Sophie Kinsella

**Don’t forget that today is the last day to sign up for the giveaway of a Hard Cover copy of The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. Sign up ends at midnight EST and I’ll draw the name tomorrow! See you then!**

Today’s recommendation is Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella (author of the Shopaholic books). I know it’s not a recent book, but I still love it. It’s the story of a woman working in marketing (even though she’s barely more than a secretary) who, after a really bad meeting, gets drunk on a plane and spills all of her secrets to her seatmate. Secrets like the fact that she steals her roommate’s clothes when she’s not around, and that she feeds her coworker’s plan orange juice when she gets annoyed with her, and that she and another coworker have a code for when they want to go out for coffee. Seemingly innocent secrets to tell a complete stranger, right?

But then the stranger turns out to be the reclusive owner of the company she works for, and he’s decided to start taking a more front seat role in the company.

This story is an example of really well written chick lit. The story is well told, the voice of the narrator is very engaging. The main characters seem like real people, with real emotions, real flaws, and a slightly crazy family. Right now in the publishing industry it seems as though chick lit is dead (or is it making a comeback, I can’t really keep up) but I think that writers like Sophie Kinsella have a staying power that will be able to survive the rockings of the industry and keep producing great fiction.

Another great book I’d recommend from Sophie Kinsella is The Undomestic Goddess. When her job goes on the line because of a mistake that she can’t believe she made, Samantha goes on the run, and somehow ends up getting hired as a housekeeper, even though she can’t figure out what a vacuum bag is for. But with a little help from some friends, old and new, she just might be able to pull it off.

Sophie Kinsella is also published under the name Madeline Wickham, with several well sold titles under that name.

Lady Emily Ashton Series - Tasha Alexander

First I want to thank everyone who commented yesterday. I hope everyone comes back.

Next, I’d like to go WAH! because the ACFW announced who will be teaching the Early Bird session at the 2010 Conference, and it’s James Scott Bell. So here is goes: WAH!

Third, I’d like to talk about a series of books I’ve been reading that I would like to recommend. I know it’s been a while (like a month) but I’m back on board here (I think).

Today I’d like to talk about the Lady Emily Ashton Series by Tasha Alexander. These books follow the adventures of Lady Emily Ashton, a young widow who discovers a love for adventure outside the traditional life of society in Victorian England. These are mysteries with a thread of romance, all told from the first person perspective of Emily.

The first book in the series And Only to Deceive tells the story of the time shortly after Emily comes out of mourning for her husband. They had only been married a very short while, and Emily did not know him well, but after his death she begins to read the books in his library and his journals and discovers things about her late husband she never knew, and she falls a little bit more in love with him as the days go by. While she is getting to know him a little too late rumors are spreading that her husband’s death may not have been as innocent as she was lead to believe, and the man closest to her husband may be to blame.

The following books, A Poisoned Season, A Fatal Waltz, and Tears of Pearl, tell stories as Emily finds that she is not satisfied with simply being who society expects her to be and that she wants more out of life than parties, much to the dismay of her mother.

For those who like the Secret History books from Lauren Willig (new one Betrayal of the Blood Lily is coming out next month btw) I think that this will be right up your alley.

Tamara Alexander

I’ve recently become a big fan of author Tamara Alexander. In the past few months I have read (I believe) all of her books thus far and I have been very impressed. Her stories are very well fleshed out, the characters are interesting, and very importantly, you don’t feel as though you’re reading the same story over and over again with different characters.

Her most recent novel (I think), the second in her Timber Ridge Reflections series is entitled Beyond This Moment. It is the story of Molly Whitcomb, a former professor who has lost her position at a university and is now teaching school in a small town in Colorado and trying to hide the secret that she’s afraid will cost her her job, again. James McPherson is the sheriff in the town where Molly is going to be teaching. When he saves her life early on, they forge a close friendship that James wants to turn into something more. But if that happens, the secret Molly is hiding could cost her even more than her job.

Tamara Alexander’s books are so well written, they just pull you in. Her history seems to be well researched and you just don’t want to put the books down, and at the end you’re so disappointed that it’s over and you’re reaching for the next one.

One thing that I really appreciate is the way she deals with sexual desire in her books. The topic of sexual desire is a tight rope walk for Christian Fiction writers. We want our stories to be realistic, so we want to include all of the aspect that are involved in romantic relationships. But at the same time, sexual desire is not what these stories are supposed to be about, that is what separates Inspirational Romances from other romance novels. So there needs to be a balance drawn, between these two things. As though this weren’t difficult enough, with the varying beliefs of Christians about what is or is not appropriate, the job becomes even harder.

I feel that Tamara Alexander has found this balance. She is not afraid to address the desire, but has somehow found a way to do it in a way that it isn’t even potentially offensive, but realistic. One such example takes place while Molly is sick and James is taking care of her. “The warmth moving in her eyes made him intensely aware of how alone they were, and of how desirable she was, even with her feeling poorly,” (192). We can see his desire in this passage, but only in the most respectful terms.

Another example is a couple of pages later, “Struck by an uncharacteristic measure of spontaneity, he struggled against the desire to go to her and take her in his arms. His mouth went dry at the thoughts filling his head. Thoughts that were certainly warm, but that weren’t all that ‘friendly,’ not in the sense he and Molly had agreed to be friends,” (194). This passage even deals with some of what is happening to him physically, but not in a way that is graphic or offensive.

I appreciate that she doesn’t ignore aspects as some Christian writers do. Sometimes when reading these books I find them unrealistic because the characters are acting in ways that would spark sexual desire, but there is no evidence of it anywhere in the text, which just comes across as naïve and ridiculous. But Tamara Alexander’s have enough to be realistic, without too much. They’re great.

Alexander, Tamara. Beyond This Moment. Bloomington: Bethany House Publishers, 2009. Pp. 192, 4.

Secret History of the Pink Carnation - Lauren Willig

This week I would like to talk about Lauren Willig’s Secret History of the Pink Carnation series. This is a series of five books (currently, the sixth book is set to come out in January). I originally found this book at an everything-you-can-fit-in-a-paper-sack-for-$8 sale and it was one of the best things that I got in the deal (though several of them have been good buys –and those that weren’t got put up on Paperback Swap).

It’s pretty interesting in its storytelling format because in each book there are two storylines. The first storyline is a continuing storyline throughout the series. It’s a modern story told in the first person perspective of Eloise, a grad student who is doing her doctoral dissertation in England on spies during the French Revolution and the Regency period in England. There’s a great tone to Eloise’s voice, and she feels like a real person with real struggles. It’s great to get the little pieces of her story throughout each book, though sometimes you want to hear more and more about Eloise (especially the farther along the story goes).

The other parts of the books are stories from the spies that Eloise is studying. They’re third person accounts that are mainly from the heroine’s point of view, though there are portions that are from that of the hero. They are told with great voices and the characters are so wonderful. They’re creative and the main characters are all unique from one another (though some of the periphery characters—members of the ton—can blend together). Their stories can be quite exhilarating, with carriage chases and fights and villains and love scenes from time to time (definitely not books for those who are easily embarrassed by romance—and by romance I mean sex). Each novel covers a different set of characters, though they’re all popping up in the other books as well (e.g. Richard, the hero of the first book The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, is the brother of the heroine of The Masque of the Black Tulip, Henrietta, and the best friend of the hero, Miles).

With each book that is released I find myself waiting with bated breath for the next one.

Lauren Willig is an author that I think pushes the boundaries of what is considered “chick lit.” While one aspect of traditional chick lit is that it has a contemporary setting, Willig’s books are written mostly from a Regency England setting. I think this is the only thing that keeps Willig from firmly grasping the “chick lit” descriptor. The portions of the book that are written from the first person from the perspective of the modern Eloise quite solidly fall within the chick lit description, it’s the main portions of the book that are set in the past that fall more into the romance category. As the genre of Chick Lit continues to evolve (because it is a fairly young genre, around 15 years by most reckonings) I think that eventually a category of “Historical Chick Lit” will arise (though some feel that it already has) Willig will be a staple of the category.

The books are:
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
The Masque of the Black Tulip
The Deception of the Emerald Ring
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose
The Temptation of the Night Jasmine
The Betrayal of the Blood Lily (Coming January 2010)

Susan Elizabeth Phillips

In my humble opinion, Susan Elizabeth Phillips (SEP) is one of the best romance writers right now. She creates realistic and interesting characters and puts them in some of the most interesting (and at times amusing) situations. And to top it off she does so with such beautiful and realistic writing that pulls you into the story she’s writing.

One thing I love about her writing is that her stories all occur within the same universe (not sci-fi universe, but fictional universe) so characters will occur in stories (and sometimes in series) that are not their own. And not just in the fact that Phoebe (the protagonist of It Had to be You) appears in This Heart of Mine in which her sister Molly is the protagonist, because clearly these characters are going to reappear. What I love is that the protagonists of the novel Glitter Baby appears in the novel What I Did For Love, though really in only a cameo-type capacity, even though their stories are not really related. So even after their stories are over, you get to find out what is going on with your favorite characters later on.

I would specifically like to talk about two of her novels, one because it’s my favorite, and the other because it has some of the most heartachingly beautiful writing in it. The first is Match Me If You Can. This is probably my favorite book from SEP thus far (though it’s hard to decide). It tells the story of Heath, a business savvy sports agent looking for a wife, though not necessarily for love, and Annabelle, a match maker looking to get her new business off the ground.

Heath and Annabelle have a very interesting dynamic that works so well in the piece that it makes you want to keep reading, just to see what insanity is going to happen next.

The other novel I want to talk about is This Heart of Mine, the story of children’s book writer Molly Somerville and Kevin Tucker, the star quarterback for the Chicago Stars football team. Molly ends up pregnant (I won’t ruin the book by going into the story behind that) and she and Kevin end up married. And on their way home after their civil ceremony wedding Molly miscarries the baby and the scenes that come after that are some of the most beautifully written passages I’ve read. You can really feel the pain that the characters are feeling and the way this horrible event in their lives is affecting them and how it is affecting them each differently.

Another thing that is so wonderful about this book is that from time to time you see Molly writing her books in her head, and you can imagine those characters as vividly as you can imagine Molly and Kevin. There are times that I have the pictures in my head and I’m almost convinced that the version I originally read had illustrations, because they’re so vivid in my mind.

I’ve loved practically everything that I’ve read from SEP and I’m constantly looking for her next one. I find myself thinking about books of hers that I read from the library and I keep telling myself, I need to just buy it myself so I can have it to read any time I want.

And SEP’s novels are romance, but not in the bodice-ripper, The Secret Venetian Royal’s Pregnant Virgin Mistress kind of way (not to knock those, there are lots of writers who write good ones and there are lots of readers who read them – they’re one of the largest categories in publishing). There is sex and language in these novels, but it isn’t ever used just as filler. There is intent and purpose behind everything that is said and done in SEP’s novels and I really appreciate the way she does it.

If you’re looking for a good book (possibly a beach read if it ever gets warm enough to go to the beach this summer – here is SW Michigan it’s been too cold most of the time, unfortunately) check out one of SEP’s many books (and while some of the books are in a series you don’t really have to worry about any sort of order – it’s nice for continuity’s sake, but it’s not really a surprise that the guy gets the girl at the end, so reading Natural Born Charmer before Match me if You Can, or reading It Had to be You after Dream a Little Dream doesn’t really make a huge difference.

Hope you enjoy!

Susan May Warren

Susan May Warren (SMW) is one of my favorite authors. She has the ability to weave a story in such a way that you believe in the heroines and you fall in love with the heroes. She (almost) always adds that touch of mystery that keeps you guessing through the whole story and she does it all so flawlessly.

I first became really aware of SMW when I read Happily Ever After, a novel about Mona, a woman attempting to open her own bookstore in the town of Deep Haven, MN, and Joe, a handyman of sorts, with a past full of secrets. This book was followed by Tying the Knot, and The Perfect Match, other books in the Deep Haven series. Other single titles, often in compilations as well as more series have followed, such as the Team Hope novels, The Heirs of Anton series (with Susan K. Downs), The Mission: Russia novels, the Josie books, The Noble Legacy and now the PJ Sugar Novels.

Most of her novels are in the third person (he, she, they, etc.) however, in the Josie books Everything’s Coming Up Josie, Chill Out, Josie! and Get Cozy, Josie! she uses the first person, and creates a wonderful example of a Christian Chick Lit series. In Everything’s Coming Up Josie, Josie is a twenty-something young woman whose ex-boyfriend just married her sister and whose best friend is getting married to some woman she doesn’t even know. What’s a girl to do but join up with a one year English teaching program in Russia? When reading this book I kept thinking, when did SMW get a look into my life, from the TV shows that I watch (such as Lost) to jokes that my family makes (“Anybody want a peanut” from The Princess Bride) and to Josie’s feelings as a single Christian woman, I felt like I could relate to her in such an incredible way.

One of my favorites of hers (though it is incredibly hard to pick just one) is In Sheep’s Clothing, the first book in the Mission: Russia series. In Sheep’s Clothing is about Gracie, a young woman who has spent the past year or two as a missionary in Russia, and is now headed home to the United States. But before she can leave some good friends of hers are killed and the local police force has reason to believe that she may have the answers they need to solve the case. So they send Vicktor after her. Sparks fly as Gracie and Vicktor fight with one another, the bad guys who are after Gracie, and their growing feelings for one another (Careful, or you might find yourself falling for Vicktor as well).

The link to SMW’s website is in the “places I like to go” section if you’re interested in reading more from and about this great author.