On Getting Shipwrecked: A Review of Castaway Dreams by Darlene Marshall

As promised, a review of a Castaway Dreams, by Darlene Marshall, a book that I read on a whim. Aren't whims fun?

The setting is the Atlantic ocean in 1817. Alexander Murray is a surgeon on a British Navy ship. When he meets fellow passenger Daphne Farnham, he quickly dismisses her as brainless and flighty. But when circumstances force him to be responsible for her, and when the two end up shipwrecked together, Alexander finds that there's more to Daphne than he ever suspected. Daphne trusts the dour doctor implicitly--until it becomes apparent to her that he is much younger and more virile than she initially thought. The attraction is mutual, and a love affair begins--but will it survive outside of their island paradise?

Positive Comments:

My goodness, this book is fun! Who doesn't occasionally think it would be nice to escape to an abandoned tropical island--especially with the right companion? Marshall does an excellent job at creating that grand adventure feel.

I liked Alexander. He's overly serious, but we are given enough background information on him to understand why. I like that he has a profession that he's fought hard for and cares about deeply. It's a nice relieve from the dukes and earls I often see in historical romance.

The banter between Alexander and Daphne is snappy and fun. It's an opposites attract kind of romance, and it works in so many ways. They have great chemistry, both sexually and in their ability to work together. I really love seeing a hero and heroine team up to achieve a goal--in this case, basic survival.

Critical Comments:

Daphne is easily my least favorite type of heroine--fairly shallow, naive, and at times just plain stupid. Unfortunately, she really is the perfect character to offset Alexander, so I can't entirely fault her. But there where some moments of "Oh my God, no one is this dumb!" accompanied by shaking of my Kindle to try to make the ignorance stop. The worst was when Alexander was trying to pretend she was his wife, for her own protection, and she couldn't figure out to play along. At that point, I was pretty sure she deserved to be eaten by cannibals.

Recommendation:

Fans of action driven historical romance--this one is for you! The romance is hot, the writing is smart, and the plot is just plain fun. 4 stars.

Stacking the Shelves (5)

 

*Stacking the Shelves is brought to us by Tynga!* 

Insurgent by Veronica Roth(Library)
Magic Street by Orson Scott Card (Library)

And for Zippy the Kindle, we got:

 
I bought Castaway Dreams, and I expect to have a review of it up by tomorrow!

Flicker was graciously given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review, which will appear at the end of this month! Isn't that a lovely cover?

So that's it for me. I'm still struggling to acquire fewer books in a week than I finish--but it's so hard! What did you add to your TBR this week?

Best Book of May/June Preview

Well folks, the merry month of May is over, so it's time to crown the Book of the Month!

It was another close call, but in the end I have to go with Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep! In a month filled with a lot of mediocre reads, this book stood out for being far more amusing than annoying. Also it has wolves. You should check it out!

The June line up is full of awesome, guys. Here we go:


The Selection by Kiera Cass:I finished this yesterday, and my review for it should be up today or tomorrow. Probably tomorrow. I gave it 3.5 stars.

Castaway Dreams by Darlene Marshall: I'm 28% into this book. I started it because I had insomnia. But it's really good so far!

Insurgent by Veronica Roth: I just started reading this yesterday, so I'm only like 10 pages into it. At 520 pages, who knows how long it will take me.

The Last Timemaker and the Stolen Sun by S.A. Damus

Stand-in Wife by Karina Bliss

Breaking The Devil's Heart: A Logic of Demons Novel by H.A. Goodman


Bring Him Home by Karina Bliss

The Orphan, the Soulcatcher, and the Black Blizzard by Kimberlee Ann Bastian

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

Flicker by Kaye Thornbrugh

I'm insanely excited to have some contemporary romance back on the list, along with all of the paranormal and YA.

Now it's your turn: what do you plan on reading this June?

Best Book of October/November Preview

In an effort to keep my recommendations and reading plans a bit more organized, I've decided to try a recap/preview post every month, starting now!

First, the best book that I read in October was Sea Changed by Darlene Marshall! It was a funny, smart historical romance that kept me turning pages late into the night. It received 4.5/5 stars, and the full review can be viewed HERE.

Second, here is a list of the books I'm planning to review in November. As usual, my goal is to get through two books a week, but lately it's been slow going with some books, so it may be less.

Industrial Magic (Women of the Otherworld, Book 4) by Kelley Armstrong (I'm a little less than halfway through it)
The Perils of Pleasure (Pennyroyal Green Series) by Julie Ann Long (I'm about 1/3 of the way through this one)
Kiss of Frost (Mythos Academy) by Jennifer Estep
At Grave's End (Night Huntress, Book 3) by Jeaniene Frost
Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4) by Patricia Briggs
Magic Slays (Kate Daniels, Book 5) by Ilona Andrews

Has anyone read any of these yet? What did you think?

Happy November, and Happy Reading!

On Cross Dressing: A Review of Sea Change by Darlene Marshall

When Sea Changed was announced as the October book club pick over at SBTB, I was really excited. I've never read anything by Darlene Marshall before, so I didn't know what to expect style wise, but I saw that it was about privateers during the War of 1812 and featured an amateur surgeon as it's heroine. I really love adventure filled historical romance, and I love nautical stories, and I have a gross fascination with medicine: In short, this all adds up to a winning story for me.

Charlotte Alcott has lived a large part of her life disguised as a boy, going by the name of Charley and acting as an apprentice to her father, who is a doctor. When her father dies, Charley wants nothing more than to continue practicing medicine. In her disguise, she books passage on a British ship  to Jamaica in exchange for acting as the ship's surgeon. She hopes to apprentice herself to her uncle, who is also a doctor. But the ship is attacked by American privateers, who capture Charley and demand that she treat their gravely injured first mate. The captain, David Fletcher, is all too grateful to the young surgeon for saving his brother and treating his men--too grateful to see past the disguise. But as Charley and David form a friendship, David worries that Charley may be developing an attraction to him--and that the feeling may be mutual.

Positive Comments:

The characters are extremely likable. Charley is smart and competent. Her actions struck me as incredibly brave. Marshall does a good job in examining the identity issues that Charley faces, both from an emotional and professional standpoint. This makes Charley a character that a modern woman can easily sympathize with and relate to.

David is, perhaps, not as interesting. He's dashing, patriotic, and makes an excellent leader. His struggle with his attraction to Charley (especially before he discovers her full identity) is extremely amusing. Otherwise he's very much a typical romance hero. Given that our focus is primarily on the heroine, I thought David's lack of interesting development was forgivable.

The plot has a good balance of internal and external conflict. There is just enough action to keep things suspenseful. The medical details added intrigue for me. There's also plenty of humor, both in the situations and in the dialogue. Overall the story is emotional enough to draw you in, but does not get caught up in angst.

Critical Comments

The only thing I can really say is that I felt the ending wrapped up a bit too neatly. All of the conflicts are wrapped up and swept away with great ease, rather abruptly clearing a path for David and Charley to be together. However, this is such a frequent occurrence in romance that I can't really count it as a serious flaw.

In sum, I found this book to be extremely enjoyable. It's a fun adventure story for those who enjoy historical romance. 4.5 stars.