Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

whoops...I forgot to start the Corinthian...lol! someone was supposed to remind me

Thought you were on board Dee...

But I'm a good whipping boy - blame me to your heart's content ;)

...It's only short - you'll be able to fit it in pretty easily I suspect...

I was and then I started reading a couple of other books that were ILL and had to go back and I got distracted...lol! maybe this weekend - what's adding one more book to the pile...lol!

What's ILL?

inter-library loan...my library is linked in with 14 other ones in the area, and I can get those and renew no problem - but if I request a book from out side of those then, I can't renew and both of them were due back today

Aahhh. Got it.

Look forward to your thoughts on The Corinthian - when you can get to it :)

i'll throw it on the pile and might get to it this weekend - I need a new metro book to read, but all her books have longish chapters so it isn't a good one (otherwise I get distracted and miss my stop)

OK - now what's a 'metro' book? (I'm learning a lot today with you:)

I take the metro aka train to work most days - because parking sucks after about 7am (as in there is no parking)...so I normally have one book, that is simple easy to read - short chapters etc - that I use for a "metro book"

Oh - my imagination was running away with me!! Was thinking along the lines of metrosexual but couldn't see how that could help :)

I now have 15 on my list - I added a couple but didn't take any away.
8 completed through June 18.

A Year of Georgette Heyer

Read one a month (** by the year means it fulfills that year in my Lifetime of Books challenge)

The Private World of Georgette Heyer
√ A Blunt Instrument (1938) - Feb 2 - 4* my review
√ They Found Him Dead (1937) - Feb 26 - 3.5*
Black Sheep (1966)
Venetia (1958)**
√ The Corinthian (1940)** - June 17 - 4.5* (review in progress)
√ Faro's Daughter (1941)** - Jan 8 - 4.5*
Frederica (1965)
√ The Nonesuch (1962)** - Jan 17 - 4* my review
The Quiet Gentleman (1951)
Sylvester or The Wicked Uncle (1957)
√ Friday's Child (1944)** - Apr 21 - 4*
The Reluctant Widow (1946)**
√ Cousin Kate (1968)** - May 15 - 4* my review
√ False Colours (1963)** - Feb 22 - 5* my review

I've read 5 Heyer novels for my "A Lifetime of Books Challenge". I read Venetia, The Unknown Ajax, A Civil Contract, Frederica and Black Sheep.

My favorite by far was Venetia which was first published the year I was born. Frederica and Black Sheep have some plot similarities with Venetia.

I liked Frederica, Black Sheep and A Civil Contract but I loved Venetia. My least favorite was The Unknown Ajax.

Just thought to give you all a heads up on Venetia.

I'll be reading Venetia sometime in the next few months. It's been ages since I read this book so I'm looking forward to it :)

Interestingly, The Unknown Ajax is probably one of my absolute favourites of Heyer's books. It's amazing how ppl can differ on a book.

I finished The Corinthian last week. I loved it - I knew I would :) ...It's one of my regular rereads...

I loved (again) her characterisation - the way Penn *twinkled*, Sir Richard's initial lethagy followed by his ongoing amusement, Cedric's dry humour, Beverley - the 'stammering' man, Jimmy Yarde in the cat-skin waistcoat, Melissa's incredible arrogance and thick-skin, etc etc etc... Such incredibly vivid pictures painted in words so deftly and effectively.

RRRC A Year of Georgette Heyer 2011
5/12 Completed

January - Behold, Here's Poison 19/1/11 ★★★
February - These Old Shades 22/2/11 ★★★★★
March - Devil's Cub 23/3/11 ★★★★★
April - The Black Moth
May - The Quiet Gentleman 29/5/11 ★★★★★
June - The Corinthian 28/6/11 ★★★★
July - The Grand Sophy
August - Envious Casca
September - Pistols for Two
October - Powder and Patch
November - Sylvester
December - Simon the Coldheart



January read - Behold, Here's Poison - here's my review
February read - These Old Shades - here's my review
March read - Devil's Cub - here's my review
May read - The Quiet Gentleman - here's my review
June read - The Corinthian - here's my review

Saving you the trouble of clicking on my review of The Corinthian, 4 stars.

It's been a while since I read this book, but when I think of it I always remember the beginning where Pen Creed climbs out the window to escape her Aunt and the ending where Pen Creed still dressed as a boy is seen kissing her "uncle" Sir Richard Wyndham, by the stagecoach patrons who are shocked to their toes.

Along the way we are introduced to a naive 17yr old Penelope Creed, a bored 29yr old Sir Richard Wyndham, various and assorted adventures including an overturned stagecoach, spending a night with a thief, finding dead bodies and being blackmailed.

Not to mention assisting her childhood sweetheart elope with another woman, Pen certainly has fun.

GH is a master at drawing you into her Regency world, littered with great characters, Fred the cousin who reminds Pen of a fish, her Aunt who wants her money and harangues her with cries of ingratitude because Pen wants a life of her own, and Cedric Brandon, brother of the dead body and nearly Richard's brother-in-law.

All in all a fun read:)

So far we've averaged a 4.375 for The Corinthian... Pretty good!

Only Dee is outstanding from our agreed participants... *yoohoo* Deeeeeee - have you had a chance to read The Corinthian yet?

nope - but its on the pile for July - I swear!! I did incredibly sucky at buddy reads this past month

Wow - that was a fast answer to my call!!

LOL - No prob :) Just let us know what you think of it once you get to it...

I was probably on the computer as you were typing...but my brain is fried after doing the end of month stats for work...I forsee lots of alcohol in my future this weekend!

LOL - relax and enjoy...

Completed: 8/13

1. Bath Tangle (1955) or The Nonesuch (1962)
2. Black Sheep (1966) - √ 28-Apr 5 stars
3. The Corinthian (1940) - √ 15-Jun 4 stars
4. The Foundling (1948) - √ 12-Feb 3.5 stars
5. The Grand Sophy (1950) - √ 26-Jan 5 stars!
6. Lady of Quality (1972)
7. The Quiet Gentleman (1951) - √ 17-Mar 4 stars
8. Sylvester (1957) - √ 13-Apr 4.5 stars
9. The Talisman Ring (1936) - √ 14-May 5 stars
10. The Toll-Gate (1954)
11. The Unknown Ajax (1959)
12. Venetia (1958) - √ 4-Jul 3.5 stars
13. Powder and Patch (1923)

I have not read one Heyer book a month but more recently I went on a Heyer reading spree and read the following:

1. The Quiet Gentleman [8/30/11] 4 stars
I really liked it but my favorite part would be the very last scene between Mr. Morville and the step-mother.

2. The Black Moth [9/1/11] 4 stars
It was fun!

3. Frederica [9/3/11] 4 - 4.5 stars
I really liked the character of the Marquis. XD What an atypical romance hero!

4. Charity Girl [9/5/11] 2.5 stars
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one as much because the plot was too similar to The Foundling, which I did enjoy. I thought the book was a bit too long. I got tired of the obstacles Desford ran across tracking down Charity's relatives. I didn't like Charity.

5. Sylvester [9/12/11] 3.5 - 4 stars
Sylvester reminded me of Mr. Darcy but he was crueler to Phoebe, which I didn't like so much.

6. The Nonesuch [9/12/11] 4 stars
I really enjoyed it. I thought that the romance was nicely done, and I liked almost all the characters.

I'm working on Arabella and The Talisman Ring. I also hope to complete The Convenient Marriage, and to read The Grand Sophy and Friday's Child (and maybe Sprig Muslin, Beauvallet, Bath Tangle and Regency Buck) by the end of this year.

Good going Niquae! I need to do an update as well - I'll get on to it on the weekend!

I read Bath Tangle the other day - didn't like it anywhere near as much as most of her other books... The characters weren't very engaging, the romance almost nil and the plot didn't really go anywhere IMO.

Thanks, Jane. *pushes Bath Tangle to bottom of the pile*

LOL - I didn't mean to put you off completely! But just not to the same amusing standard as many of her other works :)

I have just finished The Toll-Gate. Great fun - this one has amusing, lovable characters and a great storyline. Less romance, but I didn't miss it.

A Year of Georgette Heyer
1 January - 31 December 2011

Completed: 11/13

1. Bath Tangle (1955) - √ 22-Aug 2 stars
2. Black Sheep (1966) - √ 28-Apr 5 stars
3. The Corinthian (1940) - √ 15-Jun 4 stars
4. The Foundling (1948) - √ 12-Feb 3 stars
5. The Grand Sophy (1950) - √ 26-Jan 5 stars!
6. Lady of Quality (1972)
7. The Quiet Gentleman (1951) - √ 17-Mar 4 stars
8. Sylvester (1957) - √ 13-Apr 4.5 stars
9. The Talisman Ring (1936) - √ 14-May 5 stars
10. The Toll-Gate (1954) - √ 22-Sep 4 stars
11. The Unknown Ajax (1959) - √ 26-Jul 5 stars
12. Venetia (1958) - √ 4-Jul 3.5 stars
13. Powder and Patch (1923)

7. Arabella [11/4/11] 3.5 stars
Took me a couple of months but I finally finished it. I couldn't get over Arabella's ridiculous performance before Beaumaris and Fleetwood when they first met. But once I recovered my sense of humor and read past it, it was quite enjoyable! I liked Arabella. She was young but still wise enough not to fall so obviously for Beaumaris. Beaumaris isn't quite on the level of Marquis in Frederica, but he was just as fun. I liked Arabella's and Beaumaris's relationship and interactions, and how they use each other.

I more recently purchased The Toll-Gate. I might read that as my next Georgette Heyer.

Edit: Combining later post at mid-Nov to this one.

Ok. So, The Toll Gate was 8.

9. The Talisman Ring

I finally finished it. It took me some time to get into it. It started off a bit slow. The whole ambiance was rather gothic which wasn't entirely to my taste. Eustacie was rather immature and silly, but she was also fun. Sarah was also silly but I got the sense it was more of a "I'm bored and I like silliness" rather than "I'm young, immature and silly". I liked seeing Tristram's reactions to Eustacie's silly talk, and I liked how Sarah poked fun at Tristram. One of the reviews compared the characters to Pride & Prejudice. I could see the resemblance, but I also see the differences - and I appreciate both. I ended up liking this book quite a lot. There were quite a few places that made me fall into giggles and laugh or snicker out loud (and in public too). I gave it a 3.5 stars.

The Grand Sophy, Beauvallet, Bath Tangle or Regency Buck might be next simply because they are quite conveniently e-books whereas the other books I mentioned a couple of posts ago are paperbacks...

Haven't updated in a while -

11 completed through October 1

A Year of Georgette Heyer

Read one a month (** by the year means it fulfills that year in my Lifetime of Books challenge)

The Private World of Georgette Heyer
√ A Blunt Instrument (1938) - Feb 2 - 4* my review
√ They Found Him Dead (1937) - Feb 26 - 3.5*
Black Sheep (1966)
√ Venetia (1958)** - Sept 12 (4.5*)
√ The Corinthian (1940)** - June 17 - 4.5* my review
√ Faro's Daughter (1941)** - Jan 8 - 4.5*
√ Frederica (1965) - Oct 1 (5*)
√ The Nonesuch (1962)** - Jan 17 - 4* my review
The Quiet Gentleman (1951)
Sylvester or The Wicked Uncle (1957)
√ Friday's Child (1944)** - Apr 21 - 4*
√ The Reluctant Widow (1946)** - Aug 2 (3.5*)
√ Cousin Kate (1968)** - May 15 - 4* my review
√ False Colours (1963)** - Feb 22 - 5* my review

I'm currently listening to Lady of Quality - I'll update my list in a couple of days :)

I've read my 12, but am still hoping to get to Sylvester this month & The Quiet Gentleman in December. And I still have a few reviews to write!

12 completed through November 6

A Year of Georgette Heyer

Read one a month (** by the year means it fulfills that year in my Lifetime of Books challenge)

The Private World of Georgette Heyer
√ A Blunt Instrument (1938) - Feb 2 - 4* my review
√ They Found Him Dead (1937) - Feb 26 - 3.5*
√ Black Sheep (1966) - 11.06 - 5*
√ Venetia (1958)** - Sept 12 (4.5*)
√ The Corinthian (1940)** - June 17 - 4.5* my review
√ Faro's Daughter (1941)** - Jan 8 - 4.5*
√ Frederica (1965) - Oct 1 (5*)
√ The Nonesuch (1962)** - Jan 17 - 4* my review
The Quiet Gentleman (1951)
Sylvester or The Wicked Uncle (1957)
√ Friday's Child (1944)** - Apr 21 - 4*
√ The Reluctant Widow (1946)** - Aug 2 (3.5*)
√ Cousin Kate (1968)** - May 15 - 4* my review
√ False Colours (1963)** - Feb 22 - 5* my review

Well done BJ!! I'm on my 12th but wanted to read 13 (for some reason that I can't remember...)

Jane (PS) wrote: "Well done BJ!! I'm on my 12th but wanted to read 13 (for some reason that I can't remember...)"

Same here, Jane - I kept adding books but not taking any away!
I just started Sylvester or The Wicked Uncle

I was going to also read The Private World of Georgette Heyer (saw it on your list), but I don't want to buy it - so I'm waiting for my library...

10. The Grand Sophy 3.75 stars

I really, really liked it! I loved Sophy. It is soo rare that I genuinely love a female protagonist, but I loved her. My only (well, 2) gripe is: 1) due to how people spoke of the author's anti-Semitism, I couldn't help but be more aware and a little offended by the caricature of the money-lending Jew. However, if I had not read about the anti-Semitism, I think that I would have accepted this attitude as being "period" and 2) I'm coming across so many romance heroes who automatically have great command over animals. It's rather maddening. I want to read of an animal/pet who doesn't obey the hero and simply obeys the heroine and no one else.

Niq, at least GH wrote her animal commanding hero first. LOL.

And I agree about the money-lender. I read The Grand Sophy back in the 70's and didn't even think about it. It was just period, as you say.

Me neither! The money-lender/anti-Semitism issue has never occurred to me either. I think I first read this in about 1982... and of course, I've never read reviews of Heyer's books, 'cos I've already read them :)

My long promised update! :) One more to knock off.
Completed: 12/13

1. Bath Tangle (1955) - √ 22-Aug 2 stars
2. Black Sheep (1966) - √ 28-Apr 5 stars
3. The Corinthian (1940) - √ 15-Jun 4 stars
4. The Foundling (1948) - √ 12-Feb 3 stars
5. The Grand Sophy (1950) - √ 26-Jan 5 stars!
6. Lady of Quality (1972) - √ 11-Nov 4 stars
7. The Quiet Gentleman (1951) - √ 17-Mar 4 stars
8. Sylvester (1957) - √ 13-Apr 4.5 stars
9. The Talisman Ring (1936) - √ 14-May 5 stars
10. The Toll-Gate (1954) - √ 22-Sep 4 stars
11. The Unknown Ajax (1959) - √ 26-Jul 5 stars
12. Venetia (1958) - √ 4-Jul 3.5 stars
13. Powder and Patch (1923)

Sandra wrote: "Niq, at least GH wrote her animal commanding hero first. LOL.

And I agree about the money-lender. I read The Grand Sophy back in the 70's and didn't even think about it. It was just period, as you..."

lol, true, Sandra! :D

I figured it might be "period" but I've also seen other readers say that the author is anti-Semitic so that scene did jump out at me.

11. Regency Buck 3.5-4 stars

Given that I ended up enjoying this book, I'm a little bemused about the fact that I'd only just finished it a couple of days ago, and already I've forgotten much of the story. And to think I had planned on reviewing it later too... I do know that I loved seeing Judith and Worth trying to out-maneuver each other. It was so fun! And then Judith's reactions when Worth out-maneuvers her...

Next is Bath Tangle and then probably Beauvallet since those are conveniently on my Kindle app, and my other Georgette Heyer books...are not. lol.

A Year of Georgette Heyer
1 January - 31 December 2011

Completed: 13/13 - YAY!!!!

1. Bath Tangle (1955) - √ 22-Aug 2 stars
2. Black Sheep (1966) - √ 28-Apr 5 stars
3. The Corinthian (1940) - √ 15-Jun 4 stars
4. The Foundling (1948) - √ 12-Feb 3 stars
5. The Grand Sophy (1950) - √ 26-Jan 5 stars!
6. Lady of Quality (1972) - √ 11-Nov 4 stars
7. The Quiet Gentleman (1951) - √ 17-Mar 4 stars
8. Sylvester (1957) - √ 13-Apr 4.5 stars
9. The Talisman Ring (1936) - √ 14-May 5 stars
10. The Toll-Gate (1954) - √ 22-Sep 4 stars
11. The Unknown Ajax (1959) - √ 26-Jul 5 stars
12. Venetia (1958) - √ 4-Jul 3.5 stars
13. Powder and Patch (1923) - √ 17-Dec 3.5 stars

Hmmm - I don't think there is a clear correlation between year of publication and my rating, although I didn't rate the earliest book (Powder and Patch) very highly...

Thanks to everyone who joined in this challenge, even if only for a little while! I really enjoyed chatting about some of my favourite books and one of my fav authors. :)

The year is ending too soon! Looks like I won't be able to finish a 12th Heyer book. :)

Thanks for the challenge, Jane. I too enjoyed discussing her books with others.

Yeah, me too! I only read 6, but the 12 would've been all re-reads for me anyway. Some for the 15th+ time. I really loved these books when I was growing up.

Great idea Jane, a little taste of nostalgia for me :D

Have you tried them in audio books Sandra? They are great to listen to when travelling.

Nope, don't go anywhere long enough to listen to anything other than the radio, plus if I was on a longer trip, say an hour, hubby wouldn't like GH at all.

:DDD

Sandra wrote: "Nope, don't go anywhere long enough to listen to anything other than the radio, plus if I was on a longer trip, say an hour, hubby wouldn't like GH at all.

:DDD"

True!! I can't imagine my husband listening to it either :)

I do lots of driving every week and I find GH's books great to listen to - it's probably the only reason I finished this challenge!

I would probably enjoy listening to GH, but there's something about holding her books in my hands and going to favorite passages.

I also finished 13, Jane - read Sylvester in November, but didn't get to The Quiet Gentleman in December, so that will be a January read, along with The Grand Sophy which I didn't even put on my list.

Happy New Year to all you Georgette Heyer lovers!!

A Year of Georgette Heyer
13 completed through December 31

Read one a month (** by the year means it fulfills that year in my Lifetime of Books challenge)

The Private World of Georgette Heyer
√ A Blunt Instrument (1938) - Feb 2 - 4* my review
√ They Found Him Dead (1937) - Feb 26 - 3.5*
√ Black Sheep (1966) - 11.06 - 5*
√ Venetia (1958)** - Sept 12 (4.5*)
√ The Corinthian (1940)** - June 17 - 4.5* my review
√ Faro's Daughter (1941)** - Jan 8 - 4.5*
√ Frederica (1965) - Oct 1 (5*)
√ The Nonesuch (1962)** - Jan 17 - 4* my review
The Quiet Gentleman (1951)
√ Sylvester or The Wicked Uncle (1957) - Nov 12 - 4.5*
√ Friday's Child (1944)** - Apr 21 - 4*
√ The Reluctant Widow (1946)** - Aug 2 (3.5*)
√ Cousin Kate (1968)** - May 15 - 4* my review
√ False Colours (1963)** - Feb 22 - 5* my review

Yay BJ :)

I'm going to listen to the Nonesuch sometime this year and maybe branch out into some of my lesser read GH's - I haven't read False Colours or Cousin Kate for over 20 years (I suspect) and you rated them highly - so might add those to my to-read list as well...

Cousin Kate was my first ever GH, and one of my least favourite, but I must of seen something I liked cause I started collecting right then and there :)

Sandra wrote: "Cousin Kate was my first ever GH, and one of my least favourite, but I must of seen something I liked cause I started collecting right then and there :)"

I was the same! I think I read CKate first too - but then realised it paled in comparison once I read the next one... at the age of 14. I do remember really enjoying False Colours and I have read that one since, but maybe in my early 20s?

I'll be interested to see what I think of them in my mid-40s :)