Saturday, February 16, 2013

Penelope by Anya Wylde


Anya Wylde's second novel Penelope does not disappoint! I finished reading this delightful book today. Actually, due to recent events I haven't been able to read much of anything - however, last weekend I was able to read the 1st half of this wonderful book and today I finished it!
 
What surprised me most about this book was that it was nothing like Wicked Wager. I'm not disappointed, don't mistake me, I'm ecstatic but normally as a reader you fall in love with a book and an author and you read everything they write! I find they write in the same style, it feels the same throughout each book like the author has a specific outline they follow each time just to produce novels and they create new characters to fit the mold. It's what we readers have to accept if we want to read! I can be picky but if an author writes in a style I enjoy then I can ignore the fact that each of his or her novels can be predictable! Take Sabrina Jeffries or Amanda Quick - they are perfect examples of predictability and trust me, I love their books. You can tell when the hero and heroine will kiss for the 1st time or make love or when the heroine will run away from the man she loves before accepting that she can't live without him (Jeffries) and Quick, well sometimes I wonder if she just changes the characters names for her latest novels. Her earlier novels weren't like this.

I digress, Penelope felt different to me then Wicked Wager. I loved it! It was refreshing, lively, witty, adventurous, a true riot and a romance with a fairy tale happily ever after ending, the epilogue exactly what I needed! I can't forget the characters including a poetic highway man, loveable supporting characters, a maddening duke who you can't help but fall in love with and Lady Bathsheba, Penelope's pet G-O-A-T (you will understand once you read the book). Penelope is just plain fun! Wylde is amazing and she has found herself a loyal reader in me. Both of her novels are going in my stack of books that I will read again and again! They are definite keepers!
 
Published - January 16, 2013
Price - a smashing $.99 - worth way more in my opinion
Genre - "Mad Cap Regency Romance"
 
 
Leaving behind the rural charms of Finnshire, Miss Penelope Fairweather arrives in London with hope in her heart and a dream in her eye. The dowager, no less, has invited her for a season in London, where she will attempt to catch a husband.

Thus begins our heroine's tale as she attempts to tackle the London season with all her rustic finesse. Unfortunately, her rustic finesse turns out to be as delicate as a fat bear trying to rip apart a honeycomb infested with buzzing bees.

What follows is a series of misadventures, love affairs, moonlit balls, fancy clothes, fake moustaches, highwaymen, sneering beauties, pickpockets, and the wrath of a devilishly handsome duke.
 
 
Amazon - 4.2 stars
Goodreads - 4.19 stars
Smashwords - 5 stars
I rated this book - 5 stars
 
Be sure to check out Wicked Wager if you haven't read it yet - delightful!!!

You can read my review of The Wicked Wager here
 
 
"Mischief Managed" ~ Kelly

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Mystery Crime Challenge 2013

Ahhhh mysteries, crime novels, thrillers, the genre of fear! There is nothing like a dark menacing figure, an eerie backdrop, the scent of blood lust as a killer closes in, a mysterious hero with dark secrets, a maiden in distress. I love them! Not that they don't sometimes cause me to make a cake of myself in a mad dash to the front door when it's late at night or when I traipse though the house with a bat checking closets and under each bed. Isn't that part of the fun? The fear? I also love to try and figure out the who done it. I'm more of a mystery crime comedy fiction kind of girl and that is why I love Janet Evanovich. I don't want to be scared senseless and I love to laugh! In fact, I like to embarrass myself and those I'm with by laughing out loud in crowded places while I'm reading!


So for the 2013 Mystery Crime Challenge hosted by The Crafty Book Nerd I have compiled the following list of novels I will attempt to read so that I may be honored and dubbed Sergeant of Mysteries by Ms. Crafty Book Nerd: (subject to change because I'm a woman and I can & will change my mind)

1. Notorious Nineteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich

Kindle - $13.99

2. From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming

Kindle - $7.99

3. A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes #1) by Sir Author Conan Doyle

Kindle - $.99
 
4. The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

Kindle - $6.99

5. Inferno - A Robert Langdon Novel by Dan Brown

Kindle - $14.99 (release date 5/14/13)

6. 10th Anniversary (Women's Murder Club) by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Kindle - $7.59

7. 11th Hour (Women's Murder Club) by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Kindle - $11.99

8. 12th of Never (Women's Murder Club) by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Kindle - $12.74 (release date 4/29/13) - can you tell I'm behind in this series?!

9. The Beekeeper's Apprentice (A Mary Russell Novel) by Laure R. King

Kindle - $9.99

10. Wine of Violence (A Medieval Mystery) by Priscilla Royal

Kindle - $2.99

I'm excited about participating in this challenge. I can read a lot of fluff throughout the year and I enjoy it immensely but I've always wanted to read a James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple novel and this year I'm going to!

I'm a huge fan of Bond movies so this will be a major first for me. Normally, I read the novels, then see the movies!


I'll keep you updated on my progress and which book I'm about to tackle. I do have other challenges to contend with so I won't be reading them in the order I have posted and they will be scattered throughout the year (psst...the last book on this list is going to double for another challenge, because I'm sneaky and I have stealth like Bond moves......well maybe just in the book nerd world not the espionage world).

"Mischief Managed' ~ Kelly

SMERSH. So that was the answer – the worst answer of all. And this was their chief killer. Bond remembered the red glare that flickered in the opaque eyes. A killer. A psychopath – manic depressive probably. A man who really enjoyed it. What a useful man for SMERSH to have found!
Ian Fleming (From Russia with Love)