My Six DIK's

Ok, yeah. I lost the list of my DIK books somewhere. Probably it is in the same place as the other stuff I lost when I had to reinstall Windows on my computer in December. Damn you Internet Explorer and your virus vulnerabilities. ‘Course maybe if I didn’t click on those pron links….oh well, anyhoo. Please don’t hate me. I’m going to try to wing it here so if I duplicate someone’s pick please don’t pull my hair and stomp my Barbie. Maybe we need a library page that lists all the books in the island library. We probably have the biggest and awesomest freaking island library in the history of island libraries. The library to rule them all. So, anyway, I hear the weather is kinda bad in the plain states right now, so this is a good time to break out that Snuggie you got for Christmas, a cup of Godiva Dark Chocolate hot cocoa and hunker giu con un buon libro. Why are we speaking Italian, you ask? Why, to honor that lovely man up there, Francesco, of course. Now, without further ado, here are my additions to the keeper shelf.

HONOR’S SPLENDOUR By Julie Garwood. I love all Julie Garwood historicals. They were the first romances I read and the only ones I re-read over and over again. This is the story of Madelyne and Duncan. Madelyne saves (well, at least she thinks she is saving him. He had a plan; he is the hero after all.) Duncan from her evil brother and he repays her by kidnapping her as retribution for her douchebag of a brothers treatment of Duncan’s sister. One of my favorite scenes of this story is when Madelyn warms Duncan’s frozen feet before she finds out he is there to kidnap her. One of my favorite lines is from Duncan. He says it at the beginning of the book and again towards the end. “I have come for you, Madelyne.” Put in context, it is a very swoonworthy line.

SAVING GRACE By Julie Garwood. I know I had another Julie Garwood and I think this was it, but it might have been The Prize, or The Wedding or The Secret or well you get the idea. I like them all. This is the story of Johanna and Gabriel. Johanna is English, is young and has endured a lot of abuse from her first husband. Gabriel is a Scottish Laird of the MacBain clan. Being English, Johanna has a lot to learn about Scottish customs, people and her huge intimidating husband, but she also teaches them a lot as well. I think this book is one of Ms. Garwood’s funniest. The secondary characters are well written and hilarious. JG writes smart heroines who are funny and quirky but never weak. Her heroes are strong and passionate. I recommend her to newbies of the genre more than any other author. Pssst, JG… run to the keyboard and write some more historicals. Pleeeeeaassse.

THE LAST HELLION By Loretta Chase. I really wanted LOS but someone is already bringing it to the island, so I chose the sequel to it. The H/H in this book is Lydia and Vere. Lydia is firmly on the shelf at 28 years old and **gasp** has a job. I know! She also has an awesome dog. Vere is the tortured Duke of Ainswood, a somewhat cursed title. This book, like LOS, has its share of dark moments and loss, but it’s also a lot of fun. Lydia is a strong, smart and compassionate heroine. She has decided to forego marriage for a journalism career and she doesn’t think very highly of men. Vere is mad at the world for taking everyone he loved away from him, and forcing a title on him that he never wanted. He does everything he can to disparage his name and title and wait… what’s this…he doesn’t think very highly of women. They are perfect for each other! Their personalities clash repeatedly in public and in private, their sarcastic banter is hilarious, but Vere can’t seem to stay away from Lydia. He realizes how much he needs her to save his soul and she sees through all his pretense to see the noble man he is. There are a lot of twists in the plot that keep everything interesting and the book moves at a fast pace. There are a few surprises at the end as well. Dain and Jess are back and Bertie even gets and HEA.

HEARTS AFLAME By Johanna Lindsey. Wow. This is becoming a list of old school romances isn’t it? I believe this is the second book in a trilogy. It’s really hard to tell when the author doesn’t have a web site. This book has a lot of the old ‘80s romance themes like “woman disguised as a man”, “captivity”, etc so if you are not a fan, then this book is not for you. This is the story of Kristen, a Viking, captured and given as a slave to Royce a Saxon Lord. Kristen is one tough cookie and I loved her for it. Royce is strong, proud and stubborn. He fights his attraction to Kristen and he treats her like crap (I think he spanked her once or twice, but she didn’t mind… if you know what I mean) a few times but he makes up for it in the end. A lot. :)

THE DARKEST KISS By Gena Showalter. This is book one in the Lords of the Underworld series. The H/H is Ashlyn and Maddox. I love Ms. Showalters writing. The main and secondary characters are well written, the pacing is perfect, and the plot is well thought out and believable. Maddox is an immortal warrior for the Greek gods who was cursed with the demon Violence. Ashlyn is a human with a supernatural power which torments her. She seeks out the warriors in hope that they can help her with her “gift”. The warriors have secluded themselves and are trying to live with their curses as best they can and trying to protect humans from their demons. The suffering that these warriors endure is intense, and the story with the inclusion of Greek mythology is interesting. I can’t wait for the next book in this series to come out!

THE DEVIL IN WINTER By Lisa Kleypas This is a book in her wallflower series. The H/H is Evie Jenner and Sebastian St. Vincent. When we meet Evie, in the first wallflower book, she is a sweet girl with a stutter, who is suffering abuse at the hands of her mother’s family. When we see her again in this book, her situation has reached critical mass and she has to take her future in her own hands immediately. Sebastian is a rake in desperate need of money. The book opens with Sebastian nursing his wounds from a fight and feeling rather sorry for himself when Evie walks in and offers to marry him. She will give him her inheritance in exchange for his protection and freedom from her family. Evie tries to keep her feelings walled off from Sebastian. She has some serious trust issues. Sebastian also has some trust issues but is less reluctant to acknowledge his feelings than Evie is. Watching them learn to trust each other and fall in love is a beautiful journey.

Good Tuesday to you! Tomorrow, I will introduce the men in my hut.