Updated Already Read Listing

I will be continuing to add more detail to my already read listing as time goes on, by both adding books as I finish them and also by adding more detail to books I’ve finished in the past. Unfortunately I didn’t start this listing until I think I was in college so I am missing a lot of books I know I’ve already read. I will try to fill in the gaps as I go along. I didn’t start documenting what date I finished the book until this past year though and that is information I won’t be able to retrieve for books I’ve previously read.

But for anyone who is interested in books I’ve read in the past you can get to the listing here. It is currently sorted by author and then by title but you can change it to sort for whatever information you may be looking for. Please feel free to comment with any questions or recommendations on how the listing could be improved!

9Mar2014

2014 – Book #13

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Cynster family series, Historical Romance by rebeccabook17

The thirteenth book I finished in 2014 was The Truth About Love by Stephanie Laurens. I finished this book on 3/9/14. This is the 12th book in the Cynster family series which I’ve discussed in previous blog posts. I rated this book 4 stars out of a scale of 5.

This story is about Gerrard Debbington (brother of Patience from the 2nd book in the Cynster family series). One of the things that I love about the Cynster family series is that characters can be introduced far before they star in their own novel. When we were first introduced to Gerrard (in A Rake’s Vow, the story of Vane and Patience), Gerrard assisted Vane in discovering who was stealing items from his aunt’s house party guests. Gerrard was charming and still then a boy and it was hard not to see his devotion to his sister Patience. Now starring in his own novel, Gerrard is a well-respected painter and the uncle to Patience and Vane’s 4 children. Gerrard is commissioned to paint a portrait of Lord Tregonning’s daughter. At first he refuses, but Tregonning’s promise to give him access to his famous gardens are too tempting an offer for his painter’s soul to refuse.

Upon arriving at Hellebore Hall however, he discovers that this is not to be any ordinary portrait. Lord Tregonning’s daughter, Jacqueline, has been accused of murdering her mother and the portrait has been commissioned in the hope that in it her father would see the truth of either her guilt or innocence. As Gerrard gets to know Jacqueline, at first in order to portray her accurately and then because he can not resist her, he realizes that the real murderer is still among them. He enlists the help of his friend, Barnaby Adair (a character discussed in my earlier blog post “2014 – Book #10”) to help him solve the mystery.

One of the things that I enjoyed most about this novel was the gardens of Hellebore Hall. The gardens are well known and are extensive. There are multiple sections to the gardens, each one portraying a different Greek or Roman god. The description of the gardens was riveting, I would have loved to see such a garden in real life. The author drew up a rough sketch of the garden’s outline so reader’s can easily follow the discussions of the gardens throughout the book.

The plot was very well-paced and I was riveted throughout. Overall this was an excellent book and I would recommend to any reader!

Link to author website: http://www.stephanielaurens.com

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Love-Cynster-Novels/dp/0060505761/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1394403365&sr=8-3&keywords=the+truth+about+love

Previously Read Listing

I had a request for a listing of books I’ve previously read with a rating for each. I figured out how to publish a Google spreadsheet for public view. I’ve set up the spreadsheet and have columns for what I think is the most relevant information. I will add all of my previously read books to this listing over the weekend (I’ve been keeping the list only for the past 5-6 years I think) but for now I wanted to use the basic spreadsheet as a test to see if there is any more information people would like to see included. Please let me know if you can think of anything else you’d like to see! And stay tuned for a further listing of books.

6Mar2014

2014 – Book #12

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Cynster family series, Historical Romance by rebeccabook17

The twelfth book I finished in 2014 was The Ideal Bride by Stephanie Laurens. I finished this book on 3/6/14. This is the 11th book in the Cynster family series which I’ve discussed in previous blog posts. I rated this book 3.75 stars out of 5.

This story is about Michael Anstruther-Wetherby (brother of the Duchess of St. Ives, Honoria, from the 1st book in the Cynster family series). Michael has political aspirations and has been told in order to be promoted he should look for a suitable bride. He sets his sights on a young woman, the daughter of one of his neighbors, whom he thought was his ideal bride. The young woman’s aunt (Caro, short for Caroline) decides to intervene and prevent her niece from the same fate that she had been dealt, a loveless political marriage. While steering Michael away from her niece, Caro fails to realize until it is too late that Michael has already realized he and the niece would not suit and instead has turned his full attentions on Caro.

Another thing that Caro doesn’t realize until its almost too late is that something is trying to harm her. Repeated attempts on her life have convinced Michael that someone is trying to kill her, but to Caro they all seem to be accidents.

This book was very well written, as many of Laurens’ books are, and the characters are well-developed and draw emotion from the reader. While I didn’t find this story to be quite as touching as some of her other novels, it was still an excellent read and a great addition to the series. I would recommend!

Link to author website: http://www.stephanielaurens.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Ideal-Bride-Cynster-Novels/dp/0060505745/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394131987&sr=8-1&keywords=the+ideal+bride

3Mar2014

2014 – Book #11

Posted in Book reviews, Historical Romance by rebeccabook17

The eleventh book I finished in 2014 was A Gentleman Says “I Do” by Amelia Grey. I finished this book on 3/2/14. I rated this book 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This was the first book I had read by Amelia Grey.

This story is about a man (Iverson) who is trying to find the author of some poetry that has landed his family in the “scandal sheets.” When he arrives at the author’s house to try and scare some sense into him however, he finds not the author but the man’s daughter (Catalina). Her quick wit and seemingly unending strength draw Iverson to her and make it impossible for him to stop thinking about her. As Catalina searches for her father, she finds herself falling in love with Iverson. As the two become closer, they try to overcome their differences and the secrets Catalina is keeping in order to see what could become of their future.

One of my favorite aspects of this story was the way that the hero cherished the heroine so devoutly and protected her from harm. The heroine has been going through life always taking care of her family, and the book ends with the hero taking care of her and making it so that she would not have any serious worries in her future. While unrealistic, this is one of the things that I find I like most about romance novels. Men protecting women and cherishing them as if they were precious, priceless items.

While this wasn’t one of my all time favorites, it was a sweet and interesting love story and I would recommend it. I will read more by this author as well.

Link to author website: http://www.ameliagrey.com/main.html

Link to Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/A-Gentleman-Says-I-Do/dp/1402239769/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393814057&sr=8-1&keywords=a+gentleman+says+i+do