Well I haven't blogged in a week - again. I really need to get down a more consistent routine.
How about some reading news? - TRR's editor is trying to kill me. It's the only explaination I can come up with for the current crop of semi-dreadful books she's been sending me (affectionately known as "3-Heart Hell" among the reviewers). I still haven't quite forgiven her for this, and she's gone and sent me another infuriating read.
The Duchess Diaries by Mia Ryan could be a decent read if it weren't for wacky plotting and a heroine who is too-stupid-to-live. Our heroine is 19 (but acts 15) and is "dared" through her late grandmother's will to go to London for one season and snag a husband. So even though our heroine has no desire to marry, she agrees to this nonsense since after all, she can't say no to a dare.
Then there's the scrapes the plucky heroine finds herself in - all of which go against the grain of what little I know about the Regency era. She hops on a mail coach and races the driver (I seriously doubt young ladies were schooled in the arts of driving coaches), and she engages in a shooting contest during an afternoon tea party. Assuming a Regency miss would know how to fire a gun well enough to win a shooting contest - I seriously doubt such an event would take place at a tea party.
Even with a degree in British history (my focus was the Irish "troubles" and the Victorian era), I'm not a nit-picker when it comes to historical accuracy in my romance novels. Frankly, I don't care if the hero should be referred to as Mr. Peabody or Lord Peabody. However it's improbabilities like the above scenarios that even get my panties in a bunch.
Add all this to the fact that the heroine continually has to be rescued due to her own idiotic stunts - well my patience is wearing thin.
However, there are some minor bright spots. The villain shows some promise, and the elderly lady sponsoring the heroine has her moments. Mia Ryan is actually one of those cloak and dagger pseudonyms for previously published author Malia Martin. Ms. Martin/Ryan can write, and there are some nice turns of phrase that even get a chuckle out of me - too bad about the rest of it though.
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