Review: Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas

So, another late day at the lab... I'm waiting for various stuff to happen, so I'm quickly going to write my review for Dreaming of You. This book was a favorite of KristieJ and also, Dylan and Isabelle from Sanctuary's Finest have recently given this book great reviews and so I got curious to read it, esp. after being disappointed by Devil in the Winter.

Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas: 4.5/5

I have to say I can quite understand why the book is one of Kristie's favorite and why it has received great reviews. Can I say: Finally, a good/original plot for a historical romance?!?!

For once, the hero and the heroine are BOTH NOT PART of the aristocracy :) This came as a good surprise and a nice change of pace... can I say I was getting tired of dukes, viscounts, marquess, etc.? As for th heroine, altho she was innocent, she wasn't a young naive girl whose goal in life was to find a wealthy, handsome husband... ahh, an original plot! :)

So the heroine is Sara Fielding who comes from a village near London. She's a writer (yes, she works!), who is published, and has had great success with her novel Mathilda, which is about a girl falling into protistution. anyway, Sara is doing some research for her new novel about gambling which leads her to gambling clubs and some bad parts of London. One night, she sees a man being attacked by two others and so, she takes out her pistol and shoots one of the attackers and saves the life of Derek Craven, owner of the most frequent and popular gaming club.

Eventually, she gets permission to do her research from Derek's club and gets to know Derek and his past better. Unfortunately for her, Derek doesn't trust women but little by little, Sara wins Derek's affection... however, there's one of Derek's ex-mistress looming behind and only waiting to destroy any happiness that can exist between Derek and Sara.

So, I really liked the book. Derek is a very nice hero... you know, the way we all like it: alpha, reformed rake, a bit tortured, doesn't believe in his worth, etc :) and Sara is an extremely interesting heroine. I also find the plot quite refreshing and I like the fact that there is no misunderstanding between Derek and Sara once they get married. You know, Derek is not able to say "I love you" to Sara, not yet; however, he loves her and she knows it... no misunderstanding, no doubting, just love and patience and understanding which is quite different. Another pleasant surprise, at least for me, is that I read Devil in Winter first and so you do have some connection. Derek's club is mentioned in DiW and the fact that it burnt down and that he didn't re-build it, we also see Ivo Jenner... so nice connections :)

Katherine Stone and a recent read

I don't wanna go to work!!! someone, save me!

As if... :P anyway, the above is my feeling... I've been watching House M.D. Season 2 the whole week-end and I must say, it's really entertaining. I just enjoy House so much and I can't wait for the première and see what happens.

All right, onto what I wanted to say tonight... Katherine Stone.

Who here has read her books and what do you think? My first novel by Katherine Stone was Pearl Moon and I just loved it. LOVED IT. I think that it still ranks as one of my fav. book... and it'd be in my top 25. (Top 25 fav. is coming soon as well as what I've read and not read in the top 100) Her stories usually focus on relationships, some internal battle, and most of the time, they'll be a medical condition, so it kind of follow a recipe, but I can't help it and find it really touching :) Actually, most of the time I end up shedding some tears and my heart aches, but it's good. So I've just discovered that Caroline's Journal is out, her newest book. I usually don't keep tag on her coming book, because she writes one a year and her website isn't really interesting... It's strange tho, cos I'd swear her last book came out during winter... Anyway, I'm happy and can't wait to read this one. It sounds really, really interesting... here's the blurb:

Caroline, a successful architect, is finally and joyfully pregnant. She keeps a journal throughout her pregnancy, conveying her feelings and plans, and is also reestablishing her relationship with her much younger sister, Meg. Meanwhile, her husband is prosecuting a murder case involving a pregnant woman, and as a father-to-be he finds the case particularly distressing. When Caroline has feelings of foreboding, she chalks it up to her usual worrying. But at the start of her third trimester she is diagnosed with preeclampsia, and Caroline discovers that it will be a struggle to keep both her and her baby safe. Katherine Stone once again brings her readers a deeply emotional and very relevant story.

So, what do you think?

Queen by Sharon Sala: 3.75/5

Queen is the first book of a trilogy: Queen, Diamond and Lucky. So Queen, Diamond and Lucky Houston are the daughters of the town gambler who just died. Diamond has been recruited by a singer and gone with him to Nashville while Queen and Lucky sell the house and split the money. Both sisters leave their little town where nobody cares about them to realize their dreams and start a new life: Lucky heads for Las Vegas while Queen wants to go to California.

On her way to California, the bus breaks down and Queen embarks onto another bus, this one heading to Denver (or Detroit). At the bus station, Queen stumbles onto 3 boys: Donny (13), Will (10) and J.J. (7). The boys' father hasn't come home for the night, so Donny brought his brothers into town to talk to the Sheriff... the sheriff is concerned and calls Social services. Donny is sure that his father wouldn't abandon them overnight and something must have happened to him... however, Social services woman doesn't want to hear about it and tell them to follow her. Queen, for some unknown reasons, comes to the rescue of the kids and passes out as their aunt. She stays with the boys until their father, Cody Bonner, comes back. Although this was not the new life Queen wanted, Queen ended up staying as the Bonner's housekeeper to help Cody keeps custody of the boys and because she fell in love with the boys... and of course, their father.

Well I liked the book :) but I'm not sure about the 2 others... So the good: you had some building of relationship and some changes in the characters. Cody and Queen didn't jump into each other's arms right away, it actually took time before they admitted having feelings for each other and falling in bed together. I liked the kids, they were nice and protective and stuff. The story flowed quite smoothly and at the end, Cody's father-in-law stood up to his wife. So, what's the bad? Well, not much really... the only few things that bothered me: never knew if Cody really loved his wife and if yes,why? Then, it seems that Cody's best friend, Dennis, altho he knows there's no hope, is in luv with Queen. Last, why is the woman on the cover have brown hair when Queen is a red-headed? Even more funneh, why does the women on the next two covers have orange hair when they're supposed to be brunette and blond? Did someone read the stories before designing the covers?!?