Darlene's Digest

Fathers of Conscience: Mixed-Race Inheritance in the Antebellum South by Bernie D. Jones My rating: 4 of 5 stars It's hard to tag a book "really liked it" when the subject matter is so accurately and depressingly focused not on the rights of enslaved people to inherit (not the issue, essentially they had no rights), but on the rights of white men with guilty consciences to leave money and property to blood relatives who were black. This work is geared towards attorneys and researchers, and I found it interesting because even though I am not a lawyer, my husband does estates, wills and trusts in Florida. Land inheritance in the rural south to this day can be quite convoluted, but this book deals in particular with men who wanted to provide for their offspring or their children's mothers. Not surprisingly, white relatives who were not direct descendants fought these distributions and the courts had to deal with cases that could vary f...

The Hound of Justice by Claire O'Dell My rating: 5 of 5 stars Part of what determines whether I give a book four or five stars on Goodreads is if I find myself at odd times of the day wanting to go back to reading it, or when it keeps me up late to finish. The Hound of Justice is one such novel, an excellent follow-up to the first of the Janet Watson Chronicles. Because we are already familiar with the near-future dystopian America from A Study in Honor we can get right into the story, and I especially enjoyed seeing Dr. Watson try to re-establish herself as a successful surgeon. We also learn more about Sara's family, Janet's dating life, Janet's family, and why the Confederacy continues to wreak havoc on society in a divided country. I liked the focus on the characters in this book (even more than the mystery) and it bodes well for further Holmes/Watson stories going forward. View all my reviews

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean My rating: 4 of 5 stars I love stories about strong women who know what they want and go after it, no matter what era they live in. Hattie may be an earl's daughter but she grew up near the docks (her father's title was a late-in-life reward) and will never be part of the ton . She's too big, too loud, too assertive...too much. So at age 29 she's ready to live life in The Year of Hattie, where she goes after what she wants, starting with a night with a paid companion. Beast and his brother Devil didn't fight their way to the top of their massive smuggling business by playing nice, and when he awakens tied up in Hattie's carriage, his first thought is to get even with whomever put him in this position. Clearly, these two are made for each other and they figure that part out pretty quickly. The drama that's thrown into the mix comes from Hattie's family's involvement with Beast...

Aurora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik My rating: 4 of 5 stars Excellent, page turning read. It satisfied my love of both science fiction and romance, and gave us a kick-ass princess who's good at keeping her special skill set hidden until it's needed. She's also good at weaponizing fashion, not just in the sense of how jewelry can do double duty, but knowing how the right dress, the right look, can slay when one enters a room. The hero was the kind of buttoned-down-we're-just-waiting-for-him-to-explode person any princess would want at her back, and after some rough starts he comes to fully appreciate her in all her guises. Jessie Mihalik is a capable author who delivers the goods, and that's exactly what a reader wants when diving deep into strange worlds, cyberhumans and high stakes politics. View all my reviews

"Possum hangin’ in the tree,  Raccoon on the ground;  Raccoon say, you stingy rat, Shake them ’simmons down!” Julia paused in her singing and frowned down at the spoon stirring through the cake batter. “Possum hanging in the tree?”  Where had that come from?  “Goodness, I’m becoming countrified!” She chuckled, looking out the kitchen window at the activity in the yard. Rand was doing the morning chores in preparation for their trip to the Iveys’ farm. For a moment she watched him as she stirred, indulging herself in a fantasy that theirs was a normal marriage, two people on the Florida frontier, making a new life together. But it was as much a fantasy as singing raccoons. --SMUGGLER'S BRIDE If it's autumn in North Central Florida, it's persimmon time! They're starting to come into our farmers market, a little late this year because of our extra hot summer, but I snagged a few. These are still at the ripe but firm stage and may not make it to the c...

Once a Spy by Mary Jo Putney My rating: 4 of 5 stars Putney writes wonderful characters, people who choose to do the right thing. In this story, Simon Duval has resigned his commission and returned to England, where he tracks down his cousin's widow, only to find her living in poverty among her fellow French emigres. He offers Suzanne marriage to help her out of her desperate situation, building on the friendship they enjoyed when she was a newlywed. However, Suzanne has been badly hurt, physically and emotionally, by her years as a captive in a harem and doesn't believe she can ever have a sexual relationship again. But Simon convinces her they can work it out, so she takes a chance. This is a sweet story of heroic people--Simon's heroic for potentially sacrificing his future happiness to help his cousin, and Suzanne is heroic for being willing to take a chance. Of course, both find that the other is exactly who they needed, but followin...

Archangel's War by Nalini Singh My rating: 4 of 5 stars It's action packed, with fascinating world-building and characters you'd want to know, along with plenty of relationships, some established, some new. What more can you ask from a paranormal romance? This latest Guild Hunter entry wraps up a number of storylines, climaxing in an apocalyptic battle for the future of the world. I would not recommend it to anyone who hasn't read at least the first few books in the series, but it's a must-read for fans of Singh's Archangels, Hunters, and Vampires. View all my reviews

Unconditionally by Erin Lyon My rating: 4 of 5 stars A very satisfying ending to the alternate universe tale of short-term marriages ("signings") begun in I Love You Subject to the Following Terms and Conditions . The legal hijinks were entertaining, the conflict in the relationships rang true and the heroine (and her friends) were all well drawn. My minor quibble is still over too many names beginning with "D" (Daniel, Drew, David) but that's easily overcome in future works by Erin Lyon and I hope there will be future works by Ms. Lyon. She has a lot to offer the romance reading community. View all my reviews

The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl by Theodora Goss My rating: 5 of 5 stars This entire league of extraordinary gentlewomen series has been a delight from start to finish and this latest entry was fun and satisfying. Characters from classic 19th c. horror, science fiction and mystery re-imagined with a focus on the women behind the scenes, and running off to have their own adventures--Mary Jekyll, Diana Hyde, Catherine Moreau, Justine Frankenstein, Lucy Van Helsing and more, crossing paths with Sherlock Holmes, Count Dracula and assorted others. It's great fun, all presented with asides from the various players as Catherine Moreau tries to monetize their tales in the form of penny dreadfuls. As the author (Catherine, not Ms. Goss) says more than once, "Start with the first book!" You won't be disappointed. View all my reviews

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore My rating: 4 of 5 stars It is a special pleasure to read a delightful debut novel because the reader gets to anticipate more quality reading going forward. Access to higher education for women is one of my favorite plot lines in historicals, and the Oxford setting of Bringing Down the Duke practically becomes a character itself. There is no place quite like it and the history lends itself to this tale of a young woman, a commoner, who earns a spot in the first programs for women. The tension in the romance was realistic, the slow build to hot sex was handled well, and the resolution left the reader satisfied. I'm very much looking forward to reading more of Ms. Dunmore's work and her adventures of Extraordinary Women. View all my reviews

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'll start by saying I read none of the reviews and saw none of the hype on this book--I only got it from the library because it kept showing up in my ads. So where some people were "meh" over the psychological twists-and-turns because of the buzz, I was riveted and kept turning pages. It's a solid psychological thriller with enough confusion and leads to keep the reader guessing, right up to the last page. I'd rate this a solid debut and a solid whodunnit. View all my reviews

I Love You Subject to the Following Terms and Conditions by Erin Lyon My rating: 3 of 5 stars This was a fun, alternate universe story that may turn out to be a romance, but be forewarned: this book is a cliff-hanger. In a world slightly skewed from our own, marriage is a contractual seven year commitment, which makes a lot of sense. "The Seven Year Itch" is a real thing, according to some marriage counselors, and in a world where people may live into their 100's, maybe it makes sense to have to re-up to keep it together. But even so, there are problems. Some people cheat and violate their contracts before they're up. Some don't follow through with promised support at the end, and so on. It's a field day for attorneys who specialize in this kind of litigation, but newly minted attorney Kate doesn't want to be one of them. Then her personal life goes awry and suddenly it's contracts or nothing. I enjoyed this, but fel...