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Wench. Dolen Perins-Valdez. 2010. HarperCollins. 293 pages.

Six slaves sat in a triangle, three women, three men, the men half nestled in the sticky heat of thighs, straining their heads away from the pain of the tightly woven ropes. The six chatted softly among themselves, about the Ohio weather, about how they didn’t mind it because they all felt they were better suited to this climate. They were guarded in their speech, as if the long stretch between them and the resort property were just a Juba dance away.

Wench is a historical novel set (primarily) in the 1850s, at a summer resort in Ohio. A resort where slaveowners were able to ‘vacation’ openly with their slave wenches. (Slaves were still expected to work, to make themselves useful to anyone and everyone.) Wench portrays the struggles of four slave women–their complicated relationships with their masters, mistresses, and even each other. Lizzie, our heroine, has a complex relationship with her master, Drayle, for unlike the other slave women she feels she actually loves him. The relationship is complex–readers see much of this through flashbacks. They learn how the relationship began–and how it has continued through the years resulting in the birth of a son and daughter. Drayle’s only children. Lizzie prays for freedom for her two children. Her one desire is to have her children be freed by their father. But so far, her requests have been refused.

Reenie, Sweet, and Mawu are the other three slave women readers meet in Wench. Each has a heartbreaking story. We see these characters through their relationship with Lizzie. We learn their stories through Lizzie. Because of these friendships, Lizzie’s life will be changed.

Wench is a compelling novel. Once I started reading, it was difficult to put down. It was easy for me to care about these characters. It was intense and emotional in many ways–because their lives were bittersweet at best. I would definitely recommend this one!

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Jane Slayre. Charlotte Bronte and Sherri Browning Erwin. 2010. Simon & Schuster. 396 pages.

There was no possibility of continuing my walk that night. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour after dark, but since Mrs. Reed had picked up a scent (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, hunted early), I was sent home so the others could stalk their prey. I was glad of it. I never liked long walks, especially on chilly evenings. Dreadful to me was the coming home in the raw midnight, with nipped fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the death of the poor thing they’d dined on, raw, right in the middle of the wood. Not that I frequently watched as they took their meal. I avoided accompanying them on the hunt as often as I could.

Jane Slayre has every reason to dislike her home with the Reeds. For one, they’re vampyres. And while Mrs. Reed, Georgiana, and Eliza don’t thirst for her blood–too common–’Master’ John Reed does. It is his attack which prompts her trip to the red room. She’s not sent there to recuperate, to heal. No, she’s sent there as punishment for tempting John to bite her and drink her blood. While there she encounters her uncle’s ghost who tells her she must fulfill her family’s legacy–to slay the monsters of the world. That is how her parents were killed–in the line of duty. Jane does “escape” Gateshead Hall when she is enrolled in Lowood. But Lowood has dangers of its own. There is a reason–a good reason–the children aren’t allowed meat. (She becomes suspicious when some of the children don’t eat anything! She also notices that they’re a bit too obedient!) But Lowood does introduced her to two of the people she’ll come to love best. Her classmate Helen. Her teacher Miss Temple. (Miss Temple definitely has great influence on the young Jane Slayre. For it is from this beloved teacher that she receives her first training.) Jane remains six years as a student at Lowood–after the first year, things are less monstrous and more routine–and two years as a teacher. But then Jane Slayre seeks employment as a governess. She meets Mrs. Fairfax, Adele, Grace Poole, and, of course, Mr. Edward Rochester. And her life will never be the same.

Jane Slayre is a paranormal retelling of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. I don’t always love like paranormal fiction. Vampires, zombies, and werewolves don’t typically thrill me. But. I really enjoyed Jane Slayre. I thought it was clever. I thought it worked well. It’s not that I think the original needed improving. But the changes seem more natural than I ever would have thought possible. I liked Sherri Browning Erwin’s Jane. She was strong and fearless. (She saw her slaying as a gift.) Yet she was tender too. She fell in love with a man with a past. And she had a few tough decisions to make. I definitely recommend this one!

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The Vigilante’s Bride. Yvonne Harris. 2010. Bethany House. 304 pages.

“Marry him? I most certainly will not. Why, I’ve never laid eyes on the man!”

Luke Sullivan didn’t exactly know what the consequences would be when he decided to rob the stagecoach. He’s not exactly a criminal. Just a hero with a momentary weakness–he’d just learned some surprising news about his past, his father, something that attributes blame to the rancher, Bartholomew Axel. Sullivan feels that Axel owes him a bit of money, and, that is his justification.

But what Sullivan didn’t know was that the stagecoach was carrying a beautiful young woman to her would-be-husband. She’s been purchased by a rancher. Three guesses as to who…yes, Sullivan’s enemy, Bartholomew Axel. Sullivan can’t in good conscience leave this woman to her fate. She has to be made to see the truth. That Axel is old, ugly, cruel, mean, and a bully. He’s not fit to be any woman’s husband. Since Emily McCarthy has never met him, and isn’t exactly thrilled with the arrangement to begin with, it’s not that big a struggle. Not that she’s happy to be ‘kidnapped.’ But she doesn’t consider it a crime for long. Especially after meeting Axel a few days later! No, Emily soon thinks that Luke may be the hero of her dreams.

Will Emily find her place in Montana? Will Luke Sullivan find a wife?

I liked this one. It is historical romance–Montana 1880s–with plenty of adventure and drama. I don’t think it’s the best Christian romance I’ve read this year. But I’ve certainly read worse.

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Civil Contract. Georgette Heyer. 1961/2009. Harlequin. 432 pages.

“The library at Fontley Priory, like most of the principal apartments in the sprawling building, looked to the south-east, commanding a prospect of informal gardens and a plantation of poplars, which acted as a wind-break and screened from view the monotony of the fen beyond.”

Okay, so that first sentence doesn’t even hint at what the story is about. And it offers little incentive to the reader. Fortunately, most readers need only hear Georgette Heyer’s name to know that this may be a gem of a book. For those that aren’t the “most” in the readers listed above, I’d like to think I’m doing my part. A Civil Contract is a satisfying read in a very gentle and subtle manner. I enjoyed it. Enjoyed the characters and the subtle complexities of its non-plot. This is a very human novel.

You’re probably wondering, but what is it about??? Adam Deveril is a soldier whose father has just died. He’s inherited a title–he’s now Viscount Lynton–but he’s also inherited an overwhelming debt. A debt that is due to negligence, gambling, and mismanagement. He’s got a mother (Dowager is how she’s referred to in the text), and two sisters Charlotte and Lydia. Charlotte is engaged to be married, so she’s not one of his primary concerns. However, his mother and sister are. He’s been advised that he should marry for money. He finds the idea repugnant. Especially at first. But even Lydia, his younger sister, knows that sacrifices are called for in this occasion. It is her discussions of how she needs to be marry an older man for his money to “rescue” the family, that has Adam pondering how much he’s willing to do for his family.

The family home, Fontley, is at risk. All their property is at risk–most of their holdings are mortgaged already. And only their townhouse and Fontley remain. Adam feels that the honorable thing to do would be to sell everything they can and hope to break even. That is hope they have enough money to settle their debts. Whatever small amount may be left would be settled upon his sister for her dowry. He’s not worried so much for himself, for his comfort. He knows that he can go soldiering again and live on his pay if need be.

Of course, this newly-discovered money problem does mean that he cannot marry his first love, his supposed one and only love Julia Oversley. They met when he was injured. She became enamored with a vision of a dashing, heroic soldier. He became enamored of her beauty and charm. The parents consented at the time, though Lord Oversley did feel they weren’t well suited for one another. But now that he’s poor and soon to be without a home, he knows the only honorable thing is to break the engagement. Oversley does agree with him. Julia’s brokenhearted. Adam is melancholy but resolved that he’s doing the right thing, the responsible thing.

Enter Jonathan Chawleigh. A very wealthy man, but not “genteel” or gentle bred. Oversley introduces the impoverished Adam to Chawleigh with the hopes that they can solve each other problems. Chawleigh has high hopes for his daughter, his only child, Jenny. He wants to see her marry a proper gentleman, a man with a title, a man with dignity and distinction. A man that is part of the ton. Adam is shocked at first, but the more he considers the idea, the more he comes to feel it would be doing the better thing for his family–his mother and sister. The couple does meet first. And Chawleigh was right, Jenny doesn’t overwhelm men with her beauty and charm and grace. She’s the opposite of Julia in a way. Shy. Intelligent. Meek. Forgiving. Generous. Unassuming. And practical. Above all else practical. For those that are familiar with it, think Proverbs 31. Jenny is the essence of a Proverbs 31 woman. So after meeting her, while not overwhelmed by her beauty, he sees that they could live together amicably. They’d “suit” each other. Neither is dishonest. She knows that her husband is in love with another woman. He knows that she knows he’s in love with another woman. Yet this awkward situation somehow doesn’t stay awkward. Not for long. She doesn’t demand love. Her only hope–in the beginning–is for respect and dignity.

I loved Jenny. I did. I loved her father Jonathan. The scenes with him are just satisfyingly good. I loved Adam’s aunt Lady Nassington. I loved Adam’s sister Lydia. So many of the characters were just so wonderfully human, so thoroughly developed. I loved this quiet and gentle but always intelligent novel about marriage and love and family.

I wouldn’t say that I liked A Civil Contract better than A Convenient Marriage. But it was so much better than April Lady!

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Masquerade by Nancy Moser. 2010. Bethany House. 368 pages.

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The Foundling. Georgette Heyer. 1948/2009. Sourcebooks. 439 pages.

When the young gentlemen strolling through the park with his gun on his shoulder and an elderly spaniel at his heels came within sight of the house it occurred to him that the hour must be farther advanced than he had supposed, for the sun had sunk below the great stone pile, and an autumnal mist was already creeping over the ground.

The Duke of Sale (Gilly) is twenty-four. But. He’s never lived his own life, or made his own decisions. He’s had an entourage for as long as he can remember. An entourage that is determined to keep him safe, healthy, and comfortable. An entourage that Gilly feels discourages his independence, his individuality. He’s never known a day of freedom.

Until. His cousin Matthew shares his troubles–he is being blackmailed. And the Duke determines to “solve” this family problem all on his own. He’ll do it by being nobody. Without “being” the Duke, without being the head of the family. No. He wants to see if he’s capable of being a man. Of thinking and acting like a man.

Does he succeed? At over four-hundred pages, you can imagine he does. But this new freedom doesn’t come without risks and challenges and mishaps. He’ll pick up not one but two strangers along the way. One young man, Tom, who is foolish and prank-loving. And one young woman, Belinda, a foundling, he “rescues” from an “uncle” who doesn’t have the best of intentions. Belinda will BELIEVE any man who offers her a purple dress, you see. Or a ring. She’s as silly as silly can be. But Belinda is NOT the love interest of Gilly. (I was quite relieved!)

The Foundling is not my favorite Georgette Heyer. It is a bit too long. There were so many potential ending places in the last hundred pages. Places where one more paragraph could have nicely done the job. But. For whatever reason, this ending would not be rushed. I liked it, but didn’t love it.

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Koko Be Good. Jen Wang. 2010. September 2010. First Second. 304 pages.

Koko is a graphic novel about three twenty-somethings trying “to be good.” These are three characters trying to be find themselves, trying to discover what they want to do with their lives, trying to make a difference, trying to be the best they can be while staying somewhat true to themselves. Our characters are Jon, Koko, and Faron. Their individual stories become somewhat connected throughout the novel.

I’m not always a fan of graphic novels. Many I find more confusing than entertaining. But there was something compelling about Koko Be Good. I may not always understand these three characters, understand the choices they make. But there’s an honesty about it that I found compelling.

From one of Koko’s “broadcasts”:

This time I have a question. I just want to ask you, listeners…if you think you’re good people. And if you are, how would you know? Is it something you always knew? Or was it something you found? I think some people are just naturally good at it…But if being Good is supposed to be right, is it worth trying to be something you’re not? Just because it’s right? (251-252)

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April Lady. Georgette Heyer. 1957/2005. Harlequin. 270 pages.

There was silence in the book-room, not the silence of intimacy but a silence fraught with tension.

April Lady is an enjoyable albeit predictable read. Our hero, Cardross, and our heroine, Nell, have been married over a year when the novel opens.

The book begins with an argument over money. The wife is being scolded by her husband for going over her quarterly allowance. It’s not that he’s not fabulously wealthy. He is. He just wants his wife to be able to account for the money he’s given her, for the unpaid bills that arrive at the house.

After the scolding, Nell is horrified to learn that she missed one bill. It is for a Chantilly lace dress. She can’t possibly tell her husband the truth–the bill got buried in a drawer, forgotten. She can’t possibly expect her husband to understand this circumstance. Perhaps her brother can help her…

Nell is keeping other secrets from her husband. She is lying about giving money to her brother, Dysart, to cover his gambling debts. She knows she is disobeying her husband by “supporting” her brother like this. But she can’t understand why her husband blames Dysart for being an addict. He should know that Dysart just can’t control himself when it comes to gambling and racing. Being unsure of her husband’s love (and respect), Nell spends much of her time afraid of her husband. She’s afraid to be honest with him, which is all that he is asking of her.

Both husband and wife are deceived. She is certain that he doesn’t love her, that their marriage is one of convenience not love. And he is certain that she doesn’t love him, that she married him for his money. (Her family is always in need of money since her father and brother are gambling addicts.) The reader is the only one who knows the truth: these two do love each other, and have loved each other from the beginning.

Is Nell as silly as she seems? Is Cardross as tyrannical and unforgiving? Will these two ever be completely honest with one another?

While I didn’t love the plot of this one–at least as much as other Heyer novels I’ve read in the past–I did enjoy the characters. Particularly the “minor” characters. Nell has a sister-in-law, Letty, whose troubled love life steals the show, in a way. She’s in love with a man, Jeremy Allandale, deemed “unsuitable” by her older brother. (Letty gets one of her many scoldings in the second chapter.) This love affair is “aided” by Letty’s cousin, Selina Thorne, a young lady who has read too many novels. This romance provides my favorite scene of the novel!

Dysart, Nell’s brother, and Mr. Hethersett, Cardross’ cousin who has a way of being in the right place at the right time to aid Nell out of her messes, also add to the novel’s charm.

One of the weaknesses of this novel, however, is Cardross. It’s hard for the reader to fall in love with Cardross when he’s only in a handful of scenes. (He spends most of the novel out of town on a trip.) Especially when most of those scenes show him scolding the women in his life. Are Letty and Nell silly? Yes. But still, that doesn’t mean it’s fun to read Cardross’ condescending scoldings. (Or Dysart’s scoldings for that matter!)

Also, I felt the romance between Cardross and Nell to be a little lacking. We’re told that it was love at first sight. Yet we rarely see these two in the same room. And when they are in the same room, he’s either scolding her or she’s awkwardly avoiding him in conversation. These two are uncomfortable in their scenes together. Neither wants to be vulnerable. Neither wants to show too much.

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April Lady

Emma and the Vampires by Wayne Josephson. 2010. Sourcebooks. 304 pages.

Emma Woodhouse–handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition–had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress her. Until the vampire attacks began.

I did enjoy reading Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. But I didn’t enjoy Wayne Josephson’s Emma and the Vampires.

Do I love Emma? No. I’ve never loved Jane Austen’s Emma. I’m not sure a love for the original would have solved all the book’s problems. But. It might have helped.

Emma is still Emma. Clueless as she ever was. True this Emma has had to defend herself and her friend, Harriet, from a few attacking vampires. But the addition of vampires–practically every man of her acquaintance (with the exception of her father) is a vampire–failed–for the most part–to add charm or wit to the original. There were a few clever moments here and there. (I loved it when Frank Churchill (a vampire) squealed in fright when other vampires attacked.) But the constant reminders that these characters are vampires on every other page (so it seemed) failed to entertain this reader at least. The plot/plot details seemed a bit messy.

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Emma and the Vampires

Venetia. Georgette Heyer. 1958/2009. Harlequin. 368 pages.

Venetia. Georgette Heyer. Read by Richard Armitage. 2010. Naxos AudioBooks. Abridged. 4 hours, 48 minutes.

“A fox got in amongst the hens last night, and ravished our best layer,” remarked Miss Lanyon. “A great-grandmother, too! You’d think he would be ashamed!” Receiving no answer, she continued in an altered voice: “Indeed, you would! It is a great deal too bad. What is to be done?”

I love Georgette Heyer. I do. I just love her. Most of her books leave me feeling happy, satisfied. Some more than others. But still, it is always difficult for me to name one book as my favorite. Or even two or three books as my favorites. Just when I think I’ve found it–the perfect Heyer–I read another and change my mind again. Such is the case with Venetia. I absolutely loved this one.

Venetia is a woman (25) living with her younger brother, Aubrey (17), and being courted by two equally unsatisfying gentlemen of the neighborhood, Edward Yardley and Oswald Denny. The Lanyon siblings do have an older brother, Conway. But he is in the army, and he hasn’t been at Undershaw in years. Venetia and Aubrey do not miss him at all. Life is fairly routine for the two. Until. Lord Damerel (“The Wicked Baron”) returns to his estate.

The two meet when she is trespassing on his land. He has no idea who she is. But she has a fairly good idea who he is. Especially after he kisses her! Yes, he kisses her.

“Who are you?” he demanded abruptly. “I took you for a village maiden–probably one of my tenants.”
“Did you indeed? Well, if that is the way you mean to conduct yourself amongst the village maidens you won’t win much liking here!”
“No, no, the danger is that I might win too much!” he retorted. “Who are you? Or should I first present myself to you? I’m Damerel, you know.”
“Yes, so I supposed, at the outset of our delightful acquaintance. Later, of course, I was sure of it.”
“Oh, oh–! My reputation, Iago, my reputation!” he exclaimed laughing again. “Fair Fatality, you are the most unusual female I have encountered in all my thirty-eight years!”
“You can’t think how deeply flattered I am!” she assured him. “I daresay my head would be quite turned if I didn’t suspect that amongst so many a dozen or so may have slipped from your memory.”
“More like a hundred! Am I never to learn your name? I shall, you know, whether you tell me or no!” (33)

He intends to know her better while he’s in the neighborhood. Venetia doesn’t need a Lady Denny to tell her that would be unwise. But. When her brother, Aubrey, has a riding accident and is saved by none other than Damerel…well, she can’t help getting to know him much, much better. And soon they become great friends. Of course, it’s a friendship with always a hint of something more…

Lord Damerel isn’t the only newcomer to the neighborhood. Soon Venetia and Aubrey welcome TWO very unexpected house guests. Conway has gotten married–her name is Charlotte. And Charlotte and her mother have come to stay at Undershaw. And the mother is quite the character. How long can Venetia stand to share a home with such a woman? Venetia begins to think about her options…and wishing it was more socially acceptable for her to set up her own home.

What did I love about this one? Everything! I loved the characters. I loved the main characters: Venetia, Aubrey, and Lord Damerel. I loved the minor characters too! Edward Yardley, Oswald Denny, Charlotte Lanyon, Mrs. Scorrier, etc. I loved the dialogue–the conversations. They were so well done! So exciting. Whether Venetia was having a heated argument with Mrs. Scorrier or flirting with Lord Damerel, there was just something about this one. So many memorable scenes. I think it would make a WONDERFUL movie.

The romance. Venetia and Lord Damerel make a great couple. There is such chemistry from the start! Every scene with these two is satisfying! It was a joy reading this one.

He released her hands, but only to pull her into his arms. “When you smile at me like that, it’s all holiday with me! O God, I love you to the edge of madness, Venetia, but I’m not mad yet–not so mad that I don’t know how disastrous it might be to you–to us both! You don’t realize what an advantage I should be taking of your innocence!” He broke off suddenly, jerking up his head as the door opening on to the passage from the ante-room slammed. (221)

Venetia is a Georgette Heyer romance that does not follow her usual pattern.

The audiobook! Wow, wow, wow! I LOVED listening to Venetia. I did read the book first, so I would be familiar with the story, the characters. But then I listened to this one. And it was so very satisfying! I didn’t think it was possible for me to love Lord Damerel more than I already did…but hearing the part read by Richard Armitage…wow!!! He does such a wonderful job with all the characters!

In other news:

The Convenient Marriage is the next Georgette Heyer audiobook to be narrated by Richard Armitage. It releases in August 2010.

In August, Austenprose will be celebrating Georgette Heyer! The month long celebration includes: “thirty-four book reviews of her romance novels, guest blogs, interviews of Heyer enthusiast from the blog-o-sphere, academia and publishing and tons of great giveaways.” The schedule can be found here.

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Venetia