Last Night's Scandal by Loretta Chase

I feel like I should apologize for adding yet another Regency Romance to the Bookish Souls blog, but I couldn't resist. Last Night's Scandal has a tongue-in-cheek humor that sets it apart from other Regency books and I found it a lot of fun to read.

The novel begins with a letter from Olivia to her dearest friend, Lisle. The letter is filled with capitalization and underlining and cross-outs at key points. The author uses the letters as a clever way to bring Olivia's independent and witty side out.  Lisle has been her friend from childhood and has spent the past several years in Egypt. His parents want him home and when he finally returns home for a visit, cut him off and demand he restore an old castle passed on by a cousin.

What makes this story so much fun is there is never a question that Olivia and Lisle like each other. After all, they have been friends for quite some time.  It's just that they've never looked at one another in that way. And when they do, it's a rather daunting prospect on both sides.  I love Olivia. She's a great foil for Lisle who has his own unique personality.

While the author did use the words "Mine", at least the heroine didn't say please and Lisle never growled.  A great regency and worth a look.

Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop PG-13

Perusing the shelves at the library, I overlooked this book on at least four occasions before finally deciding to read it.  For me, the turn off was the use of names like Lucivar & Daemon. But I did eventually read the book and discovered that I like Anne Bishop novels. 

Bishop has an ability to write characters that come alive off the page. The first book in a trilogy, Daughter of the Blood is about two brothers of a long-lived race who have been tormented and enslaved by the current queen & witch in Terreille.  They are in the room serving lords and ladies when a broken witch tells of the coming of the Queen of the Dark Realm.

The Queen of Darkness turns out to be a true heroine and a compassionate person. While none of the main characters are tame, in the moral code of right and wrong, they actually represent good. The whole realm is dark, and the brothers murder in self-defense. The enemy of the brothers and the coming queen is a pair of deranged women whose power enslaves the brothers for hundreds of years.

One of my favorite elements of the book is the introduction of the kindred.  They are animals with the power to communicate and provide comic relief and joy to the story. I'm not one to like incredibly dark topics, and this book does deal with some very harsh topics and sensitive issues including rape which would not be suitable for a younger audience. This is probably the darkest book I've read that I can say I liked reading.