2011 does not stand out as one of my more memorable reading years; many books fell in the okay/mediocre range, with a whole lot of B range books and a handful of C range books. Only one D, and no Fs! – which I guess is a good thing, though ... more >
Dear Ms. James, I was under the impression that I had previously only read one book by you. A trip down memory lane, via my book log, proved me wrong. (BTW, my log is celebrating its 10th anniversary! Thanks for the memories, Microsoft Excel! I can barely remember what I ... more >
Dear Ms. James, When Jane sent me a batch of books for review, I was particularly excited to find A Kiss at Midnight in the pile. Over the years, I have come to expect interesting and realistically rendered characters from you; characters who often defy the clichés their roles in ... more >
Dear Ms. James: It is tempting to compare Duchess By Night with those Shakespearean cross-dressing comedies, and indeed, there are some superficial similarities among the novel, Twelfth Night, and As You Like It. But it is not fair to push the comparison too far, because Duchess By Night is a ... more >
Dear Ms. James: An Affair Before Christmas is the first book of yours I read, and I did so without knowing where it is in your canon or how it relates to any other books (now I know that is it second in your Desperate Duchesses series). The title of ... more >
Dear Ms. James: Maybe I am not your audience. I love your writing which is full of historical detail and great dialogue. Each scenes is amazing. The theme that everyone wants what they perceive that they cannot have wove under and around each character and their interactions. What then, when ... more >