A Woman of Virtue by Liz Carlyle

A Woman of Virtue (2001) (Pocket Books)

Liz Carlyle

Grade: C+

Genre: historical romance

Sex scenes: a little shy of hot

Source: own 

Lorimer Family and Clan Cameron series 

As the widow of the late Lord Walrafen, Cecilia Lorimer has free reign over her life. Her short, two-year marriage was anything but a love match and she now revels in the freedom that widowhood affords her. She has chosen to devote her time to the Daughters of Nazareth Society – a charity mission for former prostitutes, run by an old friend. When that same friend ropes in his brother-in-law David Branthwaite, Lord Delacourt to take over in his absence, both Cecilia and David are disgusted. Just six years before, David  compromised Cecilia against her will, which led to a hasty proposal. Adamant that she wouldn’t let society’s derision dictate her life, Cecilia jilted David publicly and he has never forgotten – or forgiven – her.

The Defiant Hero by Suzanne Brockmann

The Defiant Hero (2001) (Headline)
Suzanne Brockmann
Grade: B++
Genre: adventure / romantic suspense
Sex scenes: hot
Source: library 
Troubleshooters: (1) The Unsung Hero, (2) The Defiant Hero,
(3) Over the Edge, (4) Out of Control, (5) Into the Night, (6) Gone Too Far .... (15) Hot Pursuit

John Nilsson and Meg Moore first met in the warzone of Kazbekistan: John was undercover at the US Embassy, and Meg worked there as a translator. The attraction was smoking between them, but Meg was older and married with a young daughter. Several years later and though they’ve lost contact, when Meg holds the Kazbekistani Ambassador at gunpoint, John is the one she calls for.

Over the Edge by Suzanne Brockmann

Over the Edge (2001) (Headline)
Suzanne Brockmann
Grade: B+
Genre: romantic suspense / adventure
Sex scenes: hot
Source: own
Troubleshooters: (1) The Unsung Hero, (2) The Defiant Hero, (3) Over the Edge, (4) Out of Control, (5) Into the Night, (6) Gone Too Far .... (15) Hot Pursuit

As Senior Chief of the SEAL Team Sixteen Troubleshooters Squad, Stan Wolchonok is used to solving everyone’s problems. This time, however, he’s faced with a bit of a problem of his own. Lieutenant Teri Howe is finding herself the unwelcome recipient of a fellow officer’s sexual advances, and she’s powerless to do anything about it. This should be easy enough for Stan to handle and deal with, but he finds himself uncomfortably attracted to Teri himself.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

The Eyre Affair (2001) (Hodder and Stoughton)
Jasper Fforde
Grade: A
Genre: the rag-bag of genres as described below
Source: own, World Book Night edition
Thursday Next: (1) The Eyre Affair, (2) Lost in a Good Book, (3) The Well of Lost Plots

The year is 1985, the Crimean War is still waging on, dodos are in fashion, the public have a fascination with all things literary, and characters from Great English works of literary fiction are in great peril …

Thursday Next is a Crimean War veteran and a member of Special Ops 27: Literary Detectives. Her speciality is Shakespeare and her idea of an exciting day at work would be apprehending a group of literary fraudsters. When a first-edition of Martin Chuzzlewit goes missing, Thursday is put on the case as she designed the security designed to protect the work in the first place. She’s on the trail of Acheron, her former English lecturer at Swindon and a man whose name her superiors don’t dare to even utter. It is said that he knows whenever his name is said, and that no bullet can stop him …

Considering Kate by Nora Roberts

Considering Kate (2001)
Nora Roberts
Grade: A-
Genre: 'contemporary' romance
Sex scenes: mild
Source: own
Stanislaski series: (1) Taming Natasha, (3) Falling for Rachel, (4) Convincing Alex and (5) Waiting for Nick

Once I read Waiting for Nick, I couldn’t not start Considering Kate – NR and her Stanislaski series is just much too addictive. Considering Kate wasn’t what I expected (though I didn’t know what to expect) but all in all, it was a brilliant way to round off what is arguably NR’s most consistently excellent series.

At twenty-five and still in her prime, Kate has decided that it’s time to retire from the stage and return home to open up her own ballet school. It’s a difficult decision to make, especially since she’s still so young, but years of endless rehearsals, performances, travelling and making small talk with those in the arts and culture circles has made Kate weary and she longs for a family and life of her own in the small town where she grew up. An old building in the area has recently gone on the market and while neglected and in need of serious refurbishment, it’s the right place for what Kate wants; and what Kate wants, she gets.