Morbid Romantic

Book Review & Personal Blog

Tamed by a Laird by Amanda Scott
Set in 14th-century southern Scotland, this langorous series opener features a plucky heroine and an obstinate but caring leading man. Lady Jenny Easdale sneaks away with a group of traveling minstrels to have a final adventure before her wedding. When her betrothed’s brother, Sir Hugh Douglas, catches up to her, they discover a plot involving stolen jewelry as well as a passion for each other that cannot be ignored. Hugh’s efforts to control the headstrong Jenny are amusing, though at times her naïveté is more annoying than charming. Scott (Border Moonlight) creates a lovely, complex cast of secondary characters and has a deft touch with thorny period language, but when the jewelry theft conspiracy is resolved as quickly as Jenny’s robe is removed, it’s hard to justify the long buildup.

The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock
When WWII breaks out, many Americans find their lives turned upside down, few more so than the Heller family. Seeking refuge from Hitler-controlled Germany, the Hellers had moved to smalltown Victory, Ill., only to find themselves, 10 years later, suspected by their neighbors of being Nazis. Feeling the threat to her family grow, headstrong 20-year-old Sophie Heller also feels powerless to stop it; soon, however, she meets a handsome, similarly frustrated schoolteacher named Cole Ambrose, whose bad leg prevents him from enlisting. Their instant attraction is, naturally defied by racist townsfolk bent on keeping them apart by whatever means necessary. Garlock (Leaving Whiskey Bend) exhibits a too-comfortable mastery of the romance genre; Ambrose is a true gentleman and Sophie is a charming heroine, but both are painfully bland. The villainous characters prove more interesting, but stray often into caricature. The central conceit, racism against German immigrants during WWII, is compelling but not really explored except as a vehicle for star-crossed romance.

A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi
The sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut, is shocked when a little girl is found brutally murdered. With the murderer on the loose, the police desperately look for any clues to lead to his identy. Meanwhile, a psychiatrist in a nearby hospital is also in a desperate search to find the cause of seven-year-old Naya Hastings s devastating nightmares. Afraid that she might hurt herself in the midst of a torturous episode, Naya s parents have turned to the bright young doctor as their only hope. When these two situations converge, they set off an alarming chain of events. In this stunning psychological thriller, innocence gives way to evil, and trust lies forgotten in a web of deceit, fear, and murder.

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