
by Emma Campbell Webster

For the A-Z reading challenge.
English
348 pages
Riverhead Books
ISBN: 978-1-59448-258-8
First line: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young Austen heroine must be in want of a husband, and you are no exception.
Back cover blurb:
Your name: Elizabeth Bennet. Your mission: to marry both prudently and for love, avoiding family scandal. [...]

Posted on March 5th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: A-Z Reading Challenge, C, English, Historical, Romance | 1 Comment »

Standish
by Erastes

For the Back to History reading challenge.
English
215 pages
P.D. Publishing Inc.
ISBN: 1-933720-09-3
First line: The candle guttered, and Ambrose looked up at it with a frown, the long blond hair falling away from the sides of his face.
Back cover blurb:
A great house. A family dispossessed. A sensitive young man. A powerful landowner. An epic love [...]

Posted on February 24th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: Back to History, D, English, GLBT interest, Historical, Romance | 2 Comments »

Duty and Desire
by Pamela Aidan

For the A-Z reading challenge.
English
304 pages
Touchstone
ISBN: 978-0-7432-9136-1
First line: Darcy recited the collect for the first Sunday in Advent, his prayer book closed upon his thumb as he stood alone in his family’s pew at St. ——’s.
Back cover blurb:
Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice is beloved by millions, but little [...]

Posted on February 20th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: A-Z Reading Challenge, C, English, Historical, Romance | 5 Comments »

A Countess Below Stairs
by Eva Ibbotson

For the Back to History and A-Z reading challenges.
English
383 pages
Speak
ISBN: 978-0-14-240865-0
First line: In the fabled, glittering world that was St. Petersburg before the First World War there lived, in an ice-blue palace overlooking the river Neva, a family on whom the gods seemed to have lavished their gifts with [...]

Posted on February 10th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: A, A-Z Reading Challenge, Back to History, English, Historical, Romance | 3 Comments »

By a Lady
by Amanda Elyot

English
372 pages
Three Rivers Press
ISBN: 1-4000-9799-1
First line: “It’s beautiful,” C.J. murmured, examining the curiously pockmarked amber cross.
Back cover blurb:
New York actress C.J. Welles, a die-hard Jane Austen fan, is on the verge of landing her dream role: portraying her idol in a Broadway play. But during her final audition, she is [...]

Posted on February 7th, 2008 by Love
Filed under: Chick lit, English, F, Historical, Romance | 1 Comment »

Eclipse
by Stephenie Meyer

For the A-Z reading challenge.
English
628 pages
Atom Books
ISBN: 978-1-904233-90-9
First line: All our attempts at subterfuge had been in vain.
Back cover blurb:
As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, [...]

Posted on February 3rd, 2008 by Love
Filed under: A-Z Reading Challenge, B, English, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult | 3 Comments »