Romance.

Like many people, I enjoy cooking, and I love to eat. I always thought I had a passion for good food and cooking, but after reading this book, what I call passion seems lukewarm.

La Cucina is the story of Rosa Fiore, a woman who used cooking as a kind of therapy throughout her life. And no one in could blame her for needing some therapy. After Rosa's first love was murdered by his own father (who happened to be involved with the mafia), she locked herself in la cucina and prepared all types of pastas: rigatoni, ravioli, spiralli, cannelloni, linguini. She baked ciabbata and focaccia. She brewed sauces of tomatoes, anchovies, saffron, and pine nuts. She bottled fruits and jams, cured meats, and made ricotta by the barrel. Then, when she had cooked everything on their estate, she packed up a few clothes and her parrot, and left to become a librarian in Palermo.

It wasn't until twenty five years later that another man entered her life, a foreigner. L'Inglese, an English chef, arrived at her library and awakened desires and passions didn't even realize she possessed. As they spent the summer cooking and discovering each other, anyone could see that it was too wonderful to last...and besides, disaster always seemed to follow Rosa.

Fans of Like Water for Chocolate and Joanne Harris may enjoyLa Cucina by Lily Prior.

Charles Darwin was not given to rash decisions. When he was nearly thirty and needed to decide whether to marry, he sat down, drew a line down the middle of a piece of paper and made a list of pros and cons. On the plus side, marriage would offer the benefit of children ("if it Please God") and an object of affection, "better than a dog anyhow." On the minus side, he would miss the "conservation of clever men at clubs" and might not be able to read in the evenings.

His decision to take the leap and marry his cousin Emma Wedgwood is the subject of Deborah Heiligman's 2009 National Books Award finalist  Charles and Emma: the Darwin's Leap of Faith..

Darwin was a pragmatist, an agnostic, and a scientist. Emma was his intellectual match and yet devoutly religious. Theirs was a true love story--a match of wits and wills, of science and religion. Despite her reservations about Darwin's theories, Emma helped edit her husband's work.She honestly feared for his soul and at the same time bore him ten children, three of whom died before the age of ten.

Heiligman is a skilled nonfiction writer. The Victorian Era is brought to vivid life through the couple's letters and other primary sources. This setting is the backdrop for one of the great marriages of history. Although originally published for the teen market, Charles and Emma will equally engage adult readers, who will know something more about the ups-and-downs of married life than its intended audience.  

It is a story that might have turned out quite differently if Darwin had decided to settle for the company of that dog after all. 

  

Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart

Linda Martin longs to return to France, where she lived until her parents died. She's spent the last few years in an English orphanage, first as one of the orphans and then as a teacher. When she is introduced to Heloise de Valmy, who is looking for a governess for her nine-year-old nephew, the Comte de Valmy, she leaps at the job. She's so eager, in fact, that she lies a bit about her skills. Madame de Valmy seems to want an English governess who speaks little French. Linda speaks fluent French, but she hides her ability, thinking it a small sin. Little lies can sometimes lead to big adventures.

The Valmy estate is a brooding place, ruled over by the crippled, autocratic Leon de Valmy. Her charge, little Philippe, is a serious, skittish child. As she bonds with Philippe, she begins to wonder why he is the victim of so many strange accidents. Snippets of overheard conversations make her curious about Leon de Valmy too. He is Philippe's guardian and the caretaker of the estate, but he seems obsessed with the land and dismissive of the boy. Even the other servants are secretive and strange. When Raoul de Valmy, Leon's rakish son, arrives for a visit, Linda is drawn even further into the family and their mysteries. Then things take a deadly turn and Linda must  decide where her loyalties truly lie, despite what her heart might want.

Romantic suspense doesn't get any better than Mary Stewart. She's not as steamy as her modern successors, but, with just implied steam, she keeps the tension taunt. Linda is a self-acknowledged Jane Eyre, caught up in a Gothic mystery with a sinister, brooding hero. Philippe is suitably charming, as is Raoul (in completely different ways of course!). Other memorable characters include a Parisian fashion designer and and the ubiquitous English housekeeper. Descriptions are lush, as expected in a Mary Stewart novel. Readers looking for a classic romance or a classic suspense tale will enjoy Nine Coaches Waiting. Reading along with Jane Eyre can be fun too!

New Blood by Gail Dayton

If you judged this book by the title or cover, you might think this is yet another one of those vampire romances that are so popular. Or perhaps a horror story. What you probably wouldn't think is that this is a Steampunk romance.

What exactly is Steampunk? It's defined as a sub-genre of fantasy and speculative fiction that is set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used. Most often, the setting is the Victorian period, or a fantasy world that closely resembles that period. There is a growing interest in Steampunk, and there are now "cons" held around the county, with fashion, music and of course, books.

New Blood begins with the magically bound servant, Jax, finally fulfilling his over two hundred year old mission to find the next blood sorceress. Unfortunately, the magically talented Amanusa doesn't believe him. When she finally uses her magic to exact revenge on a group of rebels who killed her family and held her prisoner, she learns being a powerful sorceress comes with a huge cost to her conscience.

As Jax and Amanusa are pursued across Europe, they discover areas that are competely dead and inhabited only by strange mechanical creatures. They also discover a powerful attraction to each other, and yet Jax is a servant - captured, mistreated and magically bound to the previous blood sorceress, Yvaine. Will he be able to trust Amanusa enough to be honest with her? And will Amanusa learn to control her powerful magic and earn her place in the International Magician's Conclave?

This combination of a unique world, with familiar elements, magic and romance should satisfy fans of multiple genres. It's the first book in a series set around the International Magician's Conclave, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series coming out in 2010. 

 

 

Archangel by Sharon Shinn

Angels rule the world of Sameria and chief amongst them is the Archangel. Raphael, the current leader, is old and his successor, Gabriel, is eager to assume his duties. There's just one catch; Gabriel needs a wife. The upcoming festival of songs, the Gloria, which must be sung to their god Jovah, requires that his wife sing at his side. If the Gloria isn't performed, Jovah will rain disasters down upon Sameria. Gabriel dutifully visits the oracle Josiah, learns his predestined wife's name, and goes in search of her. Unfortunately, Rachel's village has been destroyed and he can find no trace of her. When he does track her down, he finds out that she is the slave of a powerful noble. Angels generally keep themselves apart from the rest of humanity and don't pay much attention to class or ethnic struggles, so he's surprised when Rachel turns out to be an adamant defender of her oppressed Edori people. He's even more alarmed by the fact that Rachel doesn't want to be his wife. With Raphael proving corrupt and Rachel proving difficult, Gabriel must somehow sort everyone out before its too late.

Sharon Shinn's Sameria series is a fun blend of science fiction, fantasy, and romance. The odd bits of technology in this biblical society hint at the origins of the world and the true identity of Jovah. Shinn writes her characters well, making their conflicted loyalties the center of the story. This is for readers who like Anne McCaffrey.

A romantic comedy launched from a child's gutsy reaction to prejudice? That's Elinor Lipman for you, an author who delights in handling big issues with a light touch, crisp writing, and plenty of humor.

The Inn at Lake Devine opens like so: "It was not complicated, and as my mother pointed out, not even personal: They had a hotel; they didn't want Jews; we were Jews." End of discussion. But thirteen-year-old Natalie Marx was not satisfied. Was this hotel run by Nazis? No, there were no Nazi hotels in Vermont in 1962, just some ignorant people with very bad manners. When Natalie told her father, he joked about trying again under the last name of Gentile. Natalie's parents shrugged it off and found another resort on Lake Devine for their vacation the following summer. Natalie, however, was still not satisfied. Throughout the winter she came up with deliciously sly ways to point out to the Inn's owner, a Mrs. Ingrid Berry, that her rejection of Jewish customers was unfair and illogical. Natalie made prank phone calls, wrote anonymous letters, sent newspaper clippings to make her point with Mrs. Berry.

Summer rolled around and her family stayed across the lake from the Inn. Natalie fumed. Later that summer, when she discovered that Robin, her dull bunk mate at sleepaway camp, went to the Inn every year, she finagled an invitation to go with Robin's family. Ha! Mrs. Berry could not stop Natalie from staying at the Inn after all! Natalie endured Robin's company, confirmed that Mrs. Berry was just as dreadful in person as she was in her correspondence, and rather enjoyed chatting with Mrs. Berry's sixteen-year-old lifeguard son, Nelson. By the end of the week Natalie was ready to put the incident of the Inn behind her and move on with her life.

An invitation to Robin's wedding ten years later would bring Natalie back to the Inn, with plenty of amusing, confusing and maddening complications.

Denis Cooverman is socially-challenged, which is unfortunate since he is also in love with the most popular girl in school. Instead of pining for her from afar, he uses his high school valedictory speech to declare, "I love you, Beth Cooper!"

Debut author Larry Doyle knows from mayhem (he writes for The Simpsons). In I Love You, Beth Cooper the reader follows Denis through graduation night, which turns out to be the best and worst night of his life. It starts when Beth decides to drop by Denis's graduation "party" (two guests: Denis and his sexually-ambiguous best friend, Rich) and ends as most of these stories do, with the boy-least-likely getting the girl-who-know-one-else-understands. In between, a cast of mean girls and enraged boyfriends keep the action moving.

Does all this sound familiar? It is not surprising that I Love You, Beth Cooper is already a summer teen movie. In a season crowded with blockbusters, it will likely sell better on DVD. Doyle is keenly aware of his market. Each chapter begins with a famous quote from a teen film (Say Anything, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Sixteen Candles--they're all there) and a cartoon-image of Denis as his night gets stranger and stranger. Rich cleverly peppers the book's dialogue with film quotes, lending to the book's self-aware cache.  

If you are looking for a familiar and fresh love story that will bring back your teen years, I Love You, Beth Cooper is a better choice than its movie-trailers would lead you to believe.   

Think back to your childhood when you got caught in a lie.  Did you mom say something like, "one lie leads to another," or "if you tell a lie it just gets bigger and bigger."  Unfortunately for Mitch Samuel, he missed out on this pithy advice from his mom, because he lies his way into a hole so deep he almost can't get out of it.

Now, if that was all I knew about Ms. Taken Identity by Dan Begley, I probably wouldn't want to read it.  I'm really not into liars as a general rule.  I mean, when people ask me the worst movie I've ever seen, I always say True Lies with Arnold Schwarzenegger.  It's about a not-very-likeable guy who lies to his wife for years about his identity because he's really a spy.  Or something.  

So when I started Begley's book I was thinking I'd better like this lying character immediately if the author expects me to read more than the first chapter.  To my surprise, I did.

Mitch is an English Comp professor and an aspiring novelist.  In fact, his novel is so long and so serious and so Great-American-Novel-wannabe that no one will publish it.  One night when he stops at the local book store, a famous chick lit novelist is doing a book signing.  Wanting desperately to dismiss what he sees as a lesser form of literature, he discovers he can't condescend to her because a) she's published tons of books, b) her books make people happy, and c) she's a multi-millionaire.

So Mitch decides that he too can write a chick lit novel and on the suggestion of his best friend, signs up for ballroom dance classes to listen in on "real" women's conversations.  Thus, the lies begin.  He makes up a name, learns that he actually likes dancing, and meets the girl of his dreams who also happens to be his best friend's sister.  Soon, he finds that he likes the person that he has become better than the person he was, but he's got to figure out if he's told one too many lies.

Ms Taken Identity is a clever send-up of chick lit novels, and a fun journey of discovery for a guy who finds out that being true to yourself isn't so bad after all.

 

LaVyrle Spencer was and is a very popular romance author.  Her stories are about ordinary people in ordinary circumstances, no alpha males dragging the heroine across his saddle and racing off into the sunset.  No heroine has gone into a jungle and brought back evidence of a lost civilization.  No, many of her heroes and heroines tough it out in small towns and difficult circumstances. Morning Glory takes place just before, during and after World War II in a small town in Georgia.

Elly Dinsmore was a young pregnant widow with two small boys when she advertised for a husband to help her take care of her run-down farm. Will Parker was a convicted felon--he murdered a prostitute. Both were lonely outcasts, she because of her upbringing by her fanatical grandparents and he was an orphan who drifted all over the States until he went to prison. 

The townsfolk, the ones who made fun of Elly and called her crazy and the town's "naughty lady" are not caricatures, but fully rounded sad people.  My favorite character in Morning Glory is Miss Beasley the librarian, she helps Will find information about bees and apples and birthin' babies.  She starts out as a stereotypical librarian and the reader sees her become a good friend to Will and Elly, just what librarians are supposed to be, thank you Miz Spencer.

Above all, Morning Glory is about friendship, trust and love.  Elly and Will both come out of their shells, and overcome some very big obstacles; for Will it is going off to war and for Elly conquering her shyness and fear of the townspeople.  This story is my favorite LaVryle Spencer novel.  I love how the two bring her farm back to life and in a way Will and Elly come to life too.  If you enjoy a down home romance with some funny and sad moments, (some scary ones too), you will like Morning Glory.

 

When I told many of my friends that I was going to blog about Katherine by Anya Seton, they all sighed and said it was one of the best historical romances that they had ever read.  Yes, ALL of them sighed and said it was the best.  Why is it so "sighable?"  Katherine was a fourteenth century woman, born in 1350 to a poor family; at a young age she married Sir Hugh Swynford, a rather boorish extremely jealous man.  Because her sister married Geoffrey Chaucer and was part of the court of the Edward the III, Katherine caught the eye of the Duke of Lancaster, John of Gaunt.  After the Duchess of Lancaster's death, Katherine became the mistress of the Duke.  She was called a witch and a whore, but she was with the Duke, through his second marriage to Constance of Castile and after Constance's death, she became his third wife which caused a bigger scandal than when she was his mistress.  Katherine was at the center of the most turbulent times, and she was a strong woman who held the Duke's love and attention for more than twenty-five years.

Anya Seton brings the English medieval times to life, in all the filth, disease, superstition, royal pageantry, intrigue and of course Katherine's love story, mistress and wife to a Duke and the ancestress of Kings.

I read Katherine many years ago and had almost forgotten about it. But then I spied the Mistress of the Monarchy; The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster, by Alison Weir.  When I read the introduction and discovered that Alison Weir enjoyed reading Katherine and the book had a large impact upon her, I had to read it again. (Ms Setons's book that is, although I have read Alison Weir's introduction more than once too).  Ms Weir states that she wanted to write Katherine Swynford's biography for forty years. Although Ms Weir enjoyed Anya Seton's book, she said, "Do not forget it is fiction."  Anya Seton wrote accurately but from a twentieth century perspective; this does not lessen the quality of the story, but it might change your vision of Katherine.   I suggest you read Katherine first and then read Mistress of the Monarchy, because sometimes the facts could lessen the impact of this classic romance.  On the other hand why should the facts bother you when you are reading a great love story?