Review ~ The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn

TITLE: The Lost Duke of Wyndham
AUTHOR: Julia Quinn
COPYRIGHT: 2008
TYPE: Historical Romance
PAGES; 371
SERIES: Yeah first in a 2 book series

REASON FOR READING: Was in the TBR pile and I needed a historical for a challenge

SUMMARY: {From Goodreads}
Jack Audley has been a highwayman.
A soldier. And he has always been a rogue. What he is not, and never wanted to be, is a peer of the realm, responsible for an ancient heritage and the livelihood of hundreds. But when he is recognized as the long-lost son of the House of Wyndham, his carefree life is over. And if his birth proves to be legitimate, then he will find himself with the one title he never wanted: Duke of Wyndham.
Grace Eversleigh has spent the last five years toiling as the companion to the dowager Duchess of Wyndham. It is a thankless job, with very little break from the routine . . . until Jack Audley lands in her life, all rakish smiles and debonair charm. He is not a man who takes no for an answer, and when she is in his arms, she's not a woman who wants to say no. But if he is the true duke, then he is the one man she can never have . . .

THOUGHTS/OPINION:
I have to admit this book was less fluff then I actually thought it would be. For some reason these two characters were very interesting to read and I enjoyed watching their romance come to fruitation. I didn't like the grandmother but that was something that no one was suppose to like. Plus Ms. Quinn did an excellent job at setting up the 2nd book so that you want to know what happens to the other man and woman that were introduced LOL.

Things I enjoyed:
Again I really liked Jack I thought he was a well rounded character that had both a serious side and fun side. I also really liked that once he made up his mind about Grace (which by the way didn't take very long unlike some heroes) he didn't change it and he didn't let her talk him out of it. Once he knew she was the one nothing she said would change his mind.

I also liked Grace which was different for me. She knew her place and while she dreamed of love she didn't wish to step above she wasn't out to make better for herself.

Things I didn't care for:
To be honest and I know a lot of people here are not going to like this but I didn't like the "extra" secret Jack had and hid until the very end. I didn't understand how that really mattered to much in the story and it really felt like a filler. I did like he had a fault but this just seemed pointless.
Also I'm not a fan of the Epilogue (sp?) I don't care for them never had and really it kind of irks me to have that in the first book of a series b/c even though you know where the second book will end up and no it didn't give anything away I still felt like it was again pointless.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? I am actually going to pass on it. While I thought it was a quick fun read it isn't going to be one I would re-read.

Re-read Review ~ Heir to the Shadow by Anne Bishop

*New review posted in Purple*
TITLE: Heir to the Shadow
AUTHOR: Anne Bishop
COPYRIGHT: 1999
TYPE: Fantasy
PAGES; 496
SERIES: Yes this is the 2nd in the trilogy
My review: Daughter of the Blood

REASON FOR READING: Loved the first one couldn’t pass on the 2nd

SUMMARY: {From Goodreads}
In Heir to the Shadows, Jaenelle's vampiric, adoptive father, Saetan, and her foster-family of demons shelter her. To restore her memory and emotional balance, they move to Kaeleer, where Jaenelle befriends the kindred--animals with magical and communicative powers--and gathers a circle of young Queens. She also heals Lucivar, Daemon's half-brother, who offers a brother's love and a warrior's fealty. As she recovers strength and memory, Jaenelle resolves to restore Daemon and cleanse Terreille.
Bishop subverts readers' expectations; the "darkest" powers reside in virtuous characters, demons and vampires are kindly, and Jaenelle's adolescence is more comically normal than horrific. Her vibrant characters and descriptions will keep readers hooked, anxiously awaiting what promises to be a riveting conclusion.
THOUGHTS/OPINION:This book was just as dark as the first and had a little more story line that was easier to follow. We know that Daemon has gone mad and thinks that he’s the one that rapped Jaenelle. *FYI I really hate that 8 years of his life was wasted the thing that sucks the most is his own brother sent him down the spiral path by listening to what an evil corrupt queen told him and taking it as truth. OMG I wanted to throttle him!! We learn that this isn’t true. Everyone is treating Jaenelle with kid gloves b/c of the rape and she knows something happened but can’t remember which equals that she can’t remember Daemon either so he goes on lost in the Twisted Kingdom (madness) for a couple of years. I understand the need to protect the one you love but really you waited almost 8 years to let her discover the truth on her own? SERIOUSLY?!?! Did you think that would be better for her? To know that this whole time the one person she loved the most was lost all because she wasn't around to help?

Also it takes Jaenelle about 2 years to come back herself from the Twisted Kingdom during which she fixes the part of her that is broken. Also in this book we learn that Lucivar is alive and eventually comes to serve the woman he has always thought of as Queen. *Wow can I just say how emotionally wrenching this was to read. Lucivar thinks that his Queen is dead by his own brother's hand no less and decides its time to break free. But why does he want to break free to destroy himself on the final run for all warriors. And boy does he and let us not forget the fact Jaenelle healed him completely which had to have taken a lot out of her! That just went to prove how much of Witch was in this little girl.
We also learn that a lot of Jaenelle’s friends that she made as a child are very powerful witches and warlords which will come in handy at the end. Without giving too much away for a second book I thought this was just as good as the first if not better. It answer a lot of questions. Gives a better look at our characters and shows us where the story is heading. Everything a good 2nd book should do. *this is a basic 2nd book in a fantasy trilogy which means we set everything up for the final. The hero or in this case the heroine has face one great obstacle only to discover many more lined up for her*

Things I enjoyed:I really enjoy watching Jaenelle come into her own. She was violated as a child and survived and *the sheer fact that Ms. Bishop showed all of the horror only to show us the good was reassuring* Ms. Bishop showed it wasn’t easy, it isn’t easy and she is still trying to cope with what was done. She still gets angry enough to destroy, she still hurts, she still has nightmares but most importantly she isn’t giving up on herself or her powers. Jaenelle is becoming the woman we all want her to be in this book and I think that it shows a nice balance between her pain and her love for those around her. *seeing Jaenelle fight through this was heart-wrenching, I was crying, laughing and at times angry with her. Everything she had to deal with up to the point of defending those she loved and then to turn around and be tricked once again by the very people she should trust shows how strong of a character she was. She did it all and not just b/c she was witch but because she was Jaenelle!*

I also love how Ms. Bishop made sure to give Jaenelle a nice group of friends and support system that a lot of people don’t normally receive. Because of this Jaenelle is able to move on and learn how to cope with all the horrible things that are happening around her. *Jaenelle was surrounded by strong men who loved her but didn't treat her as just a mere child. She had strong females that didn't allow her to wallow or go to far and she had a strong Father figure that kept her grounded when she needed to be. This entire combo made Jaenelle into a woman you could respect and admire. I really think had I lived in this world Jaenelle would be one I would serve willingly and one I would want to be friends with.
Another thing I enjoy is the fact that Ms. Bishop has made Jaenelle this unlimited power but hasn’t made her power hungry and the reason she isn’t is b/c of all the horrors she witnessed as a child. This is good. Usually this would be unbelievable b/c as they say absolute power corrupts absolutely but this time I can believe it didn’t. *Jaenelle or witch had the chance to disappear within herself and that choice was tricked out of her by D in the last book. And yet when she finally came too she didn't want to destroy everyone in fact she did just the opposed and continued to help those in need. Like the kindred who really did need a champion to step up and defend them from the corrupt Queens. Seriously that part in the story was HORRIBLE I almost died I was crying so hard. Those poor animals.
Things I didn’t care for:There are very few things I didn’t care for in this book. One of those is the world building that I have grown to love. Ms. Bishop has made such a complex world that its hard to keep up with all the different creatures and people. *Second time around and I still couldn't keep straight the 3 Queens and their males and who all come from different parts of the world and they all look different. I think that a good dictionary or encyclopedia would be helpful LOL* In this book alone we are introduced to the court that Jaenelle will pick and that’s 12 people/creatures with names and different cultures. Then add to it you are being introduced to more and more and more it’s just hard to focus on the story and the rich world all at once.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping *Yes still keeping it and will re-read yet again!*

 

Re-read Review ~ Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop

*New review/thoughts in Purple*
TITLE: Daughter of the Blood
AUTHOR: Anne Bishop
COPYRIGHT: 1998
TYPE: Fantasy Romance
PAGES: 416
SERIES: Yes the first in a trilogy

REASON FOR READING: Everyone rants or raves about this book and I thought *shrug* why not join in.

SUMMARY: [from Goodreads ]
Anne Bishop's debut novel, Daughter of the Blood, is like black coffee--strong, dark, and hard on delicate stomachs. Within the Blood (a race of magic-users), women rule and men serve, but tradition has been corrupted so that women enslave men, who seek to destroy their oppressors. Female children are violated before they can reach maturity; men are tortured and forced to satisfy witches' sexual appetites.

Bishop's child heroine, Jaenelle, is destined to rule the Blood, if she can reach adulthood. Her power is hidden; her family believes her mad. Saetan, High Lord of Hell and most powerful of the Blood males, becomes Jaenelle's surrogate father and teacher. He cannot protect her outside Hell, where he rules. She refuses to leave Terreille, risking herself to protect or heal other victims of violence. Can Daemon, Saetan's estranged son, keep her safe from the machinations of the evil High Priestess? Or will he lose his battle to control his destructive urges and endanger her?
THOUGHTS/OPINION:
Okay at first this book confused the hell out of me literally. I should mention that I tried reading this book the first time in the Urgent Care where I was working so it's no wonder it confused the hell out of me. Secondly this book opens with a vision in a world I didn't know yet. However, after saying all that I think that it started right where it needed to. I couldn't figure out what was going on. Why this was so important and how the hell one 7 year old could mean so much to so many people. After a while I finally caught on to this complex world the Ms. Bishop has created. Warning: this is not a book to read in spurts you need to have time to sit down and fully enjoy her imagination and story line. And what an imagination it is. HOLY COW to not only create this vivid world but the characters who all have different features, different places they live, different customs. OMG her head must have been swimming while writing this.
Warning 2: this is not a story to read before bed your dreams will be very dark. This is actually a book that many have had a hard time getting into with all the darkness and violence that surrounds the main characters. Seriously up until the very very end this book makes you cry out in pain at what they are all put through. Warning 3: LOTS and LOTS of violence in this story that will either turn you off or if you stick with it help you understand this violent world and why things are the way they are. I'll admit I'm the freak of nature who likes violence b/c I will believe the story line better. The easier the characters have it the more I tend to roll my eyes and pull away. The more they suffer the more I'm invested. It is worth the violence if you can handle it.

Things I enjoyed:
there were quite a few things I enjoyed about this book that others didn't. I have heard people complain that Janelle was this Mary Sue heroine that grated on their nerves. While I personally found her refreshing. Now I'll be the first to admit that she does come off a little innocent when you first me her but COME on she's 7 and she's been told her whole life that everything she believes isn't real and that she isn't good enough b/c she can't do basic craft. So when she tries to help those out in need its out of a longing to belong and a need to help others b/c she can. Living in the time period she did surrounded and violated the way she was she still managed to keep some innocence around her. In her world she managed to keep the happiness and good that they need in a future queen. Had she given in to the darker urges this book would have been done and over with in a couple hundred pages. And really quite boring had this happened. The fact that she could depend on those around her to help her keep this happiness is a great thing.

As it is she is going to grow into a powerful woman if she can survive. I also enjoyed the men that surrounded her and made her appear to be the Mary Sue type. They loved her, they are and were willing to lay down their lives for her and they understood why her innoncence was so important. And all they wanted to do was keep her pure so that others wouldn't abuse her and so that she could turn into the woman she needed to be. They appreciated seeing a being that wasn't corrupt, a person that would fight with honor not fight to gain strength or greed. Because of this she made the King of Hell bow before her.

His sons who have been dealt a fate worse than death fell in love with her goodness and vowed to do whatever it took to keep her alive. This is key b/c together they could've destroyed the evil in their lands for a while but it wouldn't be enough. They lived knowing that one day they would be with a Queen who deserved and respected them.

I also enjoyed the fact that Ms. Bishop didn't hold back. She showed us a world so ugly, so repulsive that it almost made me feel dirty to be reading about it and unable to stop it. She made me feel anger and hurt but at the same time I felt that all would be righted if only we could get the proper Queen to power. I felt as if I was one of her subject just wanting her to get to the proper place to help clean up this world. And OMG did she take long enough for it to happen LOL but oh it was so worth it!

That's how powerful of a writer Ms. Bishop is.

Things I didn’t care for:
the thing I didn't care for was the same thing I respected in the book. The violence and the way the little girls were treated. I'm sure you can figure out what that is so I won't go into details. It was very hard to get past these parts, it was hard to continue to read without getting angry but I managed. Barely even the second time around I found myself getting angry at what these little girls had to suffer and how they were treated out of fear. The whole idea of breaking a person on purpose before they get "too" powerful nearly sent me on a soap box I wouldn't get off of. And because I managed and worked through the hard emotions I discovered that the book was richer for it. Could I have done without the violence? yes however, it was needed to show a richer world.

Would I recommend this book? Yes I would highly recommend the first and I will let you know about the rest. In fact anytime someone ask me what book I should read I suggest this series to them. Although half of the time they hand it right back LOL

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping Yeah this didn't help to clean out the TBR shelf at all. In fact I want them in Hardcover LOL