I also want to recommend The Reluctant Heiress by Eva Ibbotson. This is a reissue of an old book (Magic Flutes) under a new title, but it’s a charming, lovely romance set in 1920s Austria.

Janine,

I’ll definitely take you on that. I just read my first Ibbotson book (actually it was an audio book and read by Davina Porter since it was not available in ebook format), A Countess Below Stairs and it was such a charming and delightful story. I am looking at her backlist right now. I’m rather disappointed that her books are not out in ebook format. If it were, I’d be at the Sony site buying it right away.

Regarding the characterization of Asperger’s I thought she did a good job. I realize that people who have Asperger’s are as different as people who don’t have it but I recognized some things and found myself saying “nope we don’t deal with that” about others. Also while my son is very literal, he has a wicked sense of humor. There was a period of time when he would ask us if something was an idiom and ask us to explain it and sometimes he doesn’t get our jokes but he has a great sense of humor (He adores “Pearls before Swine” and “Calvin and Hobbes”.) His teacher’s even say that he tends to be the only one who laughs or gets their jokes, (he’s almost 12 and in middle school but this has been true since second grade.) I thought of that every time it was mentioned Lord Ian didn’t understand Beth’s humor. Then at the end of the book he apparently makes a joke. (Which I didn’t really get!) But for me it was quite nice to see an Asperger’s hero, I’ve certainly noticed that a lot of “non-social” nutcase villians or as my husband says “troubled loners” in movies have characteristics that are reminisent of Asperger’s.

Regarding Hoyt’s books, I hope I say this well, I like the Four Solidier’s series, but I feel like I understand what people are saying about them. I just don’t feel quite the same about them as I do the first series. It took me a while to get into the first book. I like the second better and I like the third but I just thought I would absolutely love it. But having read the first three I am so anxious for the fourth book. I wondered who the hero would be and I didn’t see it coming at all. I’ll be snapping up the fourth book this fall.

(Coming out of lurk and you can see why I lurk – my natural verbosity comes out online as well in person…)

I liked Hoyt’s Princes trilogy (particularly The Serpent Prince) but I am just not enjoying this Four Soldiers series. The first book was okay, the second I didn’t finish and the third I decided not to even bother with. I do like Hoyt’s writing–I think she writes great characters and develops them well–but these latest books aren’t working for me.

I do have Enoch’s book and I’m still interested in starting it. Bram’s character really intrigued me in After the Kiss and I look forward to reading more about him.

I’m invested in the Hoyt series and love a broken hero so I have no idea why I considered it only an okay read. I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t loooove it

That’s exactly how I felt about the second book in that series and I was so hoping this one would be getting me out of the slump. I’ll still read it, I’m just more leery now, since I had such high hopes for Lord Ian. The Enoch has setup issues for me, so that’s why I haven’t picked it up yet…

I’m currently re-reading old favorites, since it seems I cannot do justice to new books right now. Here’s to hoping *something* will come around soon with which I’ll connect deeply.

It’s so frustrating to read books and feel that you aren’t quite getting there, kinda like not getting that orgasm you know is just around the corner… grin

I didn’t connect with the Ashley, even though I felt sure I would and I hate seeing that you didn’t like the Hoyt because I have/d high hopes for it and I was tentatively considering the Enoch since the Ashley didn’t do it for me.

Isn’t that what makes the romance world go-round? I know that Lord Ian wasn’t/won’t be a fav for other readers so maybe it was just the right time and characters and pace of writing for me all coming together?

I’m invested in the Hoyt series and love a broken hero so I have no idea why I considered it only an okay read. I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t loooove it (and that may very well have been all the kid stuff).

My milage almost always varies from those people I recommend books to so don’t let my thoughts stop you from trying the Enoch book, I think one of the Ja(y)nes gave it an A but the next day I couldn’t remember what it was about.

On a positive note: I’m always happy when the new releases don’t come with a wall-banger!

Grumble. :( I can’t wait for the Thomas to come out and I want to read the next Balogh but I won’t pay HC prices so I won’t get to that for a while. I really enjoyed book 3 of the Huxtables, so much better than no. 2, but again not as emotionally punchy as some of her earlier works.

Vision in White by Nora Roberts & Hard and Fast by Erin McCarthy — made two contemporary romances and — that’s one more then I normally read in a month and both of them great.

Always a Scoundrelby Suzanne Enoch and To Beguile a Beast had all the components I love in historicals but they just didn’t work as well for me as they did for others.