Historical Romance Book Club discussion

It is a tie between these two.

What's not to love? Road Trips, Badass Women, Rakes with a devilish sense of humor.

Ally wrote: ".I have absolutely no idea why I think some heroes can be absolute arseholes and my favorite heroes when others cause me to kick the book to the curb. If anyone can ever answer that for me, I will be in your debt"

Can you elaborate about "some of your fave heroes are arseholes "and other get kicked to the curb? Do you mean some arsehole heroes are acceptable to you and other arsehole heroes are intolerable to the point that they get kicked to curb?

If you can say more about this, I might have a possible answer to offer you.

We all have different tolerances levels. Moods perspective and timing also come into play.

It is amazing when someone hates a character that everyone loves or vise versa. How do we come to those conclusions?
I believe It comes from our taste, upbringing, and or experiences.
We all have something in common but we are all so very different. Even Twins with the same DNA will have completely different taste and experiences.



Have you went back and reread a book of a character that you loved and end up hating them. It happens to me. My mood will have this effect, also a changing viewpoint or stand on an issue. As I get older things do not cause the same reaction they used too. It goes both ways, some things I will not and do not tolerate anymore.



I think authors and artist have tapped into a common need when a book becomes popular.

It is awe-inspiring to be able to write. They have to think like a man/woman or a child/adult all while trying to convey emotions from these examples. PHEW!
This is why I think writers know going in that people are not all going to love/hate their art. Because somehow writers see the big picture as well as the small minute details.

For the most part, it comes down to your view or lense of the world and what an asshole or an alpha-hole means to you.

Ok! My soapbox over. LOL

One Night with a Spy by Celeste Bradley
And not in a good way. I loved Lady Julia, and it was a great story overall. However, there was a scene where the hero basically raped the heroine. She said no several times. If I remember correctly at one point she asked if he would stop if she said no (again), and he basically said no, he had to have her no matter what, and he did. Maddeningly enough, as happens when the hero is 'convincing' the heroine she wants sex right then, she ends up really enjoying herself. The sex here wasn't even in a comfortable place - outdoors on a pathway, in the dirt.

Well, there's my soapbox for the day :)

There are two that recently knocked my socks off, but the one that I immediately think of when I think of favorite books this year is The Soldier's Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian. My review:

I loved this book. Oliver and Jack get my nomination for couple of the year. Oliver was wounded in war, where he saw too many atrocities, but he's still innocent in a lot of ways. He wants life to be black and white, where it's easy to know right from wrong. Jack is a realist who knows how the world really works, he's had to do whatever it took to survive. He deals in shades of gray, getting justice for his clients in ways that don't follow the rules. Watching the tension between the two as their attraction grew was captivating - and seeing them face up to the differences in their personalities and social classes was fascinating.

I have to mention The Pretender by Celeste Bradley (yeah, a worst and best by Bradley).

Agatha Cunnington is the best female character I can think of, she's so freakin intelligent that it's scary. No matter what the men plotted, she was always a step ahead in figuring out what was going on and what step to take next. Well, except for figuring out who Simon was and his mission - but that was half the fun. I laughed so much through this book that I nearly peed my pants a few times.

My favorite regencies are actually historical mysteries although they do have romance subplots:

Sebastian St. Cyr:


Lady Darby:


I've also really enjoyed Sarah MacLean's regencies.
Love by Numbers series


and the spin-off, Rules of Scoundrels:

The Lady Darby series is set in 1830's Scotland.

Mara wrote: "The Lady Darby series is set in 1830's Scotland."

Yes, it is set during the reign of William IV. This is still the regency period I think.

The reign of William IV is not the regency.

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "The reign of William IV is not the regency."

According to the Wikipedia, the Regency Period end with the beginning of Victoria's reign in 1837.

Oh.

I thought the Regency period ended when there was no more Regent.

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "Oh.

I thought the Regency period ended when there was no more Regent."

I thought so too. I think that the period extends to William IV because his reign also encompassed the fashion, architecture and literary trends of the Regency. These only changed once Victoria ascended to the throne.

I finally looked this up at one point because I couldn't keep it straight.

Georgian Era:- January 8, 1714 - 6/20/1837
Known as the rule of the four Georges, usually expanded to include the short rule of William IV, younger brother of George IV.

The Regency is a sub period of the Georgian Era, when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent. Although the actual period of regency was 1811 to 1820, the term Regency (or Regency era) can refer to various stretches of time; some are longer than the decade of the formal Regency which lasted from 1811–1820. The period 1795 to 1837, which includes the latter part of the reign of George III and the reigns of his sons George IV and William IV, is often attributed as the Regency era characterized by distinctive trends in British architecture, literature, fashions, politics, and culture.

After William IV's death in 1837 the Victorian period started with the rule of Queen Victoria.

I know I usually categorize all books around that time as Regency Era, just because it makes it easier for my brain. And there are some books that don't give a particular time period and I don't want to have to research clothes, etc. to figure it out.

jaxnsmom wrote: "I finally looked this up at one point because I couldn't keep it straight.

Georgian Era:- January 8, 1714 - 6/20/1837
Known as the rule of the four Georges, usually expanded to include the short r..."

Thanks!