Mini-Reviews: Snow White and a Grumpy Duke

Towards the end of 2022 my romance book club decided to read a book that was available via Kindle Unlimited.  At the time there was a 99 cents for 3 months special going on.  I could buy the book for $4.99 or get 3 months of KU for a dollar.  An easy call.  Here's two mini-reviews for books I read thanks to KU and at the time of this blog post they're still available there. I suspect they could work better for readers who aren't nearly as curmudgeonly as I am...

The Duke Alone by Christi Caldwell was the book club read and it's a perfect example of All Trope, No Substance.  

First things first, it's a riff on Home Alone. With the London townhouse in need of repairs, Lady Myrtle McQuoid's family is on their way to the countryside.  Myrtle, newly returned from finishing school is feeling out of sorts because by golly they ALWAYS celebrate Christmas in London, and with the household in an uproar with packing and shenanigans, Myrtle is once again shuffled off without notice.  The neglected sister who nobody pays attention to blah, blah, blah. Her bruised feelings get even more bruised when she realizes the next morning that her family has left without her. She's all alone in the townhouse with only the grumpy Duke of Aragon, Val Bancroft, living next door.

This is a grumpy / sunshine book - which I can like those! I have liked those! Unfortunately it's also the bulk of the conflict.  The entire book is basically:

Heroine: Tee Hee, I'm so sunshiney and twee and let me sing Christmas carols incessantly. 

Hero: I'm wounded and grumpy and why won't this girl leave me alone ::grumble, grumble, growl, growl::

It's 300 pages of this and it just Goes. On. Forever.

Oh yes, and there's also some burglars snooping about (remember, Home Alone) but they're more an after thought than anything else and take up very little oxygen in the story. Myrtle is no Kevin McCallister I'm afraid. 

Then you get the requisite ending where Myrtle's family comes back for her and her mother is all like, "You silly goose we love you and the past 18 years you've been feeling neglected well where ever did you get that idea?" and it's all right as rain.

I think this would have worked better as a traditional Regency written in a bubbly farcical style. Tighter word count, less room for repetition, and the dearth of conflict beyond trope would have been way less noticeable. 

Final Grade = D+

The most enjoyable aspect of Bianca and the Huntsman by Erica Ridley for me was reading all the ways the author twisted the Snow White fairy tale to fit a story set in Regency England. The magic mirror is a talking parrot (warning: when he gives the wrong answer to who is the fairest of them all, Mr. Parrot meets his maker...), the seven dwarves are seven debutantes, and yes of course the poison apple makes an appearance.

The problem is that the rest of this story just doesn't work. Bianca is the by-blow of an earl who died in a carriage accident with Bianca's mother, his mistress.  This is how much a bubblehead Bianca is, she hopes that she and her father's wife (you know, the woman he was cheating on with her mother) can be "friends." The Countess is evil (of course) and is like, why yes darling come live with me, and naturally she puts her to work as a maid. Bianca is still amazingly OK with this, still hoping they can be "friends."

Anyway, the Countess gets all butthurt (see dead parrot / magic mirror) and decides that Bianca should be ruined.  She "hires" Lord Harry Lynsander (the Huntsman) for the job. Harry has been shopping around for an heiress to marry because Dead Old Dad has squandered the family fortune. He willingly accepts the job of ruining Bianca but gets cold feet after he meets her because so beautiful, so innocent, blah blah blah barf.  He helps her run away, she starts traipsing around London with the seven debutantes, and somehow her and Harry fall in love.

This is very heavy on fairy tale, which is fine - but unfortunately Bianca's characterization isn't.  She's naïve bordering on too-stupid-to-live (I mean, she IS Snow White) but then she's dropping sexy banter with Harry like a practiced courtesan. Yes, her mother was a courtesan, but Seductress Bianca really does not jibe with the toothache-inducing innocent Bianca that inhabits the bulk of this novella.

Then there's the ending. These two kids get their happy ending but they do ZERO work for it. The perfect solution (Bianca is a poor by-blow with no resources, Harry has a title but needs to marry an heiress because he's broke) just falls from the sky right into their clueless laps.  The very definition of a Regency historical romance dues ex machina. The fact that the couple didn't have to work for their happy ending just further annoyed me.  It was refreshing to read a fairy tale trope that wasn't Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast but other than that? Meh.

Final Grade = D

New Year, New Unusual Historicals for January 2023

Welcome to 2023, where the first month of the new year has zipped by in a flash and I'm struggling to find some blogging mojo - which to be fair has been a problem for a while. I can't really blame that on 2023. And while I'm officially one book behind in my GoodReads Challenge, I'm feeling OK about my reading at the moment even if I've only read one book that's knocked my socks off so far this month. I have been engaged and entertained though, so really what more could a girl ask for?  Well, how about new Unusual Historicals? The final months of 2022 were pretty slim on this front but there's several new January 2023 releases catching my eye...

An Alliance With His Enemy Princess by Lissa Morgan 

A royal decree

That will change their lives…

Norman knight Rolant Guyarde has come to conquer a Welsh fort, but when he meets its mistress, he realizes she’s the sword-wielding “soldier” he fought en route! Despite their being enemies, he finds himself intrigued by the brave, beautiful Princess Gwennan. When they’re forced into an uneasy alliance, Rolant helps her petition the king for her parents’ release from prison. But in exchange for their freedom, the king demands a price neither Rolant nor Gwennan expects!

If you're a fan of enemies-to-lovers you truly need to be reading medievals, because they're ripe for that trope.  Like her debut, which I read and enjoyed last year, Morgan sets her sophomore effort in Wales - which is not a terribly common setting in historical romance.  It also gives readers a fresh historical perspective to chew on outside of the England/Scotland settings that seem to proliferate in the sub genre.

The Lady Takes It All by Terri Brisbin (Kindle Unlimited)

When lies of the past are exposed, can love find the truth?

The Explorer – Joshua Robertson, a minor diplomat with distant noble connections, traveled the world in service to the Crown until he made his name with the amazing discovery of a buried Roman town in Northern Africa. However, rumors and innuendo threatened both his reputation and his work until he unexpectedly inherits a title and some lands from a distant relative. Now, protected by the title, no honorable man would raise the questions that plagued him from his past—questions about a partner who was cheated and never shared in the glory of the discoveries. Rumors of thievery and scandal and worse. Certainly, no man would, but a woman might. And does.

The Adversary -- Arabella MacGibbon spent her childhood watching her father’s decline and death because he was shamed and shunned as an impostor. Embittered and certain that the now-Lord cheated her father and contributed to his death, Arabella is determined to find proof of his perfidy and to reclaim her family’s honor. To do that, she must get close to the man and get access to his papers and records. Disguising her identity and being hired as his housekeeper may be the perfect opportunity to do it.

But what happens if the truth is inconvenient at best and dangerous at worst? Can her plan succeed if Arabella discovers there’s so much more to the man and the myth than she dreamt possible?

I think I've mentioned a time or two on this blog that I find Brisbin a very solid writer and I one-clicked this after I finished reading the blub. Yes, it's a Regency - but the hero is an explorer shrouded in scandal who hopes his new title will quiet the rumors and the heroine is the one out to avenge her father (so often it's the hero on these missions in historical romances...). Oh, and she's going to pose as a new housekeeper so she can snoop?  Can't wait to dive into this one...

Bianca and the Huntsman by Erica Ridley (Kindle Unlimited)

Enjoy a Regency-set reimagining of the classic tale of Snow White, featuring a strong, lovable heroine and a sexy, charming hero.

Lord Harry Lysander, an infamous rake known as The Huntsman, is desperately in need of money. He’ll do anything to save his earldom. Even accept a pile of gold in exchange for breaking the heart—and ruining the reputation—of the ton’s most terrifying dragon’s innocent stepdaughter. As long as the Huntsman doesn’t lose his own heart to her in the process…

The page count on Amazon lists this at category romance length (185 pages) and yes it's a Regency, but it's also a Snow White retelling - and quite frankly that's a fairy tale trope you don't see every day in the genre where Beauty & the Beast and Cinderella seem to reign supreme.

One Night With Her Viking Warrior by Sarah Rodi

Her forbidden love

Is back to claim her!

Once, Lady Rebekah shared a life-changing night with stable hand Rædan, but he disappeared the morning after. Now she’s consort to a cruel Saxon lord, and when Northmen lay siege to Ryestone Keep, Rebekah’s shocked to see Rædan leading the charge! This Viking warrior is not the man she remembers…and yet she finds herself drawn to him again. Taken as his hostage, Rebekah must decide—can she trust him with her life…and her dangerous secret? 

So here's a neat spin on a Viking romance - the heroine is hooked up with the dude of the Keep the hero is laying siege to...oh, and the hero and heroine share a past. Captive romances are always a tricky business for me, but that shared past is (more than likely) going to make the proceedings all the more palpable for me. Oh, and the fact that the Saxon Lord in question is "cruel" won't hurt matters either.

Her Lessons in Persuasion by Megan Frampton

To Lady Wilhelmina Bettesford, the “game” of finding a husband is a competitive sport she wants no part of…until her much-younger step mama forces her to play it. So when her stepmother asks sexy barrister Bram Townsend to pretend to woo the amateur astronomer to boost Wilhelmina’s popularity, it’s up to Wilhelmina to navigate a fake courtship that will keep the family from forcing her into a marriage—any marriage—before she finally receives the inheritance that will allow her to live as she wants.

The trouble is every time Bram takes her in his arms she has a most difficult time remembering theirs is an act…the make-believe passion feels very real indeed.

Bram Townsend is a man on the way up: living for his books and his beliefs. Squiring Lady Wilhelmina through London’s dusk-to-dawn social whirl is hardly an ordeal—she’s beautiful, bright, and bold, everything he finds tempting in a woman. Their deal means he can meet the “best” people while she keeps her family at bay. The challenge is he quickly finds himself wanting her to say “yes” when she’s so determined to say “no.” She persuaded him to make this impetuous bargain, but how can he convince her to make it real?

Amateur astronomer heroine? A barrister hero? And it's a Victorian! But my favorite part of this blurb has got to be the step-mother being the puppet master behind the fake relationship, a nice spin on the usual (where the hero and heroine cook up the idea on their own).  Oh, and it's the start of a new series.

(Note: I've known Megan for years and have a prior working relationship with her through the (sadly) defunct web site Heroes & Heartbreakers)

Her Irish Warrior by Michelle Willingham (Reprint)

Genevieve de Renalt will do anything to escape her betrothed—even if it means trusting her enemy.

Irish warrior Bevan MacEgan cannot leave a lady in danger, but keeping her safe means endangering his own family. The king orders him to wed Genevieve to avoid bloodshed, but Bevan has sworn never to love again.

He keeps Genevieve at a distance but, as she begins to melt his heart, a shocking secret forces Bevan to make a terrible choice—one that could mean losing her forever.

Originally published by Harlequin Historical in 2007 (same title), Willingham continues her self-published reprint run of the MacEgan Brothers series with this, the third book. I seem to have completely hop-scotched around this series, having books 2-4 languishing in my TBR. Maybe I need to see if any of them meet this year's TBR Challenge themes?

Whew! A lot that caught my eye this month. In fact, at the time of this posting I've already started reading the Ridley.  What Unusual Historicals have caught your eye this month?