Member Since:
July 30, 2015
Corinne80
Corinne80's favorite authors on Smashwords
Smashwords book reviews by Corinne80
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Swept Away
on Jan. 03, 2020
I very much enjoyed reading this. Not too long nor stuffed with overlong thoughts or self-doubts of the characters. Set in the early 20th century.
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Paradise Regained
on June 12, 2020
This was refreshingly different. While I do enjoy fantasy sometimes, I usually shy away from stories of royalty in non-existent kingdoms. This one is set in the area of Iran, more or less. The king is a younger son of an English duke, his queen the daughter of a now powerless despot. There's a bit of intrigue about getting James back to England. But mostly it's about tested trust and love between the king and queen. This serves as a prequel to a series I am curious to read.
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Fire & Frost
on June 12, 2020
These Bluestocking Belles are very talented writers. Their styles in writing these stories are quite similar, thus there is a comfortable continuity in reading. In all of the stories, characters reappear and some are added from the authors' other stories, e.g. Caroline Warfield's contribution takes place before A Dangerous Nativity and includes Lady Georgiana from Dangerous Works. Amy Quinton's contribution was the most humorous, with a bit of risqué humor shared between h and H.
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Valentines from Bath
on March 07, 2023
(no rating)
I've read much of the works of Jude Knight and Caroline Warfield. Their contributions to this anthology, The Beast Next Door and Candles in the Dark, are of the excellent quality of storytelling you can expect from them and make this worthwhile reading. The Beast Next Door is a lovely story of childhood friends reunited in adulthood. Both are unsure of the other's feelings. Fortunately, their (short-term) insecurity does not lead to drawn out and repetitive "thoughts" of their doubts. The story moves along at a quick pace without rushing. Candles in the Dark is centered around the precarious situation of a pregnant, unmarried gentlewoman. She has the good fortune to be aided by Douglas Marsh, who is almost too good to be true. ;) Jessica Cale's Beauty and the Bounder was an entertaining story. However, I felt the behavior of Sebastian and Charlotte quite inappropriate for the situation and period, causing Emilie much unneeded anguish. Sherry Ewing's The Earl Takes a Wife was my least favorite. It was ok, if a bit predictable. Amy Quinton is totally new to me. I found her Umbrella Chronicles quite entertaining and original, with interesting characters. The story includes a matchmaking aunt, superstition and social awkwardness of the hero.
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Valentines from Bath
on March 07, 2023
I've read much of the works of Jude Knight and Caroline Warfield. Their contributions to this anthology, The Beast Next Door and Candles in the Dark, are of the excellent quality of storytelling you can expect from them and make this worthwhile reading. The Beast Next Door is a lovely story of childhood friends reunited in adulthood. Both are unsure of the other's feelings. Fortunately, their (short-term) insecurity does not lead to drawn out and repetitive "thoughts" of their doubts. The story moves along at a quick pace without rushing. Candles in the Dark is centered around the precarious situation of a pregnant, unmarried gentlewoman. She has the good fortune to be aided by Douglas Marsh, who is almost too good to be true. ;) Jessica Cale's Beauty and the Bounder was an entertaining story. However, I felt the behavior of Sebastian and Charlotte quite inappropriate for the situation and period, causing Emilie much unneeded anguish. Sherry Ewing's The Earl Takes a Wife was my least favorite. It was ok, if a bit predictable. Amy Quinton is totally new to me. I found her Umbrella Chronicles quite entertaining and original, with interesting characters. The story includes a matchmaking aunt, superstition and social awkwardness of the hero.
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A Companion for Life
on March 26, 2023
Something very different to the standard historical romance stories. Lily is a doormat, abused and misused for years by her family. She is truly saved by the hero Penryth. A misunderstanding between them is to a degree amusing, but could have been ended earlier. I looked forward to continue reading, curious of how their story would progress. I only regret not getting around to reading this earlier. The epilogue set a few years later provided an unexpected twist. A few typos, mostly misplaced quotation marks, but nothing distracting.
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The Hired Wife
on March 26, 2023
I enjoyed reading this twist on the matrimonial advertisement theme, where marriage is not mentioned in the advertisement. At times Marshall's loud behavior is a bit cringe worthy, romp-like. Then there is Mary's destitute status for some Gothic feel in the beginning. This is the first I've read by the author and will add more. A bit of basic proofreading would not be amiss, Lord Morley is first a marquis, then earl.
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Lucky in Love
on March 30, 2023
Short and sweet farce/romp. What Edmund is willing to do to 'thoroughly' win a wager! Yes, in parts silly, but intentionally so. It had be grinning and even laughing out loud.