Meet Me At Midnight by Jacqueline Navin

I started to read this story last year and it actually received the lowest grade of any book I read in 2006. I actually couldn't finish reading the darn thing because I found it utterly boring. At the insistence of one of my fellow readers in my reading group (Thanks Mal!) I gave it another shot and I was very surprised in discovering that I actually enjoyed the book!

Raphael, Viscount Fontvilliers had a difficult childhood after his mother abandoned him to the mercy of a man who doubted Raphael's legitimacy. He was emotionally battered and his faith in love destroyed by his father. He became a cynic which made him vulnerable to the wager his friends put upon him. He was to prove love did not exist and he was to do this by destroying one of the most stable couples in London.

Julia Brodie was just at the wrong place at the wrong time when she was chosen to be the instrument to win Raphael's wager. Julia has lead a comfortable life, never aspiring more than she felt her station merited. She had an 'understanding' with her beau, Simon and just awaits the day in which he pops the question. Every thing in her life is smooth and on target until she meets Fontvilliers and he makes her question the complacency of her life.

The problem with this book originally was that the story was too slow to start with. It didn't help that I was really not in the mood to read it. I originally felt no connection with Raphael and found him a bit on the slimy side. He was just so calculating and uncaring I could not feel anything besides anomosity toward him. On this second reading I actually picked up more on little nuances in Raphael's behavior that made me more receptive to his actions. After I passed the slow start (which didn't really change on the second serving) the story picked up a life of its own, Raphael seemed to become more vulnerable the more his heart is given to Julia. Julia becomes more secure in herself, rallying up the nerve to defy her family and go after what she wants.

There was an interesting twist close to the end of the book when Simon and Raphael have a duel over Julia. This added a different atmosphere to the book itself and I'm not sure I really cared for it. I guess it gave Julia and Raphael more time to be together; also it gave more time for Raphael to accept his vulnerability to Julia's love as well as acknowledge what was in his own heart. I loved the ending though. Raphael needed some redeeming and a lot of groveling for all that Julia had to put up with. HE did an excellent job at earning her love.

Grade: B

A Rose at Midnight by Jacqueline Navin

Magnus Eddington, the Earl of Rutherford, has recieved a death sentence from his doctors. With just about a year to live and little to show for his efforts at living he sets out to buy himself a wife that might provide him an heir.

After interviewing a few potential wives, Caroline Wembley applies for the position. Caroline is desperate for funds to help her mother and very ill brother. Her family was left destitute after her immoral father died. Besides the fact that Wembley (the father) was a pervert and a disgusting human being, he was also a baron which makes her a great candidate for the position of wife to an Earl.

Magnus is taken quite quickly with Caroline. He finds her quick wit as attractive as her other attributes which she has displayed in the only pretty gown she had.

I really loved this one. I could not give it a perfect score because the Earl had moments in which he was just a complete ass. The fact that he could not take time to give Caro a chance to explain why she needed money and Caro was also to blame since she just took everything he tolled out.
Yet the love story was sweet and unhurried.

The Magnus was flawed and desperate. He was so vulnerable in his illness and his emotions were so fraile after years of debauchery and idle pursuits. He never learned to trust, always shielding his heart from anyone that could get close enough to hurt him. His only refuge was his brother and there was betrayal there as well.

I'm a sucker for wounded heroes, both emotionally as well as physically and the Earl fit the bill.

Grade: A-

Anthology - Talk of the Ton

Picked this one up a while ago but had not gotten around to reading it. This month it works to satisfy both my Anthology of the Month goal as well as containing a short story by Jacqueline Navin, who is the selected author in my Yahoo Reading Group's Author of the Month challenge.
The Anthology also has stories written by Eloisa James, Julia London and Rebecca Hagan Lee (who I have never read before).

Eloisa James - A Proper Englishwoman: (A) What a delightful short story. This is the tale of Gilbert Baring-Gould, Earl of Kerr who has been betrothed to Emma Loudan since they were children but has yet to collect his bride. He has spent a few years trying to get over the loss of his brother. He spent six months in Paris drunk and putting himself in situations that would result in his death, but failing at that, he has given up all vices. The ton has him pegged as a rakehell because he works at promoting that opinion. His underlying hope is that Emma will hear and call off their engagement.
Emma does hear. She hears that he would marry when she has his child in her belly and his ring on her finger. Of course Gil made the comment quoting Shakespeare and didn't think much of it, but Emma took it as a challenge and decided to seduce him during a masquerade party. But the thing is... Gil has given up his vices... all of them. The story was sweet and funny and just plain well done. Nice rounded tale where you didn't feel like you were dropped in the middle of a tale or were left wanting in the end. This was a great start to the Anthology.

Julia London - The Vicar's Widow: (C ) This one didn't start as promising as the first. I think it shocked me when the hero kissed the heroine - passionately I must interject – while the heroine was married to the local vicar. That was not really the shocking part, the shocking part was that she responded to the kiss - again, quite passionately - while she was, not just married, but also, in love with her husband. Come on now! If you plan on painting the heroine as a kind, gentle soul don't start it off painting her the wanton. When I got past that first glimpse of the main characters I settled in to enjoy the tale, unfortunately the story really didn't take off. In truth the romance was flat on her side and although he had been a scoundrel in the past he was head over heels for her and he showed it in the most romantic ways. She on the other hand…

Rebecca Hagan Lee - Clearly a Couple: (C )This third story is part of The Free Fellows League series by this author. Lord Barclay is given the task of picking up a parcel on his return to London from doing some work for the Free Fellows League. What he didn't realize is that the parcel is the granddaughter to Lord Admiral Sir Harold Gregory who had been abducted 5 years ago and spent the time as part of a sultan's harem. India is a sweet girl and Lord Barclay appears to be a very good man but in truth I just could not swallow that the couple fell in love over the period of one day when there was not much interaction between them. Friends maybe, some attraction definitely, but love? No way.
There was no real plot to this one. He arrives to the cottage, fights and overcomes the Turkish bodyguard, she has nightmares, he consoles her; they wake up, get a carriage and drive to London where he proposes. Just not a very good tale if you can even call it that.

Jacqueline Navin - Miss Jenny Alt's First Kiss: (B ) This is the story that had me digging the anthology out from the TBR pile. Navin was selected as the Author of the Month on my Yahoo Reading Group (as I mentioned before) and this was the only title I had of hers.
Genvieve Alt is somewhat of a wallflower but more of her chosing than anything else. She has come to London with her Aunt Iris and cousin Cassandra for her first season. Jenny is 22 but had put off her first season until it was Cassandra's turn at 18. She tries to blend into the walls as to not take attention away from her younger cousin. This has always been the case since she was brought to live with her Aunt after the death of her own parents.
A distant cousin by marriage of Aunt Iris has requested her assistance with introductions in the ton since he, the Earl of Hatherleigh, has to find himself a bride. There is no complex reason for his seeking the marriage mart except that he had promised his father that he would remarry (his first marriage was a disaster and after her death he avoided the whole business altogether) before he turned 25. The tale is not a cut and dry, 'I saw you, I wanted you' deal. Miles actually thought to offer for Cassandra who is the prettier one and who had shown a clear interest in him. But he noticed Jenny, who avoided him like the plague, was more suited for him. They shared interest and she was more suited to the country life he enjoyed. Unfortunately, Cassandra didn't think so and thus the sneaky conniving began.
I actually enjoyed this one a lot. I did find that Jenny was too much of a coward to really deserve Miles but the flow and the storytelling in this one kept me interested and in the end, I realized that I had enjoyed it a lot.

Grade: B-