1290. Just Like Heaven (Julia Quinn)

Synopsis:
Honoria Smythe-Smith is: A) a really bad violinist
B) still miffed at being nicknamed "Bug" as a child
C) not in love with her older brother's best friend
D) all of the above

Marcus Holroyd is: A) the Earl of Chatteris
B) regrettably prone to sprained ankles
C) not in love with his best friend's younger sister
D) all of the above

Together they: A) eat quite a bit of chocolate cake
B) survive a deadly fever and the world's worst musical performance
C) fall quite desperately in love

It's Julia Quinn at her best, so you know the answer is . . .

D) all of the above

My rating: 4 stars

My review: It's Julia Quinn. Of course, it's a rollicking good read.

1289. Guarding a Notorious Lady (Olivia Parker)

Synopsis:
A woman of pristine breeding, Lady Rosalind Devine is also an unrepentant meddler and snoop - which is why her brother refuses to leave her to her own devices while on his wedding trip. But Rosalind will not make things easy for any unseen, unwanted 'nursemaid' - and vows to use her considerable wiles to expose her mystery guardian.

Nicholas Kincaid, the Marquess of Winterbourne, agreed to secretly guard his friend's spoiled, stubborn sister, though her infuriating penchant for mischief is causing him to question his decision. Though bound by the rules of society - and friendship - Rosalind's spirit and sensuality have sparked a fierce desire in Nicholas to play a very different role in her life, one that entails passion, ecstasy . . . and unavoidable scandal.

My rating: 2 stars

My review: It's possible that my expectations for this book were too high. I LOVED Olivia Parker's previous book, "To Wed a Wicked Earl," and it would have been hard for any subsequent book to live up to that. I wanted to love this book but I couldn't get myself to care about these characters. Oh, well.

1288. A Game of Thrones (George R. R. Martin)

Synopsis:
Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.

My rating: 5 stars

1287. Bastian (Elizabeth Amber)

Synopsis:
The forum excavations in Rome go on, directed by the iron-willed, charismatic Lord Bastian Satyr. Out of nowhere, a mysterious, haunting voice calls out to him... and lures him to the site of a long-vanished temple, where vestal virgins once performed rites of erotic surrender. The temple is the find of his career, but his heart is about to face the unknown...Michaela is a pure Ephemeral. She can enter the bodies of others - and become any woman a man might wish to possess. His choice is her pleasure. And the commanding and utterly virile Bastian is the only man she desires ....

My rating: 4 stars

1286. A Clash of Kings (George R. R. Martin)

Synopsis:
A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

My rating: 5 stars

1285. Notorious (Nicola Cornick)

Synopsis:
When the ton's most notorious heartbreaker.

Dangerously seductive and sinfully beautiful, Susanna Burney is society's most sought after matchbreaker. Paid by wealthy parents to part unsuitable couples, she's never yet failed to accomplish her mission of diverting a groom-to-be. Until her final assignment brings her face-to-face with the man who'd once taught her an intimate lesson in heartache..

Meets London's most disreputable rake.

James Devlin has everything he's always wanted: a title, a rich fiancée and a place in society. But the woman who's just met his eyes across a crowded ballroom threatens it all. Not because she'd once claimed his heart, or that every sinuous swirl of her ball gown takes his breath away. But because the secrets she carries could cost him everything. To put the past to rest once and for all, Dev just might have to play Susanna at her own wicked game..

Let the seduction begin!


My rating: 4 stars

1284. The Man on the Balcony (Maj Sjowall, Per Wahloo)

Synopsis:
Someone is killing young girls in the once-peaceful parks of Stockholm -- killing them after having his way. The people of Stockholm are tense and fearful. Police Superintendent Martin Beck has two witnesses: a cold-blooded mugger who won't say much and a three-year-old boy who can't say much. The dedicated work of the police force seems to be leading nowhere, and with each passing day, the likelihood of another murder grows. But then Beck remembers someone -- or something -- he overheard.

My rating: 4 stars

1283. Confessions of an Improper Bride (Jennifer Haymore)

Synopsis:
Serena Donovan left London six years ago, her heart broken and her reputation ruined by devilishly handsome Jonathan Dane. Now, with her family's future in peril, she reluctantly agrees to return to England and assume her late twin's identity. The price? Marry a man she doesn't love and spend the rest of her days living a lie.

Jonathan Dane, Earl of Stratford, has become an incorrigible rake, drinking, gambling-and trying to forget Serena Donovan. Yet the moment he's introduced to the prim and proper "Meg", he recognizes the sensual young woman who captured his heart. Haunted by his past mistakes, he refuses to lose Serena again. But convincing her to trust him is no easy task. Claiming his lost love means exposing the truth and destroying the life Serena has sacrificed everything to rebuild. With the future of all the Donovans at stake, and their undying passion capable of triggering yet another scandal, how much will Jonathan and Serena risk for a chance at true love?

My rating: 4 stars

1282. Black Ties and Lullabies (Jane Graves)

Synopsis:
As a bodyguard, Bernadette Hogan's professional life is devoted to keeping self-made millionaire Jeremy Bridges safe. But if she has to spend one more evening watching him pick up vacuous blondes for casual flings, she may have to kill him herself. After a particularly infuriating night, Bernie drops her professional veneer and calls Jeremy on his womanizing ways. Unfortunately, she discovers that anger and passion are intimately entangled, and before she knows it, she's succumbed to the sexy millionaire herself. Humiliated by her lack of control, Bernie quits on the spot, only to discover eight weeks later that she's pregnant with their baby.

Jeremy is thrilled to discover the hot-blooded woman hiding beneath Bernie's cool control. Even though weeks have passed, he can't stop thinking about her. When he finds out about her pregnancy, he decides to step up. He coaxes her into a reluctant truce, convincing her he's ready to change from partying playboy to dependable dad. But Jeremy has never been a one-woman man. So how can he be falling for this tough, sassy, uncompromising woman who wants nothing less than his heart forever?

My rating: 5 stars

1281. A Storm of Swords (George R. R. Martin)

Synopsis:
Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King'€™s Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world ....

But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others—a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords ....

My rating: 5 stars