Challenge Completed: 2014 Romance Reading Challenge

I set out to read 12 romance novels. I read 27!

Here's what I read:

-Enchanting the Lady by Katheryne Kennedy

-Just One Year by Gayle Forman

-Just One Night by Gayle FormanA Lady By Midnight by Tessa Dare

-A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller

-Once Upon A Winter's Eve by Tessa Dare
-A Beginner's Guide To Rakes by Suzanne Enoch

-What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

-Enchanting The Beast by Kathryne Kennedy

-Sense and Sensibility by Joanne Trollope

-Beauty and the Blacksmith by Tessa Dare

-The Devil Wears Kilts by Susan Enoch

-Isla and The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
-Any Duchess Will Do by Tessa Dare

-Once Upon A Kiss by Jayne Fresina

-Royally Lost by Angie Stanton

-Silk is for Seduction by Loretta Chase

-Trapped At the Altar by Jane Feather

-The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan

-A Night To Surrender by Tessa Dare

-Wild Heart by Lori Brighton

-Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

-Double Enchantment by Kathryne Kennedy

-The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

-A Week To Be Wicked by Tessa Dare

-The One by Kiera Cass

-A Night To Surrender by Tessa Dare

-Wild Desire by Lori Brighton

The Devil Wears Kilts by Suzanne Enoch

When I spotted The Devil Wears Kilts on the library shelf, I took a chance. A new romance series with sexy Scots? Sure, why not? Not a bad first book but a little slow.

Ranulf heads to London to fetch his runaway sister. Ranulf hates London and isn't happy about having to spend a moment there. But when he sees Lady Charlotte Hanover, he decides that London might be worth checking out. Charlotte is firmly on the shelf. After her fiancée dies in a duel, Charlotte has no use for hot headed men. But Ranulf is mighty sexy in his kilt.

I have two complaints about The Devil Wears Kilts. First it was slow. There was a lot of back and forth between Ranulf and Charlotte. I liked that their attraction was quick but that they took a lot of time to get to know each other. In fact the sexy times were a lot later than in many other romance novels. But so slow! Too slow for me. I started to get bored. Second, I get confused with their Scottish accents (this happened to me in Outlander too). I think I got tired of trying to figure out what they were saying sometimes. But Charlotte was smart and genuine. Ranulf was a little harder to like but I liked him in the end. I'll try the rest of the series. Others who shared their thoughts on The Devil Wears Kilts: All About Romance, Smexy Books, My Book Addiction Reviews, and Addicted To Romance.
This is my twenty-third read for the Romance Reading Challenge.

And this is my fourteenth read for the Historical Reading Challenge.

Royally Lost by Angie Stanton

I don't remember how I found Royally Lost but I'm glad I did. It was an adorably cute story about falling in love. 

Becca is on a European river boat cruise with her dad, stepmom, and older brother, Dylan. Becca is glad to be away from home after her boyfriend dumped her for her best friend. Although Becca is not enjoying the sights and would like to find a way to get out of everything like her brother does. One day, Becca runs into a cute guy. She resigns herself to cute boy watching because they'll be moving on to another port the next day. Imagine her surprise when she sees him at the next stop. 

Nikolai is the crown prince of Mondovia. His family expects him to follow in the family footsteps without any problem. But Nikolai has a lot of problems. He doesn't agree with where his country is headed. He has solutions to their problems but his father, the King, ignores him. Nikolai's solution is runaway, leave home. Maybe then they'll listen. 

Stanton weaves both Becca and Nikolai's voices together perfectly. I really enjoyed hearing the story from both of their perspectives. Stanton made all the characters feel real and charming (ok maybe except Dylan. He didn't pop off the page for me). I enjoyed reading about Becca and Nikolai. In fact, I read Royally Lost in one day. Sweet story and a lot of fun too. Others who shared their thoughts on Royally Lost: Katie's Book Blog, YA Midnight Reads, Good Choice Reading, and The Reader's Den.

This is my fifteenth read for the Romance Reading Challenge.

Trapped At The Altar by Jane Feather

I picked up Trapped At The Altar on a whim. I was out. I had finished the book I had with me and it was going to be several hours before I returned home. My options at the drug store were slim. Trapped At The Altar was my best choice. Despite the horrible name, I really enjoyed Trapped At The Altar.

Ari has been living happily in her family’s home. Ari has been able to determine what she wants to do and where she goes. Ivor was sold to her family to help improve family relations between his family and hers. Ari and Ivor have long been betrothed. But now that they are of age, Ari finds she loves someone else. Someone her family would not approve of. Ari tries to fight the betrothal but they are married anyway. Ari feels trapped in a loveless marriage and longs to be reunited with her love.

Ivor was sold to Ari’s family when he was a child. He’s grown up with Ari and understood their place in the world. Ivor is happy to marry Ari and believes they will grow to love each other. This marriage is the only one for Ivor. He understands what he and Ari need to do. He knows their union will help both their families regain some of what they lost.

Trapped At The Altar was set in the 1600’s in England. Not a time period I’ve read a lot about. I appreciated the details that Feather gave about the discord between the Catholics and the Protestants. I also liked the other details Feather included about daily life. I found it easy to get lost in Trapped At The Altar and enjoyed every minute. Others who shared their thoughts on Trapped At The Altar: Buried In Romance, Book Binge, Love In The Margins, and Tales To Tide You Over.

This was my fifth read for the Romance Reading Challenge.

A Night To Surrender by Tessa Dare

I added A Night To Surender to my library queue after finding it on a list of good historical romances. I'm glad I did because it was just the kind of romance I like. Smart men and women, great dialogue, and plenty of steamy scenes.

Victor Bramwell is a solider. After an injury, his superiors are reluctant to let him lead an army. But that's all Bram knows how to do. Sir Finch is his last hope. So Bram brings his wayward cousin and his friend, Thorne, to Spindle Cove.

Susanna Finch has built a home for herself and other women like her. Spindle Cove a respite for women who don't fit in, shy maidens, abandoned wives, and girls who fall in love with the wrong men. Susanna gives these women a freedom, freedom to be who they are, freedom to pursue their dreams. Susanna thinks that she has all she could want until she meets Bram.

I adored both Susanna and Bram. They are both headstrong and think they have all they want. Bram thinks the army is the only place he could belong. Susan thinks marriage means giving up who she is. Both are wrong and it was delightful to watch them realize how wrong they were.

Dare also introduces several other characters in Spindle Cove which I know will be the subjects of her later books. I'm looking forward to the next one, A Week To Be Wicked, about Minerva, the geologist. Rocks can be sexy :) Yay for finding a sexy new to me series. Others who shared their thoughts on A Night To Surrender:  The Happily Ever After..., Not Another Romance Blog, Good Books Good Wine, and Reading The Paranormal.
This is my fifth read for the Historical Reading Challenge.

And my second read for the Romance Reading Challenge.

February Book Tally

Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope

Enchanting The Lady by Katheryne Kennedy

Paris Was The Place by Susan Conley

A Dawn Most Wicked by Susan Dennard

Boy21 by Matthew Quick

Level Up by Gene Luen Yang

Clara and Mr Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

You Have Killed Me by Jamie Rich

Alice in Tumblr-land by Tim Manley

The Cute Girl Network by MK Reed

Brain Camp by Susan Kim

Morning Glory by Sarah Jio

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Thirteen this month. One more than Janurary. Pretty good for such a short month. I did read several graphic novels. I have more on hold at the library so I see more graphic novels in March.

Stats:

Romance Reading Challenge This month: 2 (Enchanting the Lady and Sense and Sensibility) YTD: 3

Historical Reading Challenge  This month: 0 (none this month) YTD: 1

What's In A Name Challenge This month:1 (Clara and Mr Tiffany) YTD: 3

Yearly Total: 25

Enchanting The Lady by Katheryne Kennedy

Linda recently reviewed the fourth in The Relics of Merlin series. The fourth one sounded good but I like to try to start at the beginning of the series if I can. So I put Enchanting the Lady on hold at the library. I'm really glad I did. A great historical paranormal romance.

Felicity (I love that name) is about to take her test to see if she will inherit her parent's title. She has only small glimpses of her magic so she's not sure she's going to pass this test. Since Felicity is so plain, not having a title will lessen her chances of marrying. Her aunt and uncle are kind and provide a place for her to live but Felicity is looking forward to marrying, having babies, and running her own household.

Sir Terrance is one of the Prince's spies but that does not elevate him in society. Terrance is the perfect spy as he is a werelion. But society looks down on weres. Terrance is perfectly happy to let society hang but when he meets Felicity he's very interested in attending balls and finding ways to see her. Terrance is attracted to Felicity's beauty but she also seems to have the aura of relic magic around her. Terrance is charged with finding and destroying Merlin's relics. Will Felicity lead him to another relic?

I really liked both Felicity and Terrance. Felicity has been told she has no magic and no beauty. But when she meets Terrance, her whole life changes. Part of that is Terrance but a lot of it is Felicity believing in herself and making things happen. I loved the magical aspect along with the weres. I will enjoy reading the rest of this series. Others who shared their thoughts on Enchanting The Lady: The Demon Librarian, Fictitious Escape, and Books Like Breathing.
This is my third read for the Romance Reading Challenge.

Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope

When I spotted Sense & Sensibility on The Lost Entwife,  I was immediately interested. I adore the movie version with Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant. I've attempted to read Austen's version a few times but the movie keeps rattling around in my head. I usually stop reading it so I can watch the movie again. I thought perhaps the "updated" version of Sense & Sensibility would be easier/more interesting to read. I was half right.

Trollope takes the same story, the same characters and drops them into modern day England. I enjoyed the feeling that these were the same characters I enjoyed before. But some of the things they do and the reasoning is harder to fit in modern society. The ladies Dashwood are displaced from Norland because Mr & Mrs Dashwood weren't married and his son, John, is the legal heir. Despite that John and Fanny have a home, they decide to reside in Norland. In Austen's book I could see that as a sign of wealth and privilege. Here it seemed selfish and rude. Fanny retains all her horridness and I delighted in despising her again. I enjoyed Marianne and Elinor as well. Margaret was hard for me to relate to. Sometimes I wished she'd just stayed silent.

I took me about half the book to get into Sense & Sensibility. Trollope's writing style reminded me a lot of Austen's. I think she remained very true to the spirit of the original while bringing into modern day. This is the first of Trollope's books I've read and I would like to read more by her. I'm also going to check out more the Austen Project. Others who shared their thoughts on Sense & Sensibility: The Lost Entwife, A Spoonful of Happy Endings, Novel Escapes, Laura's Reviews, and A Bookish Way of Life.
This is my second read for the Romance Reading Challenge.

Wild Heart by Lori Brighton

I can't remember why I added Wild Heart to my tbr list but I'm glad I did. To me, the story was fresh and I enjoyed the characters. I'm excited to have another romance series to read.

Ella has come to Lord Roberts' home to be a governess. Ella is nervous to leave Lady Buckley's, the only home she's ever known. But Ella does as she is told and waits to meet the child she will teaching. Ella is shocked to discover that her charge is a man. Leo is Lord Roberts' grown grandson. But Leo has lived half his life in the jungle and is very unrefined. They hope Ella will be able to make him a gentleman but Ella has other ideas.

I could relate to Ella. She follows orders and doesn't ask for what she wants. As an orphan, she assumes that she's glad to get what she does. Ella also has a special gift. She's able to hear the fears of animals and sooth them. She was taught this was a curse and she should hid what she does. Ella does struggle to be a proper English lady but Leo loves when she's not. I really liked Leo. He's wounded and doesn't realize that love can heal him. I like that he changes slowly over time. There were one or two scenes where Ella reacts strangely (mostly underreacts to things) that lessened my enjoyment but it ended strong and I look forward to book 2.

Wild Heart was a nice change from the typical Regency romance. Very little society mingling, few balls plus a little bit of the supernatural in there. Others who shared their thoughts on Wild Heart:  Reviews from The Heart, Smexy Books, My Reading Rainbow, and The Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell.
This is my first read for the Romance Reading Challenge.

 This is my first read for the Historical Reading Challenge.

Romance Reading Challenge 2014

Right now I'm really enjoying reading Romance novels so I'm joining the Romance Reading Challenge. It doesn't look like there are levels but I want to try to read 12 romance novels this year.

If you'd like to join, head over to the bookworm for more info!