Seasonally Booked Up - Winter of the Wallflower Wrap Up

 Winter is almost over! We have also reached the end of the Seasonally Booked Up Book Club's winter theme - Winter of the Wallflower. If you haven't seen my reviews from books I read for this, It is hosted by Kelly and Dana. There is a discord (you can message either one to get access) and they do a live video Friday afternoons to discuss the book of the week.

Now, I didn't read all of the books this time. If I didn't, I'll still list them just with a link to their goodreads page instead of my review. The theme for winter was wallflowers, but they did something fun and went decade by decade ending with a current release. A big part of the discussion on discord was what makes a wallflower and how the character trait has evolved over time.

Now, I have to say I stopped participating as actively in discord after reading Christina Dodd's book. A lot of people didn't like this book and had issues with it. I am very much okay with people liking different books and completely understand that everyone will take something different from a book. Even more so, I myself can get something from a book or my rating will change just even with my mood or just in a different perspective in life. Before I go too much further into why I stopped being as active, I do want to say that never at any point did I feel like there would've been anything mean said or would've been trashed for liking a book most everyone did not. I just didn't want to post how much I enjoyed it though since I didn't want to have to dissect my enjoyment too much, or even defend it. I liked the book and sometimes I really don't want to get into the meanings behind everything and what the author is trying to say. I just want to enjoy it and move on to the next book. But anyways, this read-a-long was a little bit of a roller coaster for me but they did try to pick books neither of them had read but were recommended by others. That and I also didn't want to post too much for books I didn't read.

So, as you can see I missed or skipped a lot of the books in February. This was mostly due to me being super entrenched in FaRoFeb (as I'm sure you've seen all my posts about this past month) and wanted to mostly stick to Fantasy Romance. Without further ramblings, here are the books!

Week 1: The Gilded Web by Mary Balogh, Pub. 1989 🍎🍎🍎

Week 2: Dangerous by Amanda Quick, Pub. 1993 🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

Week 3: That Scandalous Evening by Christina Dodd, Pub. 1998 🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

Week 4: Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas, Pub. 2006 - I didn't re-read this but I rated it 🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

Week 5: His Mistress by Morning by Elizabeth Boyle, Pub. 2006 🍎🍎🍎

Week 6: The Duchess War by Courtney Milan, Pub. 2012 🍎🍎🍎🍎

Week 7: The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian, Pub. 2017 - I didn't get to this one

Week 8: Love is a Rogue by Lenora Bell, Pub. 2020 - I didn't get to this one, but I do own it in paperback and have loved Lenora Bell's previous books

Week 9: Her Wicked Marquess by Stacy Reid, Pub. 2020 - I didn't get to this one either, but I also own in paperback. I loved the first book in the series (which I read for the Historical Romance Readathon) and I love Stacy Reid, so I'm hoping to get to it soon!

On March 8th they announced on instagram that spring is going to be the Spring of Spies. I'm not sure how much I'll be participating since I'm not the biggest spy fan (even though a lot of historicals use that as a plot device), but I've enjoyed a few of the authors before and have a couple of them on my tbr already. Feel free to check out Dana's and Kelly's links above if you'd like to join! Also, member TheReadingYearOfHattie made fun badges for the books and I just had to share the ones I earned! 

Did you participate in the Winter of the Wallflower? If so, what did you think of the reads?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

The Duchess War by Courtney Milan

 

🍎🍎🍎🍎

The first book I read for the Lunar New Year Readathon (hosted by LaceyBookLovers and remarkablylisa) as well for Seasonally Booked Up Book Club - Winter of the Wallflower (hosted by Kelly and Dana) was Courtney Milan's The Duchess War. Courtney has been on my tbr forever, and I was excited to finally get to the first book in her Bothers Sinister series.

I was torn on this book. I liked it. I liked Minnie for the most part and I liked Robert for the most part. Their relationship was cute, but there were times were I felt the chemistry was missing between them. But just as I was thinking that, there would be a new scene that proved me wrong. It felt a little up and down. Also, I didn't enjoy the "big" secrets between them. It felt weird that pretty early on that Robert trusted Minnie enough to share his, but she was still holding back and didn't share everything. It also seemed a little extreme, but I know that mob mentality and people were weird back then. It just seemed harsher than it needed to be. I have to give it to Courtney though, Minnie's backstory was unique and unexpected. I also really enjoyed her writing style. It swept me up pretty quickly.

I think it's a 4-star because while I like our main couple, it felt lacking sometimes. Or there was a weird understanding between them that wasn't addressed as quickly as I wanted (although the third act conflict was wrapped up pretty decently). The other part of this, is probably an unpopular opinion. Minnie and Robert fight the patriarchy pretty heavily throughout the book. I understand that most romances, especially the more modern historicals do provide commentary on the patriarchy. However, I don't like it to be as prominent in the story. I think this is why I'm not as fond with the regency era historicals that deal with couples in different classes and/or focused on the lower class. I just prefer it to not be so heavy handed. Reading for me is an escape from all the stuff we deal with on a day to day basis. Side note: that's also why I don't watch documentaries very often unless it's someone or something I'm very interested in.

Back to happier musings! Overall I did enjoy this book and will continue with the series at some point. Plus I think the covers are gorgeous. I'm super excited to get to Sebastian and Violet's book (#3). They had such great banter throughout this book and such an interesting dynamic. 

Have you read The Duchess War?

Bookishly Yours, 

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Duchess War, Courtney Milan, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 268 pages, published 2012

His Mistress by Morning by Elizabeth Boyle

 

🍎🍎🍎

Elizabeth Boyle's His Mistress by Morning is the first book in her Marlowe series. This is the 5th book in the Winter of the Wallflower read-a-long hosted by Kelly and Dana for their Seasonally Booked Up club. 

Oh this book. I struggled through most of this book. The blurb grabbed me and I waited until after February 1st to start this since it had fantasy elements (and I can use it for FaRoFeb). The basis of this book is that Charlotte is a painfully shy spinster in love with her best friend's older brother Sebastian. He doesn't even notice when she's in the room a lot and can't quite seem to remember her name. She gets a ring as inheritance from her aunt, and surprise! it grants one wish. She wishes to be the woman that Sebastian loves. 

At 41% I really wanted to DNF this book, but I pushed myself to continue (granted I started skimming and speed reading) both because it's for the club, and I loved the first little portion before the wish. I did not like anything about the "alternate reality" and had a lot of issues of how things were going to reconcile when she came back to "reality." First off, at 41% I was ready for the wish to be over and get back to normal to see how Charlotte would deal with everything she learned. Instead, we didn't get back to the normal timeline until about the 70% mark. The alternate reality portion lasted way too long for my taste. I wish that more time was spent on them becoming a couple in the real world. 

So, in this alternate reality Charlotte is not a spinster lower noblewoman, but a courtesan/mistress. When she wakes up in this new reality, she has no memories of what this other "Lottie" has gone through and experienced. I did not like this choice at all by the author. I feel like Charlotte should've had more access to her memories and that she didn't wake up the arms of Sebastian. She went from being a sheltered spinster to waking up in the arms of a man (after clearly having a very lascivious night). I also didn't like that (and I know this was not the intention and not meant at all to come across this way) she basically became a different person to get the person she loved to love her back. I understand that the point was for Charlotte to find herself and become more confident, but it felt too drastic a change. I also feel like it also felt more out of character for her when she ended the wish and starting coming on strong to Sebastian. 

Why the 3-stars instead of the two I was expecting throughout most of this book? Basically it comes down to the parts outside of the alternate reality and Elizabeth Boyle's writing. She writes really well and I enjoyed her prose. I really, really wanted there to be more of the "he finally sees her" feeling without Charlotte having to act completely wanton and out of character. As I said before, it felt like too much of a drastic change. I think if she had more internal insecurities that we the reader saw, it would've felt more natural and not as "she's magically cured of her shyness." What I wanted out of this book, especially going with the wallflower trope, was not what I got. Now I want to (re)read a historical that give me an HEA and a journey I ca

 I most likely will not read the second book in the series, and might pick up some of her other series. I think before I do though I'll check out some reviews before.

Have you read His Mistress by Morning?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: His Mistress by Morning, Elizabeth Boyle, 3-stars, 2 days, eBook, 384 pages, Published 2006

That Scandalous Evening by Christina Dodd

🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎 

Book three for the Seasonally Booked Up - Winter of the Wallflower club is That Scandalous Evening by Christina Dodd. It's the first in her Governess Brides series. Seasonally Booked Up is hosted by Kelly and Dana.

So, this was surprising a re-read for me. I recognized the name (Christina Dodd is a popular author with a decently sized backlist) and have a lot of her books already on my kindle. Apparently I first read this in 2017, but only read this book in her series. In 2017, I gave this 5 stars and my rating still stands.

Since it's been awhile since I've read it, thankfully I couldn't remember who the spy/villain was. I did remember some parts while I was reading, the two main being the heroine Jane drawing the ships at the picnic and when her and Ransom are compromised in her brand new art studio.

This books still gave me the feels and I love historical romances where the heroine is "on the shelf" and super young. I love when Jane enters the artist part of her brain and you can just see and feel that she is seeing things differently than those around her. Ransom is completely enchanted by her (even though he denies it). The French spy stuff is meh, but like I've mentioned in Dangerous, the extra plot points in a lot of historical romances aren't what I read it for. It was a fun twist though. And Ransom's grovel scene is one of the best.

Have you read That Scandalous Evening?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: That Scandalous Evening, Christina Dodd, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 360 Pages, Published 1998

Dangerous by Amanda Quick

🍎🍎🍎🍎🍎

Book 3 of 2021 was Dangerous by Amanda Quick. This was the the book for week two of the Seasonally Booked Up - Winter of the Wallflower book club hosted by Kelly and Dana. This is a standalone historical romance.

I loved this book. This is way more my speed when it comes to historical romances. It grabs you from the first page. I love the more quirkier characters and instantly fell in love with Pru and Sebastian. Why oh why are there so many broody and swoony Sebastians in historical romances? I feel like I need to rank my favorite historical Sebastians. Anyways, back to the book. Prudence is a regency ghost hunter and Sebastian has an interesting hobby in that he solves cases for a bow street runner. They both were so well matched in their intellectual thinking and love of solving puzzles. The murder case was a little predictable, but I don't read these for the who-dun-it. I loved the banter and relationship between our hero and heroine and couldn't put it down. If I hadn't started this at 9pm, I would've read it in one sitting. The couple also get married about half-way through the book. I love it when they get married earlier on and we get to see married life for the couple and that issues do arise after the proposal and/or wedding. It just makes the HEA (happy ever after) so much more believable. I laughed so much with this book and wish so much this was a series so we could see their hijinks in the background while also getting their friend's and family's HEAs! Oh, and Sebastian has a cat named Lucifer. Need I say more?

Overall I thought this book was a wonderful delight and just what I needed to help prevent going into a book slump after The Gilded Web. I will definitely be picking up more Amanda Quick and can't wait to get into her backlist.

Have you read Dangerous?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Dangerous, Amanda Quick, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 352 pages, Published 1993

The Gilded Web by Mary Balogh

 

🍎🍎🍎

The second book of 2021 was Mary Balogh's The Gilded Web, first in her Web series. I read this for week one of the Seasonally Booked Up - Winter of the Wallflower book club hosted by Kelly and Dana. This winter we are going to read wallflower historicals throughout the decades.

I was so torn on how to rate this book. At first it was a little bit hard for me to get into and I was leaning toward 2 or 2.5 stars. However, by the end I went with a solid 3. I loved the hero Edmund. He reminded me a lot of myself and definitely needed to learn to set boundaries and not be so self-sacrificial. I liked and didn't like Alex. She seemed so overly naïve and blind to her position sometimes. It surprised me that once she was introduced to how people really were in the ton, she still acted differently than expected. It's not that I wanted her to hide from the ton and her standing strong was fine. It was the conversations she had with her family and Edmund about why she was standing strong that I had issues with. It just felt like she was so set in her beliefs that she couldn't understand that her family's religious stoutness was so different than most everyone else in the ton. I also feel that she didn't push back against Edmund in the right way until the final couple chapters and I wanted them to get to that point in their relationship earlier. Why did she wait to show Edmund that she needed him to show his vulnerabilities until the last few pages? 

Another deciding factor for the 3-stars over 2 was that this was written in 1989 (the year I was born, woo-hoo!). This book was A LOT more feminist than I was expecting, which was a nice surprise. I didn't like how Alex dealt with her father and mother in the end. I found myself wishing she and her mother had made other choices once the engagement was announced and both families returned to Edmund's country seat. Another weird thing that came from this being an older book was that the focus was not only on the main couple. There was a lot of time spent in the siblings' views and their forming relationships was a lot more present than I expected. I'm just so used to one book featuring only the main couple and any hints of other/future couples stay in the peripheral. While reading, this also felt long. It is 480 pages which is on the longer side of historical romances, but it felt longer to me than The Sea King. I struggled to get into it at times.

Overall, it was an interesting read and I'm happy to finally try Mary Balogh. I did enjoy her writing style and will definitely pick up another one of her books. I've heard great things about her Bedwyn series. 

Have you read The Gilded Web?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Gilded Web, Mary Balogh, 3-stars, 2 days, eBook, 480 pages, Published 1989