"Rondo Allegro" by Sherwood Smith - a classical-style story of the Napoleonic wars

Trading secrets for security, Anna Maria Ludovisi's dying father marries her to the British fleet's sacrificial lamb, Captain Henry Duncannon, known as the Perennial Bachelor. Mere minutes after the wedding, he sets sail. When French invasion threatens, Anna flees to Paris, where she becomes a professional singer in order to survive. Years later, Anna's opera company is traveling through Spain when events bring the long-missing Captain Duncannon and his forgotten wife back together again, as the English, Spanish, and French fleets converge for battle off the Cape of Trafalgar. For Henry Duncannon as well as Anna, everything changes: the demands of war, the obligation of family, the meaning of love, and the concept of home. Can they find a new life together?

One of my favorite books from my early teen years was Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel/Court Duel duology, and between that and her Wren books, it cemented her in my mind as a fantasy author. Thus it was a bit of a surprise to recently come across a historical romance for adults by said author.

She has absolutely captured the writing style of the classic authors a century and more ago--I would have expected someone of the generation of Baroness Orczy (The Scarlet Pimpernel) or Rafael Sabatini (Scaramouche and Captain Blood) to have authored this book. The story is told in third person omniscient, a point of view that I don't care for in modern literature, but it suits the time period and that classic writing style. Word choice, sentence construction, the use of foreign language without explaining every last phrase--it is all perfectly on point.

Another reviewer described this as more of a coming-of-age story than a romance, and that is a perfect description. There is romance (and clean romance at that), but it's far more the story of how Anna grows into a woman and, eventually, a true wife. Our hero has some growing to do as well, though he has already experienced much of the world by the time he is forced into marriage at the beginning of the novel. The book was longer than I expected, but I really enjoyed it for the detail that the author was able to capture.

And it isn't just drawing-room romance: there's a clear depiction of ever-changing post-terror France and her not-precisely-respectable musical scene. And it's the start of the Napoleonic wars, with naval battles and the threat of spies, and even some gore in the heat and wake of battle. There are clear contrasts and similarities between the countries Anna spends time in; it's interesting to see the ways Italy,  France, Spain, and England were the same and where they greatly differed.

Apparently this beloved fantasy author of my youth can still speak to adult me through her writing! Highly satisfactory.

Kara Isaac's "All Made Up"

Katriona McLeod loves her job as a professional makeup artist, but she has never been able to move past a broken heart. When the c-class reality show she is working has a number of contestants bow out because of illness, she and several other backstage employees get pulled in to fill in the numbers, with the expectation they will be voted off that night. But when it turns out the bachelor is Caleb Murphy, the man who broke her heart, and that he is desperate for an ally, she can't find it in her to say no. But Kat knows that even with what appears to be a second chance at love, there's a good chance her heart will be broken all over again.

If Kat McLeod hadn't been so intriguing during her appearances in the past three books by the author, I'm not sure I'd have read this book; reality shows, particularly dating shows, are really not my thing. At all. But it was Kat . . . And when it comes down to it, mega churches aren't in my realm of interest, yet Kara Isaac wrote a pretty spectacular book about one. And I have no desire to read about rowing or tabloid-related anything, yet Kara Isaac wrote a beautiful story involving both subjects. But I do like Lord of the Rings, so that's one out of four . . . So her track record is pretty incredible. It's a mark of a good author if she can take subjects of no interest--or even outright distaste--and create stories that are so intriguing, so emotionally investing, that I can't wait to finish them anyway. The characters, the romance, the emotional pull--everything is so well written.

I was pretty sure I knew what was wrong with Kat (besides her family issues), but I still cried to hear it spelled out. I don't want to go into spoilers, but it's a hard thing for a woman to live with. Very hard. And to think of the lost opportunities . . . No wonder she's a bit of a mess. But then, so are most of us, each in our own way.

Fun cameos from the other books, both an amusing and scary look inside reality TV, and real depth of character make for another great book!

Related novels:
Close to You
Can't Help Falling
Then There Was You

"Aiming for Love" by Mary Connealy - Brides of Hope Mountain, book 1

Growing up isolated in the mountains of Colorado with her two sisters, Josephine Nordegren has been fascinated by but has shied away from the outside world--one she's been raised to believe killed her parents. When Dave Warden, a rancher, shows up to their secret home with his wounded father, will Josephine and her sisters risk stepping into the world to help or remain separated but safe on Hope Mountain?

This was a fun concept for a story, with the girls growing up in such deep isolation. It was certainly entertaining that the girls grew up with some extremely skewed ideas, particularly their belief that a Danish copy of (presumably) Aesop's fables comprised the second book of the bible. But on the other hand, it was also a little more serious than I was anticipating, with how the curiosity and hunger for more human interaction in Jo warred with the fear of people in her older sister and caused genuine strife. They're a bit messed up, between the isolation and the fears their grandmother imputed on them.

The story ended rather abruptly--I wasn't expecting it to just be done (granted, I was reading on a kindle where it's much easier to lose track of how much is left than in a physical copy). But I guess I was expecting a bit more out of the climax too, which didn't help matters. There's definitely a lot that wasn't resolved, so I'm guessing that Mitch and Ilsa will be taking up the mantle in the next book. I'm really looking forward to seeing who will be capable of pulling Ursula from her hermitage.

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

Brides of Hope Mountain
1. Aiming for Love
2. Woman of Sunlight
3. Her Secret Song

"The Spice King" by Elizabeth Camden - Hope and Glory, book 1

Gray Delacroix has dedicated his life to building a successful global spice empire, but it has come at a cost. Tasked with gaining access to the private Delacroix plant collection, Smithsonian botanist Annabelle Larkin unwittingly steps into a web of dangerous political intrigue and will be forced to choose between her heart and her loyalty to her country.

I have never known a better author than Elizabeth Camden for highlighting the nontraditional roles of historic women in the workplace, nor have I known an author better at dropping characters into the gray areas of morality and ethics that leads me to contemplate long after the book is done what I would have done in the characters' place.

I love botany (and utilizing many spices in my cooking), so I loved both Gray's and Annabelle's jobs in the botanical world. Aside from the malaria, I love the idea of traveling the world for the finest spices. I've probably commented on this for nearly every one of the author's books I've read, but it's so refreshing to see women upholding nontraditional roles--like Annabelle's job in the Smithsonian--without it being a book about women's lib. There's a lot of those those books out there, and good ones at that, but I really like that instead, these are about confident, competent women who have unquestionably earned their place already.

I writhed and squirmed for chapters after the generals confront Annabelle with their offer. It's hard to discuss without spoiling things, but it's one of those gray areas that felt wrong (especially how they want her to go about it), though I get why they ask her to. National security is something that our country takes seriously for a reason. If it had been about someone despicable, then I'd have cheered her on, but it wasn't. And maybe that says something about me, that I want to bend rules for people I like, while Annabelle staunchly stands by her beliefs, even when the results aren't what she ever wanted. I hope I'm never put in a position like hers!

Though the story is resolved, particularly in Gray and Annabelle's fight for food purity, I suspect there's still something fishy going on in DC, especially about the whole Luke situation . . . I'm definitely looking forward to the next book.

Hope and Glory
1. The Spice King
2. A Gilded Lady
3. The Prince of Spies