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MC is obnoxious and it has that quirky one-liners style. Not reading this.

Chose this as a NF related to Hortensia by Elizabeth Bonhote.

Finished this. Lays it on a bit thick but satisfying ending, I had fun.

Picked The History of Lady Julia Mandeville by Frances Brooke as an influence for this, Bonhote mentions a 'Brooke' as good reading in her Parental Monitor, gonna guess Frances was meant.

Into Vol 2/2 and it's starting to drag a bit, series of letters that are just back and forth complaints and assurances with little plot progression.

Funny how these characters who are down on their luck always seem to find an adorable, multi-room pastoral 'cottage' with a well tended garden and beautiful flowers that just happens to be within their budget lol. And a devoted servant who not only agrees to work for free, they offer up their life savings. :\

Listening to the Librivox audiobook of this, which is pretty well done.

The politics in this is really slimy (Orczy is very pro-nobility and reacting against the French Revolution by upping her disdain for the poor), but they are entertaining adventure novels if you roll your eyes at all that. This is not me advocating ignoring it - think it's important to pay attention and read mindfully when it comes to that kind of thing - never ignore it.

Eric John Stark novel that's part of Leigh Brackett's Solar System series. This is a reworked version of a short work I've read before, so it's kinda a reread.

In my reading games this is Light Reading (1: authors I've read before). Thought it weakened near the end but I liked this author's Protectorate trilogy.

Haven't quite started this either but it's upper level queued. In my games this is under Moderate to Heavy Reading (1: authors I've read before). I read this author's Crescent, way back, and liked it.

Haven't quite started this but it's upper level cued.

In my games this is under New Books (1: uncommon Library of Congress categories). It's under PR9510, in one of the sections Library of Congress has for fiction written in English that hasn't been put under their UK or US categories.

Around halfway through this. The MC, despite her excellence, beauty, and perfect virtue, is under the power of her profligate libertine of a husband. Her attempts at turning him around via tolerance and sweetness have been completely ineffectual.

This doesn't have the underlying wit of Frances Burney or Jane Austen that makes people see their books as serious literature, but it's pretty competently written, I like it.

In my reading games this is Classics (sub-category 1: mid-18th c).

Got this a a library sale last year - I was looking for lighter stuff to read because everything I own seems to be serious business litfic or classics. :\ It's a 1970's gothic romance.

Opera prodigy Leila goes on her first opera tour with her ailing teacher as chaperon. There's a creepy mansion that comes into play later in the book that's required for the genre, but it almost feels out of place, like the author wanted to write a coming-of-age story about an opera star but had to make it fit into a gothic romance.

The characterization has some depth and it has a nice sense of place. I liked the parts in Salt Lake City, the train rides, and the part in San Francisco.

First in the Harlequin Historical series, in 1988. Stars Victoria and her cousin Amy, both of which find their soulmate, obviously.

It's a Western, definitely one of my least favorite settings, but enjoyable enough. It was 300p of pretty tiny font, so not exactly a quick read. I like the retro cover.

Enjoyable listen. Even though I've listened to 14 of these by now, the MC doesn't really breathe for me. The mystery plotting is fun, though.

I think the length of these is gonna start to stretch soon. Early ones were short.

This is the kind of book where I'm glad I freed myself from having to review / rate things - it doesn't work on a scale. I like this edition better than the Daisy Dunn edition.

Part of my influence game - influence on Petrarch.

This was very frustrating by the end. I'm just not into the same poetry this guy likes. I do think I like it better than the English language poets in the following generation, who rejected it, though.