The Cephalopod Coffeehouse and March's Book Pick: Only a Kiss

Hello Friends! Welcome to The Cephalopod Coffeehouse, a gathering of book lovers who congregate once a month to discuss what they've read.

This month, I am doing this without having finished any of the books I started. I am currently reading five books (mistake number one). Why do I always do this to myself? I start one book, then I run across another and think, “Oh! I must read that one.” In between my own writing, and editing other manuscripts, I find I read a little of this one, a bit here, a chapter or two there…and then it’s the end of the month and I’ve finished nothing.

But here we are and I must choose something, so I’m going with my gut on this one. Of all of the novels I began reading this month, the one I’m closest to finishing as well as the one I’m most enjoying is Mary Balogh’s Only a Kiss.

Here is the blurb from Amazon:

Since witnessing the death of her husband during the wars, Imogen, Lady Barclay, has secluded herself in the confines of Hardford Hall, their home in Cornwall. The new owner has failed to take up his inheritance, and Imogen desperately hopes he will never come to disturb her fragile peace.

Percival Hayes, Earl of Hardford, has no interest in the wilds of Cornwall, but when he impulsively decides to pay a visit to his estate there, he is shocked to discover that it is not the ruined heap he had expected. He is equally shocked to find the beautiful widow of his predecessor’s son living there.

Soon Imogen awakens in Percy a passion he has never thought himself capable of feeling. But can he save her from her misery and reawaken her soul? And what will it mean for him if he succeeds?

First of all, this novel takes place in Cornwall. I visited Cornwall back in the 90s and found it breathtaking, but I’ve recently enjoyed a renewed love of the region after watching Doc Martin, Poldark, and last week’s Lifetime Movie Network’s adaptation of Agatha Christie's And then there were None. Mary Balogh is a wonderful writer and her words paint beautiful descriptions of a Cornish coast (as well as detailing some of the problems the Cornish suffered during the Regency such as smugglers, shipwrecks, etc.) Additionally, I am not much of a lover of romance, but that’s why I like this one. Aside from the romantic aspect, there is a much more serious side plot featured. Imogen is a member of the Survivor’s Club, a group of people who have survived insurmountable odds and lived to tell about them. In Imogen’s case, she witnessed the death of her husband in the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic wars. Although she was treated well, her husband was tortured (often within earshot of her holdings). In the end, she was witness to his hanging. Along with the grief of his loss, she must also now deal with survivor’s guilt.

While there is the usual hot and heavy bedroom sequence in here, considering the length of the novel, the sexual content is relatively small (although if you are offended or bothered by such scenes, best to skip this one, as it’s pretty graphic).

Balogh is master of creating secondary characters, and it’s virtually impossible not to love Lady Lavinia’s character, Imogen’s aunt and an inhabitant of Hardford Hall, who takes it upon herself to rescue every stray dog in the region. She treats them like her children, loving them back to health and providing them with permanent homes either in her own house or others. She brings extra life and humor to the story. 

The plot unfolds slowly and with much attention to detail from the Regency period. Fabrics, locales, foods, and language are all authentically created in Balogh’s novels. She is a prolific writer and has dozens of books to her credit. I read another one of her regency novels last year entitled Heartless with a similar reaction.    

What have you been reading this month?

Favorite Things Friday: The Best Book(s) I read in August

It’s time for The Cephalopod Coffeehouse! We gather once a month and discuss the best books we read this month and what we loved about them.

This month I started reading way too many books all at once, and I ended up only finishing one. I will feature it here today, but I’ll also tell you about some other books I’m reading that I think will be even better. I should warn you, though—they’re all regency romances. I’m on a regency kick at the moment.

 

Lady Maybe by Julie Klassen is the story of Hannah Rogers, a clergyman’s daughter with a secret forcing her to leave her home and become a companion to the wealthy, yet haughty, Lady Marianna Mayfield. As the story begins, Hannah is travelling into the country with Lady Mayfield and her husband, Sir John, when the carriage crashes, and they are all plunged into freezing water. Rescued by a kindly doctor and his wife, Hannah awakes to the name “Lady Mayfield.” Confused and disoriented, Hannah assumes that she is Lady Mayfield. Once taken to the Mayfield home, she begins to remember her real name and situation. She is told by Dr. Parrish that the traveling companion drowned and that Sir John is in a bad way. Every opportunity she has to tell the doctor that she is not Lady Mayfield is in some way thwarted, but when Sir John begins to recover his wits, Hannah knows she will have to fess up and risk prosecution for fraud.

I loved the first half of this novel. It was suspenseful and it kept me guessing what was going to happen and wondering how Hannah was going to get herself out of this mess. The characters were colorful, well-developed, and authentic. As so often happens in a novel, however, the last third of the book was a little too long and drawn out. There were some courtroom scenes that took forever, and I became irritated, thinking—“just tell me what happens!”

The ending wasn’t as satisfying as I would like. Although unexpected, I felt it was a little too convenient. Overall, I liked the book, and I would recommend it to one who enjoys a regency read with an unconventional twist.

 

I have also started reading Heartless by Mary Balogh and I’ve enjoyed it very much (I’m only halfway through). Luke Kendrick is the hero who has been betrayed by family and his fiancee. Ten years after all of that, he's back to claim the land and fortune that is rightfully his. Yet the hard blows to his life have left him incapable of love. He marries Anna Marlowe, only to find that she's not the innocent he thought. Even so, he agrees to remain married to her as long as she will bring forth heirs. As time goes by, love begins to bloom in her heart for him, but he does not return her sentiment. We are left to wonder if they'll ever have a meeting of the hearts...

The novel is rife with themes of the nobility, marriages of propriety, family lineages and peerages, and lots of rakish men getting themselves into all sorts of trouble. If you like that sort of thing, this is a well-written and intriguing book. 

 

Finally, I started reading A Heart's Rebellion by Ruth Axtell. I just started this one two days ago, but it is set in 1815 during the London season. Jessamine Barry, jilted by the man she truly loved and wanted to marry, now leaves her quiet English village to venture into London for the infamous season. Even though she is initially unimpressed with the balls and parties, she soon meets Lancelot Marfleet and learns his family is very well known throughout society. Through this route she is introduced to more people, and apparently (although I haven't gotten there yet), she falls in with a rakish sort of gentleman who is all too happy to lead her down the path to rebellion.

So far I've really gotten into this book. I love reading Jane Austen-ish novels that deal with manners and society. I can't wait for the rake to come on the scene. I always love the rakes!

So that's what on my reading plate at the moment.

Tell me what you're reading right now, then check out some of my fellow bloggers and their reads for the month.