Emily

This is one in a series of teen romances that were published when I was in grade school and junior high. Each one had the heroine's name as the title, each was set in a different historic era (Emily is set in 1899), each featured a 16 year old heroine (or a 15 year old who would turn 16 in the course of the book) who would chose between two disparate suitors (here the "adoring and rich Worthington Bates" and "handsome Dr. Stephan Reed"). The boys were always pictured on the cover behind her, with a smaller picture showing the heroine with ONE of them. (I had a theory there was some kind of formula to whether the boy pictured would be the one chosen, but school eventually became more challenging and that research was abandoned) To be honest, I don't remember who Emily chose, but I remember the historical details including how rich, sheltered Emily had to stay home from anywhere fun to protect her reputation, to people debating whether 1899 or 1900 was the turn of the century. The entire series is fine historical fiction and truly I think these books gave me a much stronger interest in American history than I might have otherwise. I am not the only reader who remembers these books fondly, this site discusses collecting the series.

Archangel

I first read this book about 6 years ago, but I remember liking it a lot and I wanted to give Daily Book Buddy readers a thorough report so, just for you, I reread the book. It's a fantasy/sci-fi book, but to be honest, to me it seems to fit just as neatly into the romance category. The book is set in a world where angels (yes with wings and stuff) walk among men. The land is divided into three territories and each has its own group of angels who live high in the mountains but come into human territory to assist them by praying on their behalf. Gabriel is about to become the Archangel, the highest ranking angel, who has authority over all three territories. Before he does so he must find the woman who is destined to be his wife as she must sing with him at the ceremony or their world will be destroyed by Jehovah. The oracle identifies Rachel as the woman, but he still must search her out. When he finds her she is a slave and while happy to be freed, she's not really keen on marrying him. Eventually both Gabriel and Rachel realized their paths are more intertwined than they knew, and they must work together to avert catastrophe. The book seemed a bit more of cliched upon rereading, but I don't know if that is just because it was familiar due to having read it before. It's well written, kind of fun and I think most of you can probably tell if it's the kind of book you'd like. This is the first in a trilogy, but I have not read the the third book.

The Bridges of Madison County

A letter to the heroine of The Bridges of Madison County by her daughter.

Dear Mom:
Wow! Little brother and I were very surprised to find those letters and diaries after your death. Who would have guessed you were having a hot affair with a Client Eastwood lookalike while we were at the Iowa State Fair? And let me tell you how special it was to find out your marriage to Daddy was a sham, and Mr. 4 days in a lifetime was your soulmate. And rather than be happy, you sacrificed everything to live a lie -for our sakes of course-even after we were grown and out of the house. Heavy. Mom, I can't tell you how happy it made us to find out we ruined your life like that. And of course, I'm so glad you let us know- I mean, what if you had burned those papers? Then we'd have never known! Thanks Mom.

Love,
Your Daughter, who in the book basically found the whole affair "so beautiful" (sniff)

An Assembly Such as This

This is the first in a series of three books that retell the story of Pride and Prejudice from the perspective of Mr. Darcy. I had just about sworn-off Jane Austen sequels and spin-offs, having read some terrible ones, but I decided to give this a try based on the positive reviews on Amazon. It's actually kind of entertaining, although I've always had my own interpretation of Mr. Darcy that differs from this author, namely that shyness causes some of Mr. Darcy's seeming rudeness early in the book. The A&E/BBC mini-series (the Colin Firth version) seems to have a heavy influence here too, though I am going to have to re-read P&P to double check some lines. Interestingly, when read from Elizabeth Bennett's perspective in the original, you put yourself entirely in her shoes, so when reading this version, I found myself getting a little jealous of Darcy's high opinion of her- he is supposed to be mine!! There are some subplots that are added which aren't really working for me, but I enjoyed the book as a whole and plan to read the next two books.

Sloppy Firsts

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty is a little bit chick lit, a little bit YA novel and very, very good. Jessica Darling (yup, that's her name) is a 16 year old dealing with a best friend who's moved away, parents and older sister who just don't understand her, and the usual school, boys, track team dramas. Her voice is honest and quite sarcastic as you see the world through her eyes. Her huge crush on Paul, the perfect guy, and strange relationship with Marcus, a semi-reformed stoner all ring true and make this one of the most satisfying books in both of its genres that I have read in quite a while. There are two, soon to be three sequels, and the book was even worthy of being quite notably plagiarized.

The Fire and The Gold

Yes, another out of print book. I have a knack, what can I say? The Fire and the Gold by Phyllis Whitney is a young adult novel written about the San Franciso earthquake of 1906. The heroine, Melora is a rich girl who family doesn't understand her headstrong ways, and who is about to break off her engagement to a wealthy man. When the quake hits, suddenly her family's money and social status mean nothing as every one is forced into fighting for mere survival. Fires and floods sweep the city and Melora's actions help save her family and bring her into contact with a another young man (of course). Despite the romance subplot, the book really is about the effect of the earthquake on San Franciso society and includes a fair amount of commentary on race and social class. Both my mother and I loved this book, check it out if you can find a copy.

Boy Next Door

This chick lit book by Meg Cabot is told exclusively in emails, instant messages, and even receipts. Melissa takes care of her elderly neighbor's apartment while her neighbor is in the hospital. She frequently encounters the neighbor's nephew, Max, who she's been warned is a notorious ladies man. Mel thinks Max does not live up to his reputation, but she finds out he may not be who he appears. This book was a lot of fun, mostly due to the format. Cabot has a couple of other books in the series including Boy Next Door. You may know Cabot for her popular Princess Diaries series. I also enjoyed her YA novel All-American Girl about a girl who accidentally saves the president's life and then falls for his son.

Morning Glory

I think my mom either bought this or checked it out of the library for herself and I ended up reading it instead. Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer is a historical romance set in World War II. The heroine Ellie, is a pregnant widow, advertising for a husband and Will, an ex-con, answers the ad. In the real world I do not advocate, 1) placing an ad for a husband and especially 2) marrying ex-cons who answer the ad, BUT it works out well in the book. Ellie is kind of an outsider and a misfit and the reader really cheers for her as she feels loved for the first time. There are many colorful secondary characters, a mystery, and lots of historical details. A great read.

Pride and Prejudice

We can't have a week featuring romance without a little Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice really is the ultimate love story populated with interesting characters and lots of humor, too. The Bennetts have five daughters and Mrs. Bennett is determined to see them marry well. A rich young man, Mr. Bingley, moves into the neighborhood along with his haughty friend, Mr. Darcy. The eldest daughter, Jane, and Mr. Bingley take an instant liking to each other, while the second daughter, Elizabeth, and Mr. Darcy do not. Pride and Prejudice follows the evolution of these two couples. Along the way we meet the odious Mr. Collins, the venerable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and the charming Mr. Wickham. Also check out the BBC Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle production (thanks Shuttsie!) and this collection of essays about the book was a lot of fun too. Then read the rest of Austen, because you can't really go wrong with any of them. I'm particularly fond of Persuasion and Emma.

It is appropriate for me to feature Pride and Prejudice today because I just received a beautiful complete collection of Jane Austen from a friend. They originally belonged to her grandmother and are these absolutely gorgeous little old books with wonderful illustrations that I will treasure forever. They were definitely the best book gift (or really, any gift) I've ever received. I love giving and receiving books for any occasion. What was your best book gift?

Castles

Valentine's week continues with Castles by Julie Garwood. When I was in college the lady who owned the used book store in Joliet told my mom and I about For the Roses, which is also good and I got started on Julie Garwood. My co-blogger, Angstrat, then loaned me a few more of her books, including this one, which I thought was the best. It's a somewhat typical romance scenario, where the hero marries the heroine out of duty, and they fall in love after. I remember this one as having a particularly swoonworthy hero, and a lot of funny dialogue. Julie Garwood has now turned to writing appallingly bad thrillers, that must avoided at all costs. Most of romances are pretty good, but she does have a formula, so I don't recommend reading them back to back. PS, if you are amused by that sort of thing, check out how critical the first editorial review on Amazon is and how it seems like the other two haven't even read the book.

Something Wonderful

I didn't read a whole lot in high school, but what I did read was mostly romance novels. Of those, most were by Judith McNaught. Something Wonderful is my favorite McNaught romance. Alexandra, a bookish tomboy, comes to the rescue of Jordan Townsend, a duke. Thinking she's a boy, Jordan takes her to an inn for a doctor to be summoned. To save her reputation, Jordan is forced to marry her. They share a few surprising weeks together before Jordan disappears, seemingly dead. Alex mourns him deeply until she discovers that, before their marriage, her husband had been a notorious womanizer who initially saw their marriage as a sham. She sets out to prove him wrong and becomes one of the most sought after eligible women in society. Meanwhile, Jordan spends his time in captivity pining for his wife, who he begins to see through new eyes. When he manages to return, the two must repair the damage done and learn to love each other again. Jordan and Alex also make an appearance in McNaught's Almost Heaven. One caveat to McNaught books--though not in these two, there are some borderline abusive situations that appear in some of her books that would make me hesitate to recommend them now.

The Time Traveler's Wife

In honor of Valentine's Day we will be featuring romances over the next week. Although The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger isn't a "genre" romance, it definatly has romance at its center. I think my co-blogger Angstrat recommended this to me, but it took me a while to get to it. Don't be the same fool I was, drop what you are doing AND GO READ THIS BOOK. Henry De Tamble has Chrono Displacement Disorder, which basically means he is an involuntary time travaler. He mostly travels within the scope of his own life, often seeing himself or interacting with himself at a different age. As an adult he begins to travel to Michigan at the time of his wife Claire's childhood, and meets her over and over as she is growing up. Thus when she meet him in "real time" when she is 19, and he is 27, she's met him dozens of times, and he's never seen her before. The book is actually less confusing than this explaination (thank God). The time travel is handled beautifully, which is hard to do (just ask the Star Trek guys) and the story has a very strong Chicago setting. I couldn't love this book more, and my dog, Henry is actually named after the hero. I just hope Niffenegger writes another full length novel soon.