Adele Ashworth - Michaela August - Amelia Autin - Anne Avery
Ashworth, Adele - MY DARLING CAROLINE (Berkley - 1998) (4+)
In 1815, brilliant Caroline Grayson wants to be a botanist. Her ingenious research in her father's garden on mixing roses is way ahead of its time, but ignored by the male-only botanists field because women are scorned as being too dumb. Caroline is accepted to attend Columbia University by pretending to be a man.
Though Caroline plans to travel to New York in a few months, her father has other ideas for his favorite daughter. He decides she should marry their neighbor, the Earl of Weymerth, Brent Ravenscroft. He blackmails the Earl into agreeing to the nuptials and Caroline has no choice but to marry him. Brent and Caroline are immediately attracted to each other and soon they fall in love with one another. However, there are many problems and hidden agendas that need to be worked out between the pair if they are to share a lifetime of happiness together.
Awesome Adele Ashworth scribes one of the best Regency romances of the year with MY DARLING CAROLINE. The story line cleverly yet entertainingly discusses the prejudice that normally intelligent and rational men have towards intelligent females. Readers will admire the lead female protagonist for her courage, passion, and refusal to give in to the male establishment. As wonderful a role model as Caroline is, Brent is that rare huggable male, who understands and urges his wife to use her brain even as he wants her to be his loving wife and mother to his children. Ms. Ashworth raises the level of Regency romance by her touching story line that demonstrates what we all lose when any group is the recipient of prejudicial behavior. Historical romance readers of all eras will be totally enthralled by this absorbing drama, which also happens to be the debut novel of tomorrow's superstar. ~Harriet Klausner
August, Michaela - SWEETER THAN WINE (Neighborhood
Press - 5/99) (4)
Set primarily in the California wine country during the post World War-I era, SWEETER THAN WINE takes the marriage of convenience plot, adds relevant details about the social and political issues of the day, and blends them all in a very cleverly written, well-researched book.
Grandmother Tati Roye is the proud matriarch of a family decimated by war and illness, and as such, she isn't above a little blackmail to regain some measure of control in her life. The death of her grandson William on a Western Front battlefield had left his widow, Alice, as the sole owner of Montclair, the California winery that had been owned by the Roye family for decades. When another grandson, vintner Siegfried Rodernwiller, comes to the United States in order to flee the devastation in the Alsace region of postwar Europe, Tati uses secrets she knows about Alice in order to induce her to enter into a marriage of convenience with Siegfried—thus bringing Montclair back into the family fold. What begins as a business arrangement slowly evolves into something much more, but not without great personal cost to the young couple. Siegfried and Alice find themselves fighting battles in their own private war, before they ultimately achieve their own happily-ever-after.
SWEETER THAN WINE is a sweetly sensual, and at times very exciting, debut novel from Marian Gibbons and Karin Welss, writing as Michaela August. The story is packed full of intriguing period detail that, along with an intricate and believable plot line, makes the story come alive. My only quibble was the heroine's inordinate level of guilt over a past that she'd had no control over. For me, that undeserved remorse colored all of her relationships for far too long, although her feelings were somewhat understandable in view of the moral attitudes of the time period. Nevertheless, I think SWEETER THAN WINE is an admirable first effort, and I look forward to future books from this talented writing duo. ~Connie Ramsdell for Bookbug on the Web
Autin, Amelia - GIDEON'S BRIDE (Silh. Int. Mom. 666) (4)
Mail-order bride. Same-old, same-old? Nope. A tender, sensitive story of a widower who needs a wife to help care for his children, and this one has a twist. New author Autin has a sparkling career ahead of her. ~Gail (bookbabe@javanet.com)
Avery, Anne - SUMMER FANCY (Topaz - 1997) (4+)
Sophronia is plain—tall and skinny as a beanpole. She decides to go after Zeke, a watermelon farmer in Colorado, who is knockdown gorgeous. He just wants to be left alone, but everyone is trying to play matchmaker. Add a 10-year-old hellion, and a spark that grows to smoldering between the hero and heroine, and you have a great story with humor, tenderness, and old-fashioned morals. ~Carol C. (angelca@ibm.net)
NEXT PAGE
Background provided by Judi's Doodlings
Copyright © 1997-1999 Bookbug on the Web