The Hidden Hand by E.D.E.N. Southworth

A very entertaining and almost unknown classic about a kick butt heroine.

Book summary:

The Hidden Hand (1888) is an exuberant action comedy, featuring fearless Capitola Black, a self-styled female Don Quixote, and the prototype of innumerable adventure heroines.
Rescued from life on the streets in New York by a southern plantation owner, with his own reasons for befriending her, Capitola is too active and adventurous to settle for the life of a southern belle. Besides, the neighbourhood is infested with evil-doers—Black Donald, the notorious bandit, and Gabriel Le Noir, the owner of the plantation adjoining—combine to make her life full of excitement and peril.
Serialized three times by popular demand before appearing in book form,The Hidden Hand exudes irresistible high spirits and cheer, and still retains the capacity to surprise and delight that enchanted its first readers.

Cap was totally my type of heroine. She was fearless and headstrong, but also smart and cared about people. It was refreshing reading a Victorian novel with a heroine like Cap. No matter how many heart attacks she almost gave her guardian, Cap was always out on some sort of adventure. With a big imagination, Cap never let her size or gender hold her back. Whether it was trying to capture a bandit or tricking a dastardly villain or challenging someone to a duel, she never thought she couldn't do it.

The Hidden Hand was also hilarious. It had several laugh out loud moments, all of which occurred around the free-spirited Cap. The end of the book happened sort of fast and it had a typical happily ever after, but other than that, I loved it!

(Blog Tour) Queen by Right by Anne Easter Smith

It was nice to read a book set during the War of the Roses, which is an era I'm not well read in. I learned – from the York perspective – much about the events and people surrounding the conflict while reading Queen by Right.

The novel is shown in the point of view of Cecily Neville, the wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and mother of Edward IV and Richard III. We see her as a child and then through the years, all the way up to the crowning of Edward IV. I loved the child Cecily, she was very spirited and often spoke her mind – while getting punished for it later. As she grew up, she lost a bit of that, but in it's place she became tough and fearless, earning the nickname 'Proud Cis'.

Since the book was from the point of view of a woman in those times, there was a lot of 'telling' instead of 'showing' of the major events throughout the conflict. However, there were some powerful scenes, such as Cecily meeting Joan of Arc while she was imprisoned – I quite liked how Joan of Arc was incorporated into the story, although there's no proof that the two ever met. The other scene that struck me was the scene at Ludlow, as Cecily held the hands of her sons George and Richard while staring down an army. This, we know, actually happened, and the way it was written in Queen by Right was very gripping.

Queen by Right was a chunkster, and took a bit for me to get through, but at the end, I felt rewarded. A good historical fiction novel.

I received the book for review as part of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours.

The Mask of Night by Tracy Grant

A great sequel to Secrets of a Lady, taking place at the beginning of 1820, a few months after the events of that novel ended.

Charles and Mélanie Fraser, one of the most fashionable couples in London, are attending a masqued ball hosted by close friends. The party, however, soon ends when a dead man is found floating in a fountain, having been stabbed through the heart.

Charles and Mélanie, having only had a few months to recover from their own stressful ordeal, are asked to help and reluctantly agree. Charles soon finds out that Mélanie already knows who the dead man is, and Charles already knows he's not going to like why.

The mystery has plenty of twists and turns, shady characters and lots of action. Everybody seems to be hiding something, and as the story goes on, the layers are peeled back and we finally learn the truth.

However, the most fascinating aspect of this story, for me, is the relationship between Charles and Mélanie. I can't say much for those who haven't read Secrets of a Lady, but let's just say their relationship is still on very shaky ground from the revelations found out in that novel. They're still feeling each other out. The fact that their relationship isn't perfect is one of the big reasons why I love these books.

Another winner from Tracy Grant!

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

Shades of Milk and Honey was a Regency romance à la Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer, but with a touch of fantasy.

In this version of Regency England, a talent for manipulating glamour was added along with music, drawing and such for a fashionable young lady's list of accomplishments. Other than that, everything else is relatively the same.

Shades of Milk and Honey is like an Austen novel in the sense that it borrows characters from Austen's stories. The heroine, Jane, is sort of like an Anne Elliot sort of character. There are also characters that resemble Darcy, Lydia, and Mr and Mrs Bennett in Jane's parents, among other characters.

The whole glamour thing took me a while to catch on to, but I eventually got it. Towards the end it got sort of distracting and in one scene I could barely keep up with what was happening; I had to reread it several times to finally get a hold of what was going on.

Jane has a particular talent for glamour and finds herself using it to get people out of nasty messes. Her talent soon has one upside, as it helps her find herself in her very own romance, something that at the age of 28, she had all but given up on.

All in all, a fairly good novel. Very entertaining.

American Rose by Karen Abbott

I received a review copy of this novel from Random House. This in no way affected my opinions.


Gypsy Rose Lee is a lady I knew virtually nothing about. I have never seen Gypsy – the movie or the stage musical. And even if I had, I still wouldn't know anything about her, seeing as how most of it was fabricated.

This book tells about the real Gypsy Rose Lee: originally born Ellen June, but when her sister was born, her mother decided to give the new baby her name, so Gypsy's name became Rose Louise – Louise for short.

Gypsy, was always in the shadow of her talented younger sister June, but finally broke away from the shadows when her sister ran off and eloped. Circumstances then led Gypsy to burlesque where she was discovered by Billy Minsky who made her a star.

American Rose was a fascinating account of a time gone by, the 1930s and 40s, in the era where vaudeville had died and burlesque became more and more popular despite censors and raids. I was amazed how Gypsy seemed to transform once she started burlesque. Her personality came out and she discovered her strengths. She had a gift for capturing an audience and leave them begging for more.

Highly recommend for folks interested in the period, and people who want to know about the real Gypsy Rose Lee.

The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig

I received a review copy of this novel from Dutton. This in no way affected my opinions.

A delightful holiday mystery and addition to the Pink Carnation series.

I love Turnip, who is the hero of this story and a Pink Carnation favorite, and was very happy to find out he was getting his own book. He's one of the bumbling, loveable sort that you want to see have a happy ending.

The heroine in this story is a Arabella Dempsey, a young lady who after her aunt's interesting marriage, ventures forth to form her own future as a schoolmistress. On the day she goes in to Miss Climpson’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies to inquire about the job, she runs into Mr. Turnip Fitzhugh – literally – and comes across a Christmas pudding with a mysterious message tucked inside.

This Christmas pudding turns both their world's upside down. Before they know it, there is mysterious goings on at Miss Climpson's: folks sneaking around at night, Arabella's room being ransacked, and someone out there who seems to think Arabella has some sort of list that they are devilish eager to get their hands on.

Everything comes to a head at the Dowager Duchess of Dovedale's 12 day Christmas celebration. For those that have read the series, they will notice a familiar setting, as this part of the book takes place during the same time as the fifth Pink Carnation book: The Temptation of the Night Jasmine.

The Mischief of the Mistletoe was an absolutely charming and hilarious book. Turnip is a hoot and a half and Arabella was a great heroine who seemed to be just fine at taking care of herself, thank you very much.

Highly recommended to Pink Carnation fans.

Breathless by Anne Stuart

I received a galley of this novel from NetGalley for review. This in no way affected my opinions.

Breathless is the last installment in The House of Rohan trilogy. And it is definitely my favorite.

The heroes in the first two books were described as 'dangerous,' but they were nothing compared to Lucien de Malheur, otherwise known as The Scorpion. Lucien is as deadly as his name. He's also a dark, scarred, anti-hero hellbent on revenge.

His revenge is targeted at the Rohan family and he develops a plan focused on Miranda Rohan, the daughter of the hero and heroine from Reckless. Miranda is a fallen woman, an outcast, and Lucien sees her as an easy target for him to finally get his revenge on the Rohans.

Enter an old gothic home. This is where Lucien takes Miranda, threatening her to elope or he'll kill one of her brothers. The old, moldy, dark house is similar to its master. Miranda tries to make the best of her situation while trying to think of a scheme to get herself out of there.

As in the previous books, there was a secondary romance: that of Jacob Donnelly, an infamous thief, and Jane Pagett, the daughter of the secondary hero and heroine from Reckless, who is also Miranda's best friend. Donnelly and Jane meet when Jane unexpectedly interrupts him in the midst of stealing some very expensive jewels. Jane, who is engaged to a dead bore, gets caught up in the adventure. The thief and the upper class lady are so different from each other and they both know it.

The House of Rohan trilogy both started and ended on good notes. This is a great series from those who love dark historical romances.