Lady Bookworm

Tessa Dare

Izzy is left by her father helpless and penniless. She is exploring her options when she receives a letter inviting her to Gostley castle. She goes to the ghastly castle only to discover that it had been left to her by one of her father's friends. The only problem is that the castle is occupied by the Duke of Rothbury, who doesn't think he sold the castle. So they be stubborn and share the castle. Izzy, in the meanwhile agrees to be his secretary to read his correspondence. Amid all the correspondence, one kiss leads to another and they go where all the couples in romance novels go.

Tessa Dare

Quotes- Yes, she was his. But bits of him were hers now, too. No matter how deeply he kissed her, he would never get them back.

But you’re here now, inside. Emma, you’re the very life of me.”

She could scarcely speak. “That was quite nicely said.”

“You think so?”

“Did you practice it on the way here?”

His chin pulled back in a gesture of offense. “No.”

“I wouldn’t think less of you for it.”

“Then yes, I did. But that doesn’t make it any less sincere.”

Review-

Liz Carlyle

Freddie is overwrought because of Johnny who says he can't marry her because his father wants him to marry his cousin. That is how Bentley finds her. Freddie thinks she will forever be alone, so she deserves a proper kiss and a night of passion. Bentley hell-bent Rutledge is the perfect man to give rise things to her. After their night together, Bentley escapes to his home and is waiting for one of Freddie's relatives to call him out. He waits in vain. Because Freddie becomes pregnant and tells her cousins that she won't marry Bentley because he would make a bad husband. Bentley on the other hand is furious to know that Freddie is marrying someone else.

According to him, Freddie belongs to him. He has to fight for it, prepare a wedding in a day but he does it. He marries Freddie any gives their marriage six months. If either of them is disappointed after that interval, they will go their separate ways.

The marriage brings trouble in its wake. They share passion but Freddie feels she is is an outsider in Bentley's life. He hides things from her, didn't share anything with her and leaves her bed every night. They both learn the meaning of marriage and love together.

Judith McNaught

In the first chapter itself, Sheridan's ward runs off and she is left with the daunting task of informing her betrothed that she has lost his fiancee. Stephen is consumed with guilt because Burleton is run off with his carriage. Burleton was drunk and appeared in front of Stephen's carriage in the fog. He goes to the ducks to inform Burleton's fiance of his demise. At the docks, he sees Sheridan and assumes her to be Charise Lancelot. He informs her of Burleton's death but before she can say anything, she is hit with a cargo net and hurts her head. When she wakes up after three days, Stephen and Sheridan find that she has lost her memory. To prevent her from being overwrought, Stephen pretends to be her fiance and calls her Lancelot with her being none the wiser. Fighting with his attraction towards her, Stephen plots with his family to introduce her to the society and find her a husband. The same day, a letter arrives from America, carrying the news of death of Mr. Lancelot, Charise's father. He decides that since Sherry has no one else left in the world but him, it's only fair he marries her. The day they are to be married, the real Charise Lancelot appears. Looking at her brings Sherry's memory back. She runs away because she thinks Stephen will not believe her and because he never loved her. Stephen waits for her return, for her explanation; but when she doesn't, he decides to hate her after all. His sister-in-law decides to play Cupid and arranges a meeting for them. They meet, have sex and part angrily. But Stephen can't forget her and convinces himself that she actually loved him and was speaking the truth. He arranges another wedding and proposes, she accepts.

Sarah McLean

“Joshua William Ryan the Third.”

“You really have to have made up that name.”

They both turned to look at me.

“Nobody outside soap operas can actually be called that,” I said, and then realized I had meant to think it rather than say it aloud.

“Okay. Well. You can call me Josh,” he said equably.

“Louisa Clark,” I said, then added, “The First.”

His eyes narrowed just a little.

“Mrs. Leonard Gopnik. The Second,” said Agnes. “But then you probably knew that.”

It is because of these funny bits and the liveliness of Lou's character that I like Jojo Moyes so much. 'Me Before You' was amazing. It infiltrated my reading lists and forever sits in my favorite list. So, when I realised it had sequels, I felt cheated. Why didn't I know about it. So I read 'After You' and 'Still Me' in a day. It was worth it. With my period cramps, o wasn't well enough to do anything else but read. So I read. With tea and chocolate breaks, but Louisa Clark had me in her grip. I wanted to know, but not finish the book. What would I do after I finish it. The crisis would be great. But I must know what happens to her. Life is not fair.

Jojo Moyes

Anthony Horowitz

This book is celebration of crime/ mystery genre. Maybe because I hadn't read a mystery in a long time or this was just good, I enjoyed it thoroughly. It contains a novel within a novel. Susan is an editor, when she is given Alan's manuscript, she doesn't think anything is amiss. She is familiar with Atticus, Alan's detective who is solving his last case. Soon, Susan is convinced that there is a hidden story in the manuscript and she becomes sure of it when Alan is discovered dead. She thinks Alan was murdered, and goes searching for the missing chapters for they may contain the name of the killer.

Elizabeth power

Alex meets Sanchia again in a court house. But Sanchia refuses to recognise him. Alex refuses to believe that she has lost her memory of last three years. He agrees to help regain her memory back, but he has an ulterior motive.

It was surprising. It had a storyline to which it stuck, which was nice. One of the better Harlequins.

Forgettability- 3/10

Amanda Lang

It is a book underlining the fact that comfort kills or stalls success. And it really does underline and highlight with lots of repetition. It doesn't bring anything new to the table. The examples are okay.

Adam Haslett

Tessa Dare

The beginning of this book was entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed the way Madeline invented a fiance and wrote letters to him. It was looking upward and then Mackenzie entered the book and it hit a plateau. His character was less entertaining than the aunt and the aunt barely spoke five sentences. His seduction was below par, his romance was absent. This was one of the few books in which I liked the heroine more than the hero. She was fun. Her lobsters were interesting. But it was stretched like a chewing gum towards the end. There was no angst, no hurdles to overcome. She kept saying no, he kept seducing her. And she said yes at the end.

Rainbow Rowell

Megan Frampton

Nicholas is enjoying himself at a house of I'll repute when he is informed that due to a cascade of events, he has become a Duke. He is most surprised and even more astonished to learn that he has also inherited a bride. Isabella is none too pleased to be that brie. But all her life, she has been trained to be a Duchess. Hence begins a husband's seduction of his wife. It has its funny parts with great chemistry between the characters and that was all possible with good characters. We get to know Nicholas, about his love for sex and unwillingness to marry. We get to know Isabella through her opposing views on matrimony and her inner battles.

It's worth a read.

Forgettable

Daphne du Maurier

Read in under 1hr

Pages- 31

A gem of a book. Set in Cornwall, after the serving world war, the story is about a farmhand any his family who are under attack by birds. The next day, the whole town is engulfed. By the end, whole of England is involved. The story is a clever metaphorical representation of the aerial attack on Britain during WW2.

Celeste NG