TBR Challenge Review: Soulless by Gail Carriger

Format: ebook (also available on audio and mass market paperback)
Pub Date: 2009
Publisher: Orbit
Length: 384
FTC: Purchased myself

*Spoilers*

I am a sucky TBR Challenge participant. This makes the third month in a row I've procrastinated on my challenge read. Although it's the first time I've actually MISSED the posting day. Apologies for my suckiness.

Anyhoo, this month's topic was paranormal or romantic suspense.  I finally managed to read a book I've had on my Kindle for months (maybe a year?) and whose praise I've been hearing for even longer: Soulless by Gail Carriger.

Billed as a steampunk romance, I can say with confidence that it's really not. There are a few scattered elements that may qualify, but they are minimal window dressing. Gaslight? Maybe. Paranormal? Definitely.

Tis the Season to be Sinful by Adrienne Basso

Format:Mass Market, ebook
Pub Date: October 1, 2011
Publisher: Kensington
Length: 343 pages
FTC: Review copy courtesy of the publisher

There's a lovely, old-fashioned feel to the prose in Tis the Season to be Sinful. It's one of the few books I've read recently that feels thoroughly steeped in the period. But, unfortunately, the conflict is all over the place, the characters somewhat shallow, and the holiday elements seem more engaging than the romance.

My problems with the book center mainly around the lack of focus to the story. It seems like it's just not sure which problem it wants to explore about our hero (our heroine seems marginalized throughout.) Do we explore the working class values of the American? His inability to join in with Christmas festivities? His absence from the new home he married to get for months on end? Or his strained non-relationship with his wife's children?  There are so many different mini-conflicts in this book that all are dealt with in an unsatisfying and superficial way.

While this book did its job, it's not something I'll be reading again. I loved the holiday elements, but for some reason, the romance was just...ok. Since I did manage to read it in only a couple of sittings, I'm giving it higher marks than it might sound like it deserves.


My Grade: C

The Blurb:

The Season For Surprises. . .
Juliet Wentworth knew what she was getting into: a marriage of convenience that will save her estate and protect her family long into the future. But she wasn't expecting to find the passion of a lifetime in her new husband's arms. After just one night, Juliet knows a marriage in name only will never be enough. . .
The Season For Seduction. . .
Richard Harper's beautiful new bride has him reeling with desire--and running for cover. After all, falling in love was never part of the bargain. Yet when Christmastime celebrations bring him back to their country manor and back into Juliet's arms, Richard finds his wife is determined--and all too able--to win over his heart, one kiss at a time. . .

Review: With Seduction in Mind by Laura Lee Guhrke

I'm always fascinated when authors write about characters who are authors. It gives me the feeling that they're incorporating a little bit of themselves into the character. After all, they know what it feels like to write. What kinds of emotions that evokes. What difficulties it can present.  So while there's no doubt the characters are fictional, I always feel like I'm getting a secret glimpse into their hopes, dreams, fears, triumphs.

In the case of Laura Lee Guhrke's newest book, With Seduction in Mind, both the hero and heroine are authors. One is an aspiring, unpublished author; the other is a burned-out formerly successful one. They could not be more different in temperament, experience, or style, but the author uses those differences wisely.

I love Laura Lee Guhrke's writing. No one writes romantic tension better than Guhrke. She manages to make it suspenseful without dragging down the pacing of the novel. The seduction of Daisy is a genuine seduction. A step by step heightening of desire. You can feel Daisy's resistance melt without feeling as if she were coerced or manipulated. And you can sense, as well, the unexpected way Sebastian finds himself seduced by someone who shouldn't challenge him at all, but clearly does.

One Week as Lovers by Victoria Dahl

I adore the friends turned lovers theme. Something about it just works for me. Another thing I adore is an historical romance written with a large dose of humor. Victoria Dahl's One Week As Lovers delivers on both counts.

While One Week as Lovers IS quite funny, it also deals with some pretty serious issues. The emotional scars (and physical ones) aren't trivialized. They aren't glossed over. But the witty dialogue keeps those serious issues from overwhelming the tone of the book.

I also really love the homage to the gothic novels (predecessor of the modern romance and horror genres) that Dahl includes here. We have the haunted house, the hidden treasure, the evil stepfather, the monstrous fiance. All melodramatic elements that blend together to create an incredibly believable and entertaining tale.

Highly recommended for fans of Julia Quinn, Jacquie D'Alessandro, and Victoria Alexander.

My Grade: A