BkRv: Something Gothic comes Midwest

Book Review: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Historical | Suspense

First Line: It was bitter cold, the air electric with all that had not happened yet. The world stood stock still, four o'clock dead on. Nothing moved anywhere, not a body, not a bird; for a split second there was only silence, there was only stillness. Figures stood frozen in the frozen land, men, women, and children.









This gothic tale starts with an innocent classified ad in the Chicago paper: A smalltown Wisconsin business tycoon in search for a marriage of convenience, for a woman to be simply a wife; those women in search of love need not apply.

Page 50: She was a lonely woman who answered a personal advertisement in a city paper, a woman who had traveled miles and miles on somebody else's money. She was neither sweet nor sentimental, neither simple nor honest. She was both desperate and hopeful. She was like all those women whose foolish dreams made her and her friends howl with hopeless derision, except that now she was looking into the face of sucha woman and it didn't seem funny at all.

When Ralph Truitt welcomes a response from one Catherine Land, the two total strangers enter a marriage that neither of them are prepared for, but what both of them had been needing. Yet is it too late for love to enter this unconventional marriage, especially if poison has already made its way into their hearts?

While A Reliable Wife may have recently come out, it certainly reaches the levels of Rebecca and Jane Eyre when it comes to twisted and tragic romance. The writing is most excellent, although at times I think the author wrote for the beauty of writing. Which isn't a bad thing except when reading a mystery or suspense and I want to find out what happens, and A Reliable Wife is most definitely full of suspense.

It was rather strange to read A Reliable Wife with the knowledge that a murder will go down and the culprit is no secret whatsoever. Yet that was just one answer out of the many questions that danced around as I turned the pages. Will Ralph find out that he was being poisoned? Will Catherine change her mind? How does Ralph's long-lost son (more or less, his wife had an affair) play into this, and why does Ralph ask Catherine to find him? And after all the twists that Robert Goolrick leads us through, the ending truly gave me a delicious thrill of shock. I'm not ashamed to admit, but I did shed some tears for Catherine and Ralph as they reached the end of their deception-upon-deception and confronted their monstrous gulf of loneliness.

I'd also like to point out that it was awfully strange to think that this entire story was set in Wisconsin with the brief interlude to St. Louis. Usually we find gothic tales set in some faraway ruined castle or nonsense, so imagining Wisconsin as the backdrop for marriage most foul seemed even more nonsensical. Surprisingly it worked. It sort of reminds me of The Devil In The White City with its American setting, but since I did not even finish this book, I cannot say how similar (or dissimilar) it is to A Reliable Wife.

BkRv: The Last P&P Retelling In The World...not.

Book Review: Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man In The World by Abigail Reynolds

Historical | Austen

First Line (ARC): "In a moment, when we leave the trees, you will be able to see the house," said Mr. Darcy. "There it is, across the valley - Pemberly House."




Finally - a retelling that I actually enjoyed!



In recent years, Pride & Prejudice has undergone several transformations from a teenaged time-traveler in Pradas to a match made in zombie apocalypse to post-happily-ever-afters to what-ifs. Sadly whichever Austen retelling I have picked up thus far has been promptly set down in disappointment. You'd think I'd learn my lesson, but sometimes there are plot summaries that I cannot resist. Which is why I decided to give The Last Man In The World a fair shot.

Only to be thoroughly delighted with it.

Mr. Darcy, in his excitement of proposing to Elizabeth, kisses her without permission or even waiting for a "yes", and the two get caught in a compromising situation by Colonel Fitzwilliam and some gamekeepers. As much as Elizabeth still loathes him at this point, she resigns herself to marrying him to avoid any scandal to her name or her family's.

Page 13 (ARC): His lips touched hers. She felt a moment of panic at the intimacy of it. She would not let it show, though; instead, she forced herself to think how her marriage might provide another chance for Jane and Mr. Bingley.

Although it was distinctly odd to be kissed by Mr. Darcy, it was neither terrible nor disgusting, she decided; it was tolerable. The thought of applying that term to him was rather amusing. Perhaps she should start trying to think of him as tolerable.

And so begins a truly wretched marriage where Mr. Darcy views it as the single greatest thing in his entire life and Elizabeth sees it as her greatest sacrifice.

If you love romances where the two main characters start off on opposite ends and eventually come together after several heartaches, then I highly recommend The Last Man In The World for delivering such an entertaining romance! While Elizabeth dominated the story with her torn feelings, Mr. Darcy had his moments of vulnerability as a husband hopelessly in love with his wife who does not return his affections yet, if ever.

Abigail Reynolds kept this Pride & Prejudice variation short and sweet. An unwanted early marriage seemed to heighten the conflicts that were already present between these two most-beloved characters, and it is almost - just almost - as good as the original Pride & Prejudice ending.

I usually don't say this, but I am hoping that Abigail Reynolds will bring back to life Georgiana who might have stolen the show if she had more page time. In the meantime, I may just check out her other Pride & Prejudice "what-ifs" to have more delicious tension between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth!

disclaimer: publisher

BkRv: Orange you glad I said elephants?

Book Review: Proof By Seduction by Courtney Milan

Romance | Historical

First Line: Twelve years plying her trade had taught Jenny Keeble to leave no part of her carefully manufactured atmosphere to chance.




Simply, unpredictably unforgettable.




Gareth Carhart, the Marquess of Blakely, puts his trust in cold, hard facts and numbers. He knows better than to trust a fortune-teller who sees nothing beyond stealing money from gullible members of the ton. Not that it truly matters to him until Madame Esmerelda sinks her claws into his cousin Ned's wallet. Gareth sets out to disprove this charlatan to his ever-trusting cousin, but little does he know that Madame Esmerelda may be more than his match. While her fortunes are nothing more than vague generalities, the woman behind the façade is able to see right into Gareth's lonely soul and sets out to prove to him that sometimes he needs to put faith in the people in his life.

I have been waiting for Proof By Seduction's debut ever since Kristin Nelson highlighted Courtney Milan's (/Sherry Thomas) query letter at the start of 2009. So what better way to start my year than to go out and purchase said novel, devour it whole, and then highlight it here as the first book review of the year (and more accurately, since my fall off the blogosphere)? In case you wonder, there is no better way.

What truly impressed me were the characters in this book, especially Gareth. I don't think I have ever encountered a truly memorable and unforgettable hero such as the Marquess of Blakely. Probably because I have a weak spot for the scientific gentleman with awkward social grace, and Courtney Milan created him with delicious detail that I fell in love with him as he tried to befriend his manservant and failed miserably at first. Madame Esmeralda - or her English name Jenny - was also fantastic in her own right. Definitely an independent woman, not afraid to speak her mind, not afraid to be intelligent and independent, but afraid to be tied down by any man even if she loved him.

It should come as no surprise that such awesomely-crafted characters yielded some awesomely-witty dialogue. Which makes Proof By Seduction the perfect romance for me. I suppose others may consider the dialogue to be rather too silly, but I think it was perfectly reasonable and realistic because I hold such silly conversations with my significant other. If you do choose to read Proof By Seduction or have read, I'm pretty sure my nonsensical post title will make perfect sense. :)

Proof By Seduction is a light and fluffy read, but it will also tug at your heartstrings. If you love it as much as I do, then Gareth will haunt you days after reading it.

P.S. If the cover is too racy for you to read in public, Courtney Milan has lovingly crafted a totally serious mock cover to show that Proof By Seduction is a totally serious piece of work. Check it out here. :)

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Disclaimer: BOUGHT