joan-smith

REVIEW:  Sweet and Twenty by Joan Smith

REVIEW: Sweet and Twenty by Joan Smith

“When the unexpected death of Sir Gerald Monteith placed his wife Melanie and daughter Sara in financial trouble, their only hope was to quickly find a husband for Sara. They thought it would be easy, for she was as beautiful as could be. They hoped her beauty would make up for her lack of brains.(…)

REVIEW:  Bath Scandal by Joan Smith

REVIEW: Bath Scandal by Joan Smith

Dear Ms. Smith, Several of your Regencies reside on my LOL keeper shelf. “Imprudent Lady,” “Aunt Sophie’s Diamonds,” and “Gather Ye Rosebuds” are fabulously funny. After I started and then stopped a number of other books that didn’t grab my attention by the third chapter, I scanned through my current Sony library and decided a(…)

REVIEW: Memoirs of a Hoyden by Joan Smith

REVIEW: Memoirs of a Hoyden by Joan Smith

Dear Ms. Smith, Your comedic trad Regencies are always a delight for me. There are some that have had me cackling with glee as I read them since I love it when an author can turn the standard Regency conventions upside down – or at least twist ‘em a little. Miss Marion Mathieson takes no(…)

REVIEW: Never Let Me Go by Joan Smith

REVIEW: Never Let Me Go by Joan Smith

Dear Ms. Smith, Your regencies novels have been among my favorites for years. I’d heard conflicting things about your contemporary mysteries but decided to take the plunge and try one that seemed, from the blurb, to also include some regency stuff. Belle Savage, American romance writer, rents a cottage in England for inspiration. And she(…)

REVIEW:  Winter Wedding by Joan Smith

REVIEW: Winter Wedding by Joan Smith

Dear Ms. Smith: Winter Wedding is a bit of a fantasy tale with a very sweet misunderstanding that separates the hero and heroine. The story is fluffy and I wouldn’t be able to read several in this vein in a row without getting a toothache, but for a holiday story, it might help set the(…)

REVIEW:  Blossom Time by Joan Smith

REVIEW: Blossom Time by Joan Smith

Dear Ms. Smith: I am a devoted fan of yours and have purchased every book that Belgrave House makes available. While not every book is a keeper, there is certainly a consistency of quality that makes me continue to buy your work. Blossom Time is a classic Smith story. Rosalind Lovelace is a gently bred(…)

REVIEW:  Silken Secrets by Joan Smith

REVIEW: Silken Secrets by Joan Smith

Dear Ms Smith, I’ve loved several of your Regency novels in the past. I liked this one too. But, sad to say, I didn’t love it. Mary Anne Judson has an idyllic country life, except perhaps that her Uncle Edwin is of a casually larcenous nature. When he liberates an abandoned–and smuggled–cargo of fine silk(…)

REVIEW: Gather Ye Rosebuds by Joan Smith

Dear Ms Smith, Gather Ye Rosebuds is kind of a Regency crossed with a mystery. It’s fun and interesting but maybe not as cuttingly humorous as some of your other Regency set trads I’ve read. Zoie Barron lives a quiet life until after her uncle dies. While cleaning out his room to turn it into(…)

REVIEW: Aunt Sophie’s Diamonds by Joan Smith

Dear Ms Smith, Despite what I know about wills and how bizarre this one would be considered today, Aunt Sophie’s Diamonds is a fantastic book. Have you ever had a crazy relative who left a bizarre will? Sophronia Tewksbury was a manipulative old bat and left her relatives with a mind boggling one. The entailed(…)