After reading all four of the original Jamie-and-Claire epic time travel love stories and having started the fifth, I took a break to reread ALL of Julia Quinn's novels. These are candy. They make me laugh. They are like old friends.
You may know how this goes....you pick up one book by an author because of convenience...perhaps you're in the waiting room and one is sitting in the basket on the floor by your feet. Or...you're in the car outside of a school (waiting) and one is found under the front seat of your car. Or....you're waiting at a red light and one flies through your open passenger side window, onto your lap...open.... in any event, once you read one page: hooked! Hooked until they are all done...again! As for me...I was looking for something light to read in the bath....Fiery Cross, while very good is not light! It has to weigh over 3 pounds. Not something easy to hold in the bath without dropping it into the water.
I have 19 of the Quinn novels in the home and got to thinking one night about How to Marry a Marquis That's my favorite Quinn novel. The whole premise is a hoot....(these are all historical romance, btw) Poor gal with 3 younger siblings to support finds a book How to Marry a Marquis (the book in the book) Reading it, she decides to practice on the estate manager...who actually is a Marquis...in disguise.
This is the introduction to Lady Danbury, that feisty older woman who shows up in the Bridgerton series. It's also the story of a good friend of characters in To Catch an Heiress. So of course, I then had to reread To Catch an Heiress. When that was done, I just had to reread Emma's, Belle's and Henry's stories again! These are older Quinn novels. More stilted but still a hoot! Many characters show up again and again in later novels....
Splendid: Emma, disguised as a maid, throws herself in front of a carriage to save the Duke of Ashbourne's young nephew.
Dancing at Midnight: Lady Arabella Blydon takes a walk in the woods and finds a mysterious stranger. Well...maybe not so strange. And not long a stranger....
Minx: Henrietta gets a new guardian....how to convince him that he doesn't want to live in the country so that she can get back to managing the estate?
Another related character is Ned Blydon....I haven't reread that book, yet...but I will as soon as I find it!
In the meantime, I've started the Bridgerton series again!
Some background on Julia Quinn: She's not really Julia Quinn. She decided on that name because that would get her books right next to Amanda Quick's (who...most everyone knows is not really named Amanda Quick! Her name is Jayne Krentz!) Julia Quinn started med school...but decided that writing fiction would be a whole lot more fun. Can't argue with that!!!
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I have never been a fan of re-reading a book.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading 2 right now. Skeleton Man by Tony Hillerman (it was at John's apartment and I had forgotten the book I am reading) and I'm also reading The Last Summer (of you and me) by Ann Bashares. She wrote Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. Last summer is an OK book, not a super page turner but it's keeping my attention. Skeleton Man is easy reading... I think it will go quickly.
The Last Summer is about 2 sisters who have a summer place on Fire Island with their family. Their very good friend lives enxt door and his name is Paul. There's love, romance, blah, blah blah. Good story though!
Skeleton Man is about Joe Leaphorn, a retuired Navaho Tribal Police Lieutinant who come sout of retirement to help in an investigation. Dry humor, a whodunit. Apparently this is a recurring character and they take place in the southwest. If I like this one, I might try to find the others (there are 19 but not sure if they are all Joe Leaphorn books) and read them form the beginning.
Hey Joanie!
ReplyDeleteI hope you're feeling better now!!!
Re: Rereading books: I don't think I started to reread books until I was midway through my 30s... I was looking for a new author but couldn't find any books that hooked me in (by their back covers) So...to tide me over, I reread a book...I'm pretty sure it was an Amanda Quick regency romance.
That worked out so well that I decided to reread my whole wall of books! It's like revisiting an old friend...and I always find something new in that book that I hadn't considered previously. It's better when the books have recurring characters because then there's more to tie-in to other books that you read later.
There are 15 Joe Leaphorn novels and Skeleton Man is the 2nd to last....oooh....if you enjoy that one, think of all the reading you'll have waiting for you! Last Summer sounds really good...I'll have to keep my eye out for it.
I could send The Last Summer to you when I'm finished, which will be any day now. I nearly finished it.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a wall of books. I tend to pass them on when I finish them. I do, however, have about 30 books waiting fo rme to read for the first time. I have some that I started and put down because Grafton or Grisham or Cornwell had a new one come out.
I'm also waiting for James Patterson's 7th Women's Murder Club to come out in paperback.
I'm finished that book. Do you want it?
ReplyDeleteAny more book reviews coming? :)
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