Love Only Once by Johanna Lindsey 2015 TBR Challenge

The theme for this month's TBR Challenge was More Than One: a book by an author you have more than one of in your TBR pile. So I chose Love Only Once, the first book of Johanna Lindsey's acclaimed Malory Family series. I also have Tender Rebel (which I'm trying to read, but good grief is stupid Scottish dialect making it difficult) and Gentle Rogue, which is the one I actually wanted to read because PIRATES. But I was told I should read the Malory books in order because we meet the hero of Gentle Rogue for the first time in Love Only Once. James Malory is heroine Regina Ashton's uncle and he comes into the story the SECOND time the heroine gets kidnapped in this book. Yes, that's right. She gets kidnapped twice in the same book by two different men. It's delicious. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The basic story here is that virgin orphan Regina Ashton is kidnapped by mistake by the former lover of a woman whose carriage she borrows to do a quick errand. Nicholas Eden is a dissolute rake: a despoiler of young aristocratic maidens and drunken racer of horses. Though Regina is returned unsoiled to her family, of course the two are found out and society's rules dictate that Regina and Nicholas must marry. This is to Regina's delight (she thinks he's hot) and Nicholas's horror (he has a DARK SEKRIT that he thinks he needs to protect Regina from). Of course, all works out in the end.

For any lover of historical romance, this plot is a familiar one. That said, there are a couple differences here between Love Only Once and some, in my view, worse examples of this plot. First, I think it's poking subtle fun at the kidnapped virgin trope. Regina is kidnapped by the rake, who thinks she is his former mistress, and returned unmolested to her family. Plus she is actually attracted to the hero and not at all scared (really, really not scared, not just trying to be brave). This is reinforced by a SECOND kidnapping--this time at the hand of her own uncle. That's gotta be a joke, right? Look at The Flame and the Flower for a different example: frightened, kidnapped virgin orphan is mistaken for a prostitute and raped by her captor. Definitely not what happens here (page 64, Nicholas starts).

"I want to kiss you again before you go."

"No."

"Just a good-night kiss."

"No."

His free hand cupped her cheek. He hadn't bothered to collect his gloves or hat before they left his house, and his bare fingers were hot against her skin. She couldn't move, and she waited breathlessly for him to steal the kiss she had refused him.

He did, his lips moving in to fasten on hers for a kiss that was nothing like any kiss she'd had before. Warm and masterful, his lips tasted hers until she thought she would explode.

She waits breathlessly, his lips are warm and masterful, she thinks she's going to explode. Though she says no, she's standing on her uncle's front step at this point. She could summon help if she desired it, duck his kiss, slap him--these are options we've all exercised at some point, right? But she really wants Nicholas. Not that this isn't problematic (she still said no--he still disregarded it), but it's a pretty mild example for this point in the history of historical romance. And when they do finally get to the point of sex, the heroine is not exactly the sexual aggressor, but she is most definitely a willing participant (page 130):

Deep down Reggie knew that Nicholas was not going to be satisfied with just kissing her, not this time. But a voice inside her demanded to know why she wanted to stop him.

He was going to be her husband, wasn't he? Why should she deny him anything--especially when she didn't want to deny him anything? 

They go on to have mutually satisfying sex in the garden. Then later in the book, Nicholas "forces himself on her" which I put in quotes because it's one of the milder forced seduction scenes I've seen. Plus Reggie gets playfully chased around the bedroom and throws a book at Nicholas' head before succumbing. Then this in the aftermath (page 313):

What a marvelous way to be awakened, Reggie thought, snuggling closer to the solid length of her husband. And she wasn't tired, even though she had been loved ardently into the small hours of the night. Not tired. Feeling wonderful. She would have to insist he force himself on her more often.

It may seem like I'm going out of my way to excuse Nicholas' actions, but this book was published in 1985. During my recent Utterly Unscientific Summer Saturday Series Sex Survey, I've been exposed to many, many examples of women feeling guilty about their desires, being forced by their heroes into kisses and more, and there was very little premarital sex. By contrast, the historical romance of the period, including Love Only Once, looks almost progressive. When I expressed this opinion on Twitter this week, romance historian Kelly Faircloth confirmed that in Janice Radway's 1984 book, Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature, some of the women interviewed about romance expressed a similar sentiment.

@elisabethjlane what's interesting is the women interviewed for Reading the Romance said something similar at the time

— Kelly Faircloth (@kellyfaircloth) June 11, 2015

@elisabethjlane most of them were historical fans and there are several comments expressing frustration with HQNs of the time

— Kelly Faircloth (@kellyfaircloth) June 11, 2015

Between Regina's own self-confidence, her station in life, her financial resources, and the protection of her family, she is a formidable woman despite being a type (virgin orphan) that historical romances often portray as exceedingly vulnerable. In a society that gives very little autonomy or agency to women, Regina is constrained in a lot of ways, but she twists those constraints to get exactly what she wants (marriage to the dreamy-gorgeous Nicholas). I liked that she had everyone wrapped around her little finger, the sly little fox. Nicholas is another matter. If you're a reader who reads for heroes, you'll likely not be terribly happy with this book. Nicholas is obtuse, whiney and petulant. He eventually gets over it thankfully, but I doubt he'll ever be anyone's favorite hero.

So that's Love Only Once. My understanding is that the knowledge gained about James Malory is worth the read before getting to Gentle Rogue. And this truly wasn't a bad book. I'll admit to some trepidation going into these older romances, but this one is pretty harmless, if not necessarily brilliant or astonishingly well-written. It certainly can't hold a candle to my favorites from this period of romance and I admit to not fully getting the Johanna Lindsey hype. But I will press on with at least the next two books of the series. Because PIRATES.

Darling Beast Joint Review with Ana from Immersed in Books

Today I'm reviewing Elizabeth Hoyt's Darling Beast with Ana Coqui from Immersed in Books. This has become a regular series for us, though we're not on any specific schedule. Thus far we have reviewed Living in Sin by Anastasia Vitsky and Entreat Me and Radiance by Grace Draven. We hope you enjoy reading our chatter at each other as much as we've been enjoying writing it! And in case you missed it, my monthly column with Alexis Hall is up at All About Romance. We reviewed Ginn Hale's The Lord of White Hell and we were thrilled to be joined this month by Willaful.

Elizabeth Hoyt’s 7th Maiden Lane book, Darling Beast, features the previous heroine’s brother, Apollo Greaves, who was sprung from Bedlam by the hero of the previous book, Maximus Batten, Duke of Wakefield, and is now on the run from the law while assisting his friend in rebuilding Harte’s Folly, the pleasure garden that burned at the end of the 6th book. Lily Stump was once a sought after comedic actress employed by Harte who finds herself squatting in the ruined theater on the grounds, when she is blackballed at other theaters. When Lily’s son stumbles upon Apollo working in the garden, Apollo is unable to speak, the legacy of an attack by a guard during his incarceration. Before these two can find their happy ending, they must clear Apollo’s name and ensure Lily’s son’s safety.

Trigger warning for rape and spousal abuse. 

Elisabeth: Hoyt’s Maiden Lane series contains some really remarkable books in the early part of the series, but with Darling Beast, we seem to be starting a new story arc, so doesn’t seem like a bad place for newcomers to jump in.

Ana: I have read most of Hoyt’s Prince books but I had not kept up with the Maiden Lane series. I agree that this a great jump on point. While I missed some of the connections between the secondary characters, it was very easy to follow without having read the first 6 books.

Elisabeth: Well, you should remedy that! Thief of Shadows, the 4th book of the series is definitely one of my favorite historical romances of all time. Assuming you enjoyed this one, that is!

Ana:  I did enjoy it. It wasn’t perfect, I had some issues with a couple things, but I’m definitely planning on going back and filling in the gaps. And since I had the ARC to Dearest Rogue, book 8, I read that as soon as I finished Darling Beast.  

Elisabeth: Well, let’s start with issues then and move on to what we liked. What stood out for you as less than ideal?

Ana:  My biggest struggle with the book is that one of the major conflicts Apollo and Lily have is over his identity. First she doesn’t know who he is and that keeps them apart for a bit, but then the biggest issue is once she realizes who he is, she just can’t see them building a lasting relationship. She has a lot of reasons and evidence for that, and I felt that it was essentially set aside and glossed over in the end. Having read Dearest Rogue and having looked over some of the synopsis for the other stories, I now know cross-class romance is a recurring theme in the Maiden Lane books, but I wanted a better answer to her objections.

Elisabeth: Yes, I can see that. I guess I excused it because they both had life-altering experiences that came full circle at the end of the book. The resolution of Apollo’s inheritance issues and Lily’s concerns about the continued safety of her child were things that had been hanging over both of them for so long. I think it made sense for them to find solace in each other after going through that together. That sounds pretty thin, but I honestly didn’t think about it at the time.

Ana:  I know that I loved the Epilogue but I had been highlighting all passages where Lily worries that it surprised me when it was resolved by just saying...look my family accepts you. I had so many questions about Lily’s future and career. (Thankfully some of those were answered in Dearest Rogue).

Elisabeth: I didn’t highlight any of that stuff. I think I saw her objections as a rational reaction to trauma inflicted by a member of the aristocracy, but figured that once that trauma was resolved, her issues would be resolved. And Apollo is clearly nothing like that other aristocrat in any way.

Ana: You are totally right about that. That is a huge part of why it works. He is able to show her that he isn’t that man, and won’t behave that way.  I did love how both of them were so good at their jobs, and struggled with how limiting aristocratic views on work are. I thought that was a fantastic connection for them to have.

Elisabeth: I’m actually kind of struggling with this discussion because Elizabeth Hoyt is one of those writers that I just don’t think about very much. I mean, I’ve read all her books and she does seem to gravitate toward certain themes (finding meaningful work is definitely one, non-traditional routes to parenting is another), but I just enjoy the world she creates and so...get kind of lost in that? I feel a little guilty about it honestly because I’m consuming this series in such a mindless way. But that I suppose is a gift in itself. It’s so rare that I take off my critical hat long enough to just enjoy a romance any more so I have to give Hoyt credit for being the first writer to do that for me in a LONG time.

Ana: I think when I was reading tons and tons of historicals I had a tendency to do that too. I read so few of them now, that I can’t help but look out for some those issues. I know that when I was consuming the Prince books, I didn’t think about the class imbalances in some of those.

So did you have any issues or did it just all work for you?

Elisabeth: I think it all worked for me. I wasn’t cognizant of any points that I objected to, though I was a bit taken aback by a fairly graphic description of spousal abuse near the end of the book. It’s definitely something that people with sensitivities in that area should be aware of because it’s hinted at throughout, but it does get fairly explicitly violent at one point in flashback.

Ana: Yes, you are right. Other potentially triggering moments were when Apollo talks about how he was assaulted and how others in Bedlam were treated.

Elisabeth: Oh, here’s a question. It seemed like perhaps at one point Hoyt was implying that Apollo had been raped? Or did you not pick up that? It’s not explicitly stated, I don’t think?

Ana: Oh, I picked up on that. I think I highlighted it because it is so rare to see that come up in a book. He really struggles thinking about or describing how he was treated. But he does describe one of the guards dropping the falls of his pants while he was being held down.

Elisabeth: Yes, I wasn’t sure, but you’re right. I think we are led to understand that that he has experienced sexual abuse in addition to being beaten. I do see rape backstories more often in m/m romance and with heroines, but yeah, more rare when it’s a hero in m/f romance, especially an adult hero.

So what worked for you about Darling Beast?

Ana:  The parallel story in the epigraphs.  Hoyt starts off each chapter with piece from “The Minotaur”. I usually tend to ignore those pieces of poetry and such at the start of chapters because I just want to rush back into the main story, but as the book went on I found myself slowing down and taking the time to read the snippets.

Elisabeth: Um. I skipped them. All of them. I’m a terrible reader! Why were these more interesting than usual?

Ana: I think I was annoyed at them at the beginning, I even posted on twitter asking if anyone bothered to read them.  But I think I read one by mistake and it started alerting me that while there is a Beauty and the Beast element to the story, it was really going to focus a lot more on the question of identity, inheritance and violence.  

Elisabeth: It sounds like I should go back and read them. Maybe I will be less annoyed by them if I read them all at once.

Ana: Some of them were really long!  So what else worked for you?

Elisabeth: I don’t have a lot of historical romance series that I follow. I never got sucked into the Cynsters or Spindle Cove, for example. So my pleasure in this was seeing some familiar faces like the Duke of Wakefield, who is a fascinating character, and then being introduced to a few new faces that I’m DEEPLY curious about and will, I’m assuming, get their own book at some point.

Ana:  Are you talking about Montgomery?

Elisabeth: *bounces up and down* YES YES YES! Gosh he’s odd. Just the kind of hero I like. His actions in this book are almost inexplicable. I can’t wait to find out what drives him.

Ana: I had the same reaction to him in this book. I was really attracted to his near malevolence and manipulative dandyness.  He reminded me a lot of the Duke of Darling in Anna Cowan’s Untamed. Dangerous and easy to underestimate.  You will see a lot more of him in the next book.  But I was surprised to discover that the book after that is not his book, but it is someone connected to him.  

Elisabeth: I’ve found this series to be like that a bit. I guess until I discussed this with you, I wasn’t as attuned to how up and down it has been. The 5th book was a little more of a throwaway for me too: kind of a bridge between Thief of Shadows and Duke of Midnight. None of them have been bad, I don’t think. It’s just that some of the characters are total stand-outs and other have been less so. I think this one may be one of those “less so” ones for me.

Ana: The romance in the next book worked a lot more for me.

Elisabeth: And I have been eagerly awaiting Trevillion’s book so I’m very much looking forward to starting that one. He’s a huge character in the previous three books and he has changed a lot.

Ana: Has Harte been in a lot of the previous books? Because he is the hero of book after Trevillion’s.

Elisabeth: Oh, yeah. He was a big character in the 6th book especially when the Folly burns down so that makes sense really. Still, I’m impatient for Montgomery now!

Ana: You will have to buzz me when you read the next book. Because I have thoughts.

Elisabeth: Definitely! So any final thoughts about Darling Beast?

Ana: I think it was charming and a very enjoyable read despite the hard topics it dealt with. I am glad to have read it and reconnected with Hoyt through it. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed her books.

Elisabeth: Yes, dealing with hard topics in a way that still allows the story to work is something that I think Hoyt excels at. And I love that it happens within a story that still works as a romance. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Lily and Apollo, but I enjoyed their love story.

A lifelong genre reader, Ana grew up reading fantasy, sci-fi & mystery novels in Puerto Rico. Ana discovered comics in college before finally wandering into the Romance section a few years ago after bawling through yet another YA dystopian series. A recovering English and History double major, Ana is now a school librarian, mother of two geeky girls and a pastor's wife in Rochester, NY. When she is not reading or writing reviews, she is knitting or planning her next trip. She writes about books at her blog: Immersed in Books and on Twitter as @anacoqui.

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong Dried Apple Pie

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong was eagerly awaited by this avid Cecilia Grant fan. Her Blackshear Family series is one for the few currently publishing Regency romance series I have consistently enjoyed. I love that her characters get into interesting scrapes and yet still feel like historical romance characters, not just contemporary heroes and heroines dressed up in period garb. This new novella highlights everything I have loved about Grant's work in the past and would be a great introduction for anyone who hasn't yet picked up one of her books.


This robust novella features eldest brother Andrew Blackshear, who has come across as fairly stern and judgmental in the other Blackshear books. He stays true to character here, which I loved because often when a hero is portrayed as something other than the powerful protector or the charming rake, he undergoes some kind of miraculous transformation prior to his book that changes him into a more marketable type. And while Andrew does change significantly over the course of this book, it's gradual and, given the extreme circumstances, entirely believable.

The major extreme circumstance is the heroine, Lucy Sharp, daughter of a widower mainly concerned with his hunting birds and modern philosophy. She has never been into society and has very little understanding of the theology, ethics, morality and rules of behavior that are Andrew's entire existence. Where Andrew is rules and duty personified, Lucy is chaos and sensibility. So when her coachman has an accident and can't drive her to the Christmas house party she has been eagerly anticipating, she cons Andrew in to taking her in his carriage.

It's not surprising when nothing goes as Andrew planned. Lucy's cheerful and oblivious disregard for propriety drive Andrew up a wall of course. His sternness and inflexibility are compromised right along with Lucy's reputation though, making for a fun and amusing read where everything does indeed go perfectly wrong until it's all right again.

A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong was the last of my holiday reads. Today being the last day of Christmas, liturgically speaking, I thought it would be a nice send-off to the 2014 holiday season. I hope everyone is having a lovely New Year thus far and a happy Epiphany!

This is the easiest apple pie I've ever made. Seriously. I love apple pie, but what I don't love is peeling and coring all those apples. It's so time-consuming! I know there are peeler/corer gadgets that makes it easier, but I have a small kitchen and am categorically opposed to gadgets that I will only use once or twice a year at most. And when I do make pie, it's usually for an event, not just dessert for my household of two. So there are other kitchen projects going on at the same time, making all the hands-on time of a normal apple pie a pain in the...well...yeah.

I'm assuming the heroine, as the unintended house guest of a down-and-out family, is using dried apples to make a Christmas pie because that's what would have been available in December in Regency England. Here in the United States in the 21st century though, the biggest problem I had with this recipe was sourcing the apples. Freeze-dried apple rings seem pretty common and you should absolutely not use those. After trying all my organic and gourmet grocery store options though, I sent my husband to Walmart for a new computer mouse and finally he found dried apple wedges there. I'm not sure why they get low reviews on the Walmart site. I didn't have any problems with them and thought they were pretty tasty just on their own.

The great thing is that rehydrating the apples instead of peeling and coring fresh ones takes about an hour, but it's totally hands-off time. They just sit in hot cider in a bowl on the counter, then you cook them for about 10 minutes to soften them up before putting them in the pie and baking. I was skeptical whether this would be any good, but I honestly would never have known they weren't fresh apples if I hadn't made it myself. The apples really held up nicely in the pie and the texture was perfect.

As for the crust, I'm never making pie crust any other way again. In the past, I had tried making pie crust with vodka, which is what the original Cook's Illustrated Recipe calls for and it's a miracle. Using part butter, part shortening is something I've always done because butter makes pie crust flaky and shortening makes it tender. But having liquid that evaporates in the oven and doesn't activate  gluten in the dough makes this pie crust almost foolproof. I say almost because 1) it's better and easier with a food processor, which not everyone has and 2) you still have to be careful not to overmix the dough, which is true of any pie crust.

In this particular recipe, I substituted Virginia single malt whisky for the vodka just to see if the extra flavor in the pie crust was interesting and I was a big fan. Having tried it now with both vodka and whisky, I suspect that any liquor that's about 80 proof or 40% alcohol would work just fine: brandy with peaches, rum for banana cream pies, kirsch for cherry pie. The options are pretty much endless. I intend to try them all!

Dried Apple Pie with Bourbon Pie Crust
adapted from Cook's Illustrated and Food.com

Makes: 12 servings
Time: 2 1/2 hours (hands-on time: 30 minutes)

Filling
3 cups dried apple wedges (approximately 9 ounces)
2 1/2 cups spiced apple cider (I used Trader Joe's)
3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for dusting
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk or 1 egg white for brushing top of pie.

Crust
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup bourbon, cold
1/4 cup ice cold water

1. Put dried apples in a medium bowl. Heat cider to a boil and pour over dried apples. Let stand 1 hour.

2. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until crumbs start to collect into clumps, about 15 seconds (there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

3. Sprinkle bourbon and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together.

4. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

6. Cook apples in cider for 10 minutes or until tender. Do not overcook. They will continue to cook in the oven.

7. In a large bowl, stir together sugar, cinnamon, flour, nutmeg and salt. Add apples and stir to coat.

8. Roll out one disc of pie dough for a 9" pie plate. Line pie plate with dough. Add apples.

9. Roll out second disc of dough and top the filling. Trim around the edges of the plate, then pinch together crusts, rolling pinched together crusts inward about half an inch. Pinch to form fluted edge. If desired, use scraps to cut out small, seasonally appropriate decorations (I used small holly leaves).

10. Using the milk or egg white, brush the top of the pie all over. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

11. Bake for 45-50 minutes.