Monthly Archives: July 2015

Educating Caroline by Patricia Cabot

1 Reply

Choice number two of the Summer Reading Challenge hosted by Little Miss Drama Queen, a book that had been sitting on your shelf for over a year, was one of the more difficult choices for me since it described most of the books on my bookshelf. I narrowed the choice down by choosing a Meg Cabot novel and then narrowed those down by choosing one of Cabot’s old regency romance novels written under her pen name, Patricia Cabot. TheEducating Caroline result was Educating Caroline.

Taking place in 1870 London, Lady Caroline Linford is engaged to Hurst Devenmore Slater, the Marquis of Winchilsea. She’s pretty happy about it until she catches him cheating on her with another aristocrat, Lady Jacquelyn Seldon. Not wanting to disgrace her family by calling off the wedding Caroline decides to instead engage the services of notorious lady’s man Braden Granville to teach her how to entice her betrothed away from the slutty Lady Jacquelyn. It sounds pretty silly doesn’t it? Not to mention scandalous. But Caroline’s own mother plants the seed for the idea when she says that in order to hold on to a man Caroline should use her body…

“…which, if I do say so myself, is the spitting image of the one I had at your age, and which I used to excellent advantage…”

Braden Granville is not only a womanizer with a horrible reputation, he is not even titled (gasp!) and has made his fortune on his new fangled gun company. His appearance is secondary, possessing the self-made confidence and logic we all love in Cabot’s leading men. (In fact, based on his dominant traits I would not be surprised if he is an ancestor if Michael Moscovitz.) Caroline shocks him with her unusual request for lessons but seeing as it is a romance novel, passionate sparks fly throughout.  (Code for: there’s a lot of sex.)

In addition to the love triangle Caroline finds herself in, there is also a mystery involving the Marquis and Caroline’s brother which is quite intriguing.

While I did enjoy Educating Caroline, I did have a hard time getting into it mostly because I’m getting a little bored with the regency romance genre. That said, the novel is still quite delightful especially given Cabot’s humor which is the basis for this story. She even throws in a few references to the always pregnant Lady Rawlings who hardcore and keen eyed Meg Cabot fans know is in fact Pegeen MacDougal who married Lord Edward Rawlings in her first published book, Where Roses Grow Wild.

If you are looking for an old school regency romance with humor and a fun storyline I highly recommend Educating Caroline. I give it a Classic Mrs. B.

Mrs. B rating classic

Watermelon and Ague

1 Reply

I love watermelon. The other day I picked up a beautiful one at Grocery Outlet for onlyLittle House on the Prairie $1.99. As I was slicing it up I was reminded, as I often am, of my favorite chapter from Little House on the Prairie, “Fever and Ague.”

Those of you who have read the book as many times as I have must recognize the connection. As the family recovers from a bad bout of Malaria, which they survived thanks to the medical savvy of Dr. Tan, Pa goes over to the neighbor’s house and comes back with a giant watermelon. He slices it open with a butcher knife but Ma refuses to let Laura or Mary have a bite because she believes the rumors that the fever they just suffered was caused by watermelons.

Back then they didn’t know that Malaria was carried by mosquitoes. According to previous chapters in the book the mosquitoes

were pretty bad on the prairie that summer so it’s not surprising that the Ingalls came down with Malaria. Even though they didn’t make the mosquito connection I always thought Ma was pretty naïve to believe the watermelon myth.

I mean seriously Ma! Pa says right there that he hadn’t had a watermelon “since Hector was a pup” thereby proving that there had been no watermelon in house before or at the time of the illness. If watermelon really was the culprit wouldn’t they have to eat it before they caught the fever? Ma was either still hallucinating or something else was going on – some nuance I still don’t get.

Not only that but how horrible is Pa in this scene? The entire family had been existing on nothing but wild game and cornbread for months, Ma refuses to let Laura and Mary even taste the watermelon and yet Pa eats it in front of them. Can you imagine watching someone eat a sweet juicy watermelon on a hot summer day and not getting to participate? Especially if you were a little girl who had just suffered a traumatic illness? Pa and Ma are just mean in this scene, mean I tell you!

As I recall, this is the only time in all of the Little House books that Laura Ingalls Wilder ever mentions watermelon. I hope she finally got a piece in her adulthood. I also hope she got a good deal.

Priceless by Christina Dodd

Leave a reply

When it comes to romance novels, Christina Dodd is a household name. I’ve enjoyed herPriceless Facebook feed and blog for years. I also see her books everywhere and finally got around to reading one last month. I decided to start with one of her earlier novels, Priceless which was published in 1992.

The heroine is feisty little Bronwyn Edana, daughter of a respected but penniless nobleman and the seventh of eight sisters. In addition to being the ugly duckling (apparently petite, curly haired blonds were not desired in 18th century England) she also has the misfortune of being rather intelligent and outspoken. Despite all this her parents manage to have her betrothed to the hot hunky hero, Adam Kean, the Lord Rawson of Boudasea Manor.

Adam is arrogant, walks with a limp and has a questionable reputation. Unfortunately these are qualities Bronwyn must accept as this is as good a husband she can expect. Luckily for her family, Lord Rawson is also rich and accepts a marriage contract with Bronwyn sight unseen. He is sadly disappointed when they first meet as Bronwyn is awkwardly dressed in a dark haired wig and ridiculous clothing in an attempt to mimic the look of her sisters.

It isn’t long before the two strong personalities of Adam and Bronwyn clash and passionate sparks begin to fly. They develop a fervent and very physical relationship plagued by a misunderstanding that eventually sends Bronwyn to the solace of a London salon where she attempts to hide from Adam and her family and vows to never marry.

I had a vague understanding of salons from Renaissance history class but this book was the first time I was exposed to the concept in more depth. When Bronwyn first enters the salon of Madame Rachelle I just assumed it was a high class brothel. The salon in Priceless is nothing of the sort with no hanky panky going on – aside from the romantic antics of Dodd’s characters that is. Rather, Madame Rachelle describes her own salon as follows:

“…a place where men and women of the intellectual, social, and artistic elites can converse freely.”

It is of course a place where Bronwyn can shine and is also ordered to shed her wig forever. When Adam finds her there he is, of course, won over by her beauty and vows to get her back at any price. The rest of the book tells the story of their romance, peppered with a dangerous criminal element and a twist at the end.

I have to admit it. I was not thrilled by this book and had a hard time getting through it. The elements for interest were certainly there but for some reason they did not grab me. I claim some responsibility as these type of regency romances are usually hit or miss for me.

The other part that threw me was the structure of the story. It was all over the place. The first half took place at Lord Rawson’s estate and focused on both Adam and Bronwyn’s family dynamics. The second half took place in the salon in London and focused on the shady criminal conspiracy that entangles Adam, Bronwyn and a whole new batch of characters. It was almost like two books smashed together.

Priceless is from very early in Dodd’s writing career, her second or third book I think, so I’m not ready to write her work off entirely. I look forward to exploring more. I was glad to see this one end though. I’m going to have to give Priceless a Cautious Mrs. B.

Mrs. B rating cautious

Manhattan in Miniature by Margaret Grace

2 Replies

I’ve already talked about when I first discovered the miniature mystery books written by Camille Minichino, under the pen name of Margaret Grace. Last year I actually had the
opportunity to meet Camille at a miniature show in San Jose. I liked her immediately and not just because she’s a real published author. One look at Camille’s website will show you all she’s accomplished in life. I want to be just like her when I grow up.

A few months ago Camille offered me a copy of her latest miniature mystery novel, Manhattan in Miniature*. Normally I don’t like to read ahead in a series but I couldn’t resist so I took Camille up on the offer. I’m glad I did.  Even though it sounded like a lot has gone on in Gerry’s life (spoiler alert: she’s engaged!) I was able to pick right up and enjoy a fun mystery set in The Big Apple at Christmas time.

The book starts, as they all do, with a witty play on miniatures. Gerry is refrigerator shopping and can’t decide which one she wants. In the end she decides to “buy them all” causing a newbie to think “wait…what?” We regulars get the little joke of course. Sure enough in the next paragraphs it is revealed that Gerry is at SuperKrafts stocking up on supplies for her hobby of building miniature room boxes.

Right there at SuperKrafts the premise of the book is set. We meet the store manager, Bebe (well I did at least, based on the banter between the characters Bebe has been introduced in previous books that I haven’t read yet) who invites Gerry to attend a big craft show in New York City. SuperKrafts will pay for the trip and guess what? Even Maddie (Gerry’s granddaughter) can go! Cozy excitement for the plotline has been set and the fact that its weeks before Christmas makes it even better.

But wait, you’re asking, what about the murder? I’ll admit that the thought of Gerry and Maddie solving a murder mystery in New York City scared me a little. Luckily the murder storyline was more annoying than dangerous. Gerry calls her friend Cynthia with the good news of her visit and learns that Cynthia’s 90 year old Aunt Elsie has died in her Manhattan apartment. Cynthia is convinced her aunt was murdered and she wants Gerry to solve the crime.

By the way, when I say the murder storyline in this book was annoying I mean that in a good way. I think Camille wanted the reader to be annoyed by Cynthia’s character and let me tell you, she nailed it! I consider a book to be very well written if it can invoke emotion in the reader. One page into the scene where we meet Cynthia “in person” and I was ready to slug her.

As per usual there is plenty for Maddie to do as well. She provides her super sleuth computer skills to help her grandmother and also helps the hotel security department with their own little mystery. Maddie also acts as the conduit for the one bit of tension and suspense we do get at the end of the story.

In addition to the criminally fun storylines, the book also makes for a good New York City travel guide. Gerry and Henry’s engagement is also noted throughout the book, although Henry spends a lot time out of the picture having scheduled a trip to Hawaii while Gerry is in New York. Now that I’ve broken my rule of reading ahead in the series I’m anxious to get back on schedule and see exactly how this engagement and find out first hand how great a guy he is.

If you are looking for a fun, cozy mystery with the excitement of New York City go out and get yourself a copy of Miniature in Manhattan. I give it a Classic Mrs. B.

Mrs. B rating classic

*Disclosure:  This review is my own honest opinion.