For the past few months, we have been including an “On our Radar” section in our weekly stash for books that have caught our eye; books we heard of via other bloggers, directly from publishers, and/or from our regular incursions into the Amazon jungle. This is how the Smugglers’ Radar was born, and because there are far too many books that we want than we can possibly buy or review (what else is new?) we thought we could make it into a weekly feature on its own – this way YOU can tell us which books you have on your radar as well!

On Ana’s Radar:

Coming out in January 2010, this book has been getting all the raves from authors that I LOVE such as Julia Quinn, Sherry Thomas and Joanna Bourne. AND it just got a starred review from Publishers Weekly. I can’t wait!

Jenny Keeble has never let her humble upbringing stop her. She’s made her way in the world as a fortune teller, one who convinces her clients her predictions are correct by telling them what they most want to hear. Business is good . . . until she meets her match in the form of Gareth Carhart, the Marquess of Blakely, a scientist and sworn bachelor.

Broodingly handsome, Gareth is appalled to discover his cousin has fallen under the spell of “Madame Esmerelda,” and he vows to prove her a fraud. But his unexpected attraction to the fiery enchantress defies logic. Jenny disrupts every facet of Gareth’s calculated plan— until he can’t decide whether to ruin her or claim her for his own. Now, as they engage in a passionate battle of wills, two lonely souls must choose between everything they know . . . and the boundless possibilities of love.

I saw this at Lurv a La Mode’s upcoming YA list and it sounds and looks awesome

Wade Jackson has always felt split, his love for playing and writing music competing with his ambition to do well in school. But when his mother dies, this need for order competes with his desire to leave it all behind. What follows is a split in his consciousness that takes him to two very different worlds.
Told in alternating chapters that together form one cohesive story, Split follows both Wades as they pursue what they think is the correct path. One Wade continues working hard in school, pulling all-nighters to write a computer code he believes will save the world. The other Wade pursues the dream of being a dive-bar singer, pulling all-nighters to party, gamble, and live on the edge. But when these two worlds begin to collide, each Wade will need to find a balance between control and abandon, order and chaos, life missed and life lost, in order to save himself.

This one is an anthology and I LOVE the premise:

These 22 all-new tales pay tribute to the true heroes—the people who enable and put up with heroes. From what it’s like to be Hercules’ wife (complete with an appearance by Hercules in drag) to the trials of H.P. Lovecraft’s housekeeper, from the perils of being King Kong’s girlfriend to the downside of dating a shapeshifter, this anthology turns heroism on its head, revealing the behind-the-scenes drama, as opposed to glorious rescues. From the Pied Piper’s power trip to David acting like a giant you-know-what after slaying Goliath, these stories show heroes in all their ignominy and shine a light on the unsung faithful standing in their shadows.

Saw this one at the publisher’s site:

I’m marooned.

Abandoned.

Left to rot in boarding school . . .

Viola doesn’t want to go to boarding school, but somehow she ends up at an all-girls school in South Bend, Indiana, far, far away from her home in Brooklyn, New York. Now Viola is stuck for a whole year in the sherbet-colored sweater capital of the world.

Ick.

There’s no way Viola’s going to survive the year – especially since she has to replace her best friend Andrew with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to like it there. She resorts to viewing the world (and hiding) behind the lens of her video camera.

Boarding school, though, and her roommates and even the Midwest are nothing like she thought they would be, and soon Viola realizes she may be in for the most incredible year of her life.

But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in.

AND, Julia Quinn’s next book has a title (but not a blurb or a cover) for her next book coming early summer 2010.

Ten Things I Love About You

I am so, so, sooooooooo there!

On Thea’s Radar:

Hey, another apocalyptic YA novel! I’m not predictable…right?

2097 is a transformed world. Thirty years earlier, a mysterious plague wiped out 97 percent of the male population, devastating every world system from governments to sports teams, and causing both universal and unimaginable grief. In the face of such massive despair, women were forced to take over control of the planet–and in doing so they eliminated all of Earth’s most pressing issues. Poverty, crime, warfare, hunger . . . all gone.

But there’s a price to pay for this new “utopia,” which fourteen-year-old Kellen is all too familiar with. Every day, he deals with life as part of a tiny minority that is purposefully kept subservient and small in numbers. His career choices and relationship options are severely limited and controlled. He also lives under the threat of scattered recurrences of the plague, which seem to pop up wherever small pockets of men begin to regroup and grow in numbers.

And then one day, his mother’s boss, an iconic political figure, shows up at his home. Kellen overhears something he shouldn’t–another outbreak seems to be headed for Afterlight, the rural community where his father and a small group of men live separately from the female-dominated society. Along with a few other suspicious events, like the mysterious disappearances of Kellen’s progressive teacher and his Aunt Paige, Kellen is starting to wonder whether the plague recurrences are even accidental. No matter what the truth is, Kellen cares only about one thing–he has to save his father.

Thanks to Alert Nerd buddy Sarah Kuhn for alerting (hoho!) me to this title:

Beth Michaels isn’t sure when it all began, but she’s pretty sure that the pink dots came first. Pink dots everywhere in her vision, clouding the people who stood before her. And then, little movie screens started to play, telling her more than she ever wanted know about their lives. Now, she can’t even eat a hamburger without seeing how the poor cow met his maker. As she approaches her eighteenth birthday, her visions just keep getting worse. And when a little gold envelope shows up proclaiming the words YOU ARE MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE, she starts to do the super-freak. What does all of this mean? It means she’s in for a long senior year.

If you lost someone you loved, what would you pay to bring them back from the dead?

Old Marsh, the gardener at Belerion Hall, warned the Villiers girl about the old ruins along the sea-cliffs. “Never go in, miss. Never say a prayer at its door. If you are angry, do not seek revenge by the Laughing Maiden stone or at the threshold of the Tombs. There be those who listen for oaths and vows….What may be said in innocence becomes flesh and blood in such places.”

She was born Iris Catherine Villiers. She became Isis.

From childhood until her sixteenth year, Iris Villiers wandered the stone-hedged gardens and the steep cliffs along the coast of Cornwall near her ancestral home. Surrounded by the stern judgments of her grandfather-the Gray Minister-and the taunts of her cruel governess, Iris finds solace in her beloved older brother who has always protected her.

But when a tragic accident occurs from the ledge of an open window, Iris discovers that she possesses the ability to speak to the dead…

Be careful what you wish for…it just may find you.

Also, the first chapter of Maria V. Snyder’s upcoming YA novel, Inside Out is now up online! Check it out:

I’m Trella. I’m a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I’ve got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? Not like it’s all that dangerous – the only neck I risk is my own. Until I accidently start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution. I should have just said no…

And finally, a new cover from Lisa Shearin, for the latest novel in her ongoing Raine Benares fantasy series:

What about you? Any books you are really looking forward to reading? Do share!

Title: What Happens in London

Author: Julia Quinn

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Avon
Publishing Date: June 30, 2008
Paperback: 384 Pages

Stand Alone or Series: It is a stand alone but main female character is the best friend of the heroine from The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever.

Summary: Rumors and Gossip . . . The lifeblood of London

When Olivia Bevelstoke is told that her new neighbor may have killed his fiancÉe, she doesn’t believe it for a second, but, still, how can she help spying on him, just to be sure? So she stakes out a spot near her bedroom window, cleverly concealed by curtains, watches, and waits . . . and discovers a most intriguing man, who is definitely up to something.

Sir Harry Valentine works for the boring branch of the War Office, translating documents vital to national security. He’s not a spy, but he’s had all the training, and when a gorgeous blonde begins to watch him from her window, he is instantly suspicious. But just when he decides that she’s nothing more than an annoyingly nosy debutante, he discovers that she might be engaged to a foreign prince, who might be plotting against England. And when Harry is roped into spying on Olivia, he discovers that he might be falling for her himself . .

Why did I read the book: Because it is a Julia Quinn book. Simple as that.

Review:

This is what happens in London: gossip mongers say that Sir Harry Valentine killed his fiancée. His next door neighbour, the curious and beautiful Olivia Bevelstoke decides to investigate and proceeds to observe Harry as he works in his office, from her bedroom window. She thinks she is being subtle but Harry knows his nosy neighbour is there watching him.

This is what happens when they first meet, officially: they do not like each other. Olivia thinks Harry is arrogant and annoying and a number of other things but

“Synonym retrieval required a far clearer head than she could achieve in his presence”

especially when he dared to refer to seeing her watching him! Harry on the other hand is equally unimpressed with Olivia – he thinks she is just another mindless, pretty young girl, unintelligent and cold.

But then, Harry – who works for the War Office as a translator – is told to keep an eye on Olivia because one of her suitors is a Prince Alexei from Russian who is suspected of being a spy. Next step is to pay Olivia a visit and it’s then that these first impressions are revised – Harry realises that the person she is in public is only what she is supposed to be. What people expect from her – to be pretty and nothing else because that was enough. But behind the lady- like façade, she is smart, witty, unusual. Unlike many of her contemporaries she likes to read the newspapers, for example.

When Olivia is direct and sincere about what she thinks and Harry is equally direct and sincere, one my favorite things in romance happens: they become friends. They have that sense of communion, of things in common, they share laughter. How I love to see a couple laughing of things only they understand. There is laughter in their talks, in their teasing, when they kiss. There is one word that I don’t use a lot in my reviews but I have to use it here because it is the most appropriate one: what happens between Olivia and Harry is cute. Like when they talk to each other from their windows – or how they discuss the gothic novel Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron. Or Olivia’s mental lists – or epigraphic oddities – like the one “ How I Would Like To Kill My Brother version 16”.

I just adore when the “falling in love” process is shown in such a positive way, with so much joy – there is no other word to describe what Harry and Olivia feel when they realise they are in love with each other: a sense of pure, unmitigated joy – like in this moment:

“(…) he could not resist one last look at her face.
And in that moment he finally understood what people meant when they said someone’s eyes lit up.
Because when he told her to be at her window at six, she smiled. And when he looked into her eyes, it was as if the whole world was bathed in a soft, happy glow, and all of it, every little bit of good and fun and happiness – it all came from her. From this one woman, standing next to him at her front door in Mayfar.
And that was when he knew. It has happened. It has happened right here, in London.
Harry Valentine had fallen in love.”

Altogether now please: hand to your hearts and awwww.

They go from animosity to friends and from there to falling in love. Their story is easy, smooth (well, except for the few pages toward the end when there is a secondary plot with the Russians and then all of a sudden , we are reading a suspense novel and that really could have been entirely left out), light and extremely funny and romantic. This is not to say that they lack depth: Harry for example has had a seriously sad childhood (he can tell you how many times, exactly, he has cleaned his drunk father’s vomit – what kind of childhood is this when a child keeps tabs of things such as cleaning a parent’s vomit?) but he does not brood for it has shaped the man that he is , in the way that he does not drink alcohol for example. He behaves like an adult who knows his family’s shortcomings but it not overly traumatised by it. His relationship with his brother is one that is not explored in depth but the small amount of time dedicated to them is significant (Harry left as soon as he was able to, to join the army and left his brother alone with his parents) and I would not mind reading about Edward at a later book.

In fact, I wouldn’t mind reading about several of the characters that appear in the book, specially Harry’s cousin Sebastian who is a Reprobate Rake – normally I would scream “sequel bait” about most of them (well expect for Sebastian, but really who would NOT want to read about Sebastian? You tell me, when you read the book) but they are so interesting you do wish they had their own book. Even the infamous Smythe-Smith Musicale (old timers would remember them from the Bridgerton novels) makes an appearance and do you know that one cousin that KNOWS that they are appallingly bad? If there is one heroine that deserves a book is her and I don’t even know her name – maybe she will be paired off with Sebastian or maybe with Winston, Olivia’s identical twin.

I just know I will be there. Because this is what happens every time I read a Julia Quinn novel: I laugh, I sigh. I feel content and end up hugging the book . Every.single.time. If you don’t do the same when you finish reading this one? After the amazing proposal scene? I will eat a Russian hat.

Notable Quotes/Parts: Throughout the book the characters read and discuss one of those infamous Gothic Novels. Harry presents Olivia with a copy of “Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron” and they have hilarious discussions as Olivia reads the book and is part repulsed by the clear commercialism of it all and part attracted to the wonderful exaggeration. Rings a bell?

Anyways: there is this one scene where Prince Alexei from Russia asks Harry to read a part of the book, then Harry’s reprobate cousin Sebastian arrives and starts reading (quite dramatically) from the book and next thing you know, the entire household is there and I was laughing so much, like a lunatic. Behold part of it:

“It was a dark and windy night,” Sebastian began, and Harry had to admit he did bring a great deal of drama to it. Even Vladimir was leaning forward to listen, and he didn’t speak English.
“- Miss Priscilla Butterworth was certain that at any moment the rain would begin, pouring down from the heavens in sheets and streams, dousing all that lay within her purview”
Dear God, it almost sounded like a sermon. Sebastian had clearly missed his calling.
“’Purview’ is not used correctly” Prince Alexei said.
Sebastian looked up, his eyes flashing with irritation, “Of course it is”
Alexei jabbed a finger in Harry’s direction. “He said it is not”
“It’s not”, Harry said with a shrug.
“What’s wrong with it?” Sebastian demanded.
“It implies that what she sees is under her power or control”
“How do you know it’s not?”
“I don’t”, Harry admitted, “but she doesn’t seem in control of anything else”. He looked over at the prince. “Her mother was pecked to death by pigeons”
“That happens,” Alexei said with a nod.
Both Harry and Sebastian looked at him in shock.
“It is not accidental”, Alexei demurred.
“I may need to revisit my desire to see Russia, “ Sebastian said.
“Swift justice” Alexei stated. “It is the only way”.
Harry couldn’t believe he was asking, but it had to be said
“Pigeons are swift?”

Verdict: What Happens in London is vintage Julia Quinn: quirky, light, funny and very, very romantic.

Rating: 8 – Excellent

Reading Next: Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh

Flash giveaway winner:

The winner of the Historical Flash giveaway is: Raina

Congratulations! Please send your snail mail address to contact AT thebooksmugglers DOT com, and we will send you the books ASAP.

Don’t Forget…

…to read the amazing interview with Loretta Chase and to enter the contest for Don’t Tempt Me which runs till next Saturday.

This Week on The Book Smugglers:

On Monday Thea reviews sci-fi title Consorts of Heaven by Jaine Fenn.

Tuesday, Ana reviews Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran.

On Wednesday, Thea reviews Naamah’s Kiss by one of her very favorite authors, Jacqueline Carey! Namaah’s Kiss is the start of a new trilogy set in the the same fantasy universe as the Kushiel’s Legacy series, but following an entirely new protagonist. (Thea has already placed this new title on the shortlist for her Best Books of 2009 list!)

We’ve invited Jacqueline Carey to write a piece for our Inspirations and Influences feature, to which she has graciously accepted! The article will be posted on Thursday, when you will also have a chance to win one of FIVE copies of Naamah’s Kiss! So stay tuned…

On Friday, Ana reviews What Happens in London by one of her favorite authors, Julia Quinn.

AND finally, on Saturday, we will be bringing you the latest victim in our Dare feature, as Tia from the fabulous Fantasy Debut gives us her review to horror novel Ghost Story by Peter Straub.

We’ll also be over at Tia’s, serving up our joint review of her counter-dared novel, the classic fantasy title The Once and Future King by T.H. White.

Phew. It’s a busy week, and we hope you enjoy!

Hello and a good Sunday to everybody!

Let’s see what we have on the menu for this week, shall we?

This week on The Book Smugglers:

Monday – we kick start the week by taking part in a very cool Blogging Event organised by Alert Nerd and invite you all to take part as well:

What’s Your Scott and Jean?

The Date: March 30

The Theme: What’s Your Scott and Jean?

The Background: Such an awesome theme could only have been birthed on Twitter. Simply put, when someone says “that’s my Scott and Jean,” it essentially means “that’s my geek sacred cow.” It’s the issue/coupling/whatever that you pretty much can’t discuss because you are too passionate about it and it makes you too crazy. You might hear perfectly reasonable arguments against said coupling/issue/whatever, but you cannot process them. It’s like That One Thing. It could be something like “Scott Summers and Jean Grey are supposed to be together and that is just how it is.” Or maybe “the new Battlestar Galactica does not exist for me because it is not the old Battlestar Galactica.” Or “The only correct portrayals of Batman are the ones that contain X, Y, and Z.” You get the idea. It’s your nerd mental block.
The Participants: (thus far) Alert Nerd, Fantastic Fangirls, Faust’s Fantastically Fantasmagoric Forum, Geeked , The Discriminating FanGirl and …maybe YOU?

Here’s what you do: on March 30 (which, incidentally, is the date that the issue of X-Men featuring Jean and Scott’s wedding debuted), write up a blog post delving into the question What’s Your Scott and Jean? Send your link to sarah AT alertnerd DOT com. We will add you to our master blog post and you can link back to said post. It will be delightful for all involved.

Either that, or it will just cause a bunch of new arguments! Hurrah!

Tomorrow you will learn the true extent of Thea and Ana’s crazy, passionate geekiness soul. I bet you can’t wait, can you?

Tuesday – Ana will review A Perfect Darkness by Jaime Rush, the first in a brand new paranormal series called The Offspring

Wednesday – Thea will be reviewing a Fantasy book, A Feast of Souls Book 1 of the Magister Trilogy by C.S. Friedman

On Thursday – Ana reviews Rewriting Monday by prolific writer Jodi Thomas.

And on Friday, the author will be here with a guest post about “Inspirations and Influences” a brand new feature here at our casa, and she will be giving away a signed copy of the book as well.

And of course, on Saturday the usual Lost Recap. Next up is a Sayid- Centric

And folks…..Thea comes back at the end of the week (and this is why I am so well-behaved with this stash. I am getting back on track….) ! Hip-Hip Hooraaaaaaaaay!

From the series: Ana Must Read These or DIE:

Kmont from the Lurv a La Mode blog wrote a fantastic review of upcoming release Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge

Now, on top of being REALLY anxious to read her upcoming Black and White (which she writes with Jackie Kessler) , I will also be nervously anticipating this one.

And we now got the cover for the next Julia Quinn novel: What Happens in London.

Here is the Blurb:

Olivia Bevelstoke might be falling in love.
Harry Valentine might not be who he says he is.
And they both might be in very big trouble, indeed…

This book is the sequel to The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. Now, I am a HUGE Julia Quinn fan, I read all of her books and the only one I did not like was Miranda Cheever. I am a mess about this upcoming book: a mix of dread and hope. Let’s see how it goes! It sounds good though: light and funny, the way I like my Quinn’s.

And finally: Where is Ann Aguirre???

The Blue Diablo Virtual Tour is going strong: check out her upcoming appearances and for more chances to win a copy of Blue Diablo.

Blue Diablo Virtual Tour:
Guest blog at Jennifer’s Random Musings — March 25
Guest blog at Magical Musings — March 26
Guest blog at SciFi Chick — March 27
Guest blog at Angieville — March 30
Interview at Lurve a la Mode — March 31
Guest blog at Babbling about Books — April 1
Guest blog at Fantasy Cafe — April 2
Guest blog at Stacy’s Place on Earth — April 3
Interview at Confessions of a Romance Addict — April 6
Guest blog at The Book Smugglers — April 7
Guest blog at Writer Unboxed — April 7
Interview at Cynthia Eden’s blog — April 8
Guest blog at The Thrillionth Page — April 9
Guest blog at Reading Adventures — April 10
Guest blog at Urban Fantasy Land — April 13
Guest blog at The Book Binge — April 14
Guest blog at Ramblings on Romance — April 15
Guest blog at Fantasy Debut — April 16
Guest blog at The Discriminating Fangirl — April 17
Guest blog at Cubie’s Confections — April 20

This is it for today, folks! See you around!

We bring out the Red Carpet to welcome Julia Quinn!

Writer of fabulous historical romance novels and the one writer responsible for yours truly foray into the Romance Novel World. Julia Quinn has published two fantabulous books this year The Lost Duke of Wyndham and Mr Cavendish, I Presume both making my top 10 of 2008 but she has a pretty extensive backlist, of which I read every single book – and loved them. It is with great joy (and a lot of Squeeeeee!), that I present you with a chat with Julia Quinn:

The Book Smugglers: Firstly, congratulations on another Rita for The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. You must be thrilled – it is the second year in a row!

Julia Quinn: Thank you! It was amazing. Fabulous. Stupendous. Really, I could go on and on, but I’d sound like a thesaurus.

The Book Smugglers: Your new two-book series The Two Dukes of Wyndham has a very unique and clever premise – to tell the same story from different point of views. How did you come up with that idea – was it very difficult to keep track of the events? Did you write them simultaneously?

Julia Quinn: Some time ago I was humming an old Dire Straits song called “Industrial Disease,” and I got to the line: “Two men say they’re Jesus. One of them must be wrong.” Being the historical romance writer I am, I immediately change that to: “Two men say they’re the Duke of Something. One of them must be wrong.” The trick there, though, was to figure out how on earth the succession to a Dukedom could be in doubt, because that sort of thing was generally well-documented.

Once I came up with a way to make the plot work, I started thinking about the characters. Which would be the bad guy–the current duke or the long-lost duke? Then I thought–wouldn’t it be so much more interesting if they were both good guys?

At that point I realized I’d need two books, since if both were hero material, both would need to their own love stories. At first I thought I would write them sequentially, with one picking up where the other ended, but as I delved into the plotting, I realized that there were so many scenes that were crucial to both sets of characters. I couldn’t bear, for example, to show the big reveal scene (when the characters learn who is the real duke) from only one hero’s point of view. So I ended up writing two novels that take place at the same time, which meant that I would have to write them simultaneously. If I didn’t, I would have cheated one set of characters. I didn’t want to write one story and then have the second one be completely dependent on what I’d already set down on paper.

Keeping track of events wasn’t that difficult. The scenes that take place in both books were written at the exact same time; I’d literally hop back and forth between stories every few paragraphs. The hard part was writing the joint outline–it took me forever!

The Book Smugglers: The first book, The Lost Duke of Wyndham tells the story of Jack – a lighthearted, funny guy – and Mr Cavendish, I Presume tells the story of Thomas a much colder, strict man. Both very interesting but oh so different – what
is your favorite kind of hero to write? The funny guy or the intense guy?

Julia Quinn: I really like a mix. I don’t know that I’d call Jack lighthearted; he’s certainly very funny, but sometimes he bordered on insolent. He was a new type of character for me. All my heroes have senses of humor, but he really pushed the edges of politeness at times. And as for Thomas–I just adored him. He was a very different take on the tortured hero. Most heroes are tortured by something in their past; for Thomas, it’s all (or almost all) in the present. His life was fine (fairly empty, but fine) until Jack came along.

The Book Smugglers: In The Lost Duke of Wyndham you have Jack and Grace talking about art and Francois Boucher’s portrait of Marie-Louise O’Murphy; in Mr Cavendish, I Presume Thomas and Amelia discuss geography and old maps – these bits and pieces of history and art are subtly intercalated in your stories, they never detract from the romance but they add substance to your books. Do you have to do a lot of research before writing?

Julia Quinn: I don’t do a lot of research before writing; I find that I need to do my research as I go along. I had no idea, for example, that I would include the Boucher painting or the maps in either of the books until I got to those scenes.

The Book Smugglers: You are a graduate of Harvard and Radcliffe. You went to Yale School of Medicine for 3 months before deciding on becoming a writer – what made you take such a turn?

Julia Quinn: It wasn’t really so much of a turn. I wrote my first novel while I was taking my pre-med classes just after I finished college. I got in to med school the same month I got my first book deal, then deferred for two years while I wrote. Then I got it in my head that I should give med school a try; after all, I’d worked very hard to get in. But after a few months I realized that writing was a much better fit, and I haven’t looked back.

The Book Smugglers: So far you have written only historical novels – would ever consider writing in another sub-genre? Contemporary or paranormal for example?

Julia Quinn: I never say never, but for now, I’m very happy in my historical world.

The Book Smugglers: You have written 8 books in the Bridgerton series (and a few second epilogues, available online only ) – do you plan on ever
revisiting that world?

Julia Quinn: I can’t imagine I’ll never revisit the Bridgertons. They’re wonderful characters and it’s such a warm and familiar world for me. But I have several other projects on the horizon first.

The Book Smugglers: Most of your books have at least one very funny scene ( I still remember how much I laughed when I read the bathroom scene in Everything and The Moon) -do you consider yourself to be a funny person?

Julia Quinn: I’m pretty good with the dry quip. But I was never the class clown or anything like that; I’m actually pretty reserved. (Not terribly shy, as anyone who knows me will tell you, but still pretty reserved.)

The Book Smugglers: If you were stranded on a desert island, which 6 books would you take with you?

Julia Quinn: Desalinization for Dummies would be number one but after that I have no idea.

The Book Smugglers: And what are you working on next? Anything planned for 2009?

Julia Quinn: I’m writing a spin-off of The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. It’s about Lady Olivia Bevelstoke. I’ve paired her up with an all-new character named Harry Valentine. Olivia is such a great character. I think it’ll be a lot of fun!

That’s it folks, our chat with Julia Quinn – a great, big, wholehearted thank you to Julia Quinn for saying yes and for being around today!

Now, for the giveaway: leave a comment or a question for Julia Quinn on this post and two lucky winners get to pick any book they want from Julia Quinn’s book list. If you are already a fan of her most recent work why not try her past titles – why not Everything and the Moon? – or maybe you want to try her for the first time? So go with The Duke and I, her first Bridgerton novel or The Lost Duke of Wyndham – the choice is yours! You can have a look at all her books here.

Contest runs until Saturday midnight, Pacific time.

Good luck!

Title: Mr Cavendish, I Presume

Author: Julia Quinn

Genre: Historical romance

Stand Alone/series: Book 2 of a two books series called The Two Dukes of Wyndham

Summary: Amelia Willoughby has been engaged to the Duke of Wyndham for as long as she can remember. Literally. A mere six months old when the contracts were signed, she has spent the rest of her life waiting. And waiting. And waiting…for Thomas Cavendish, the oh-so-lofty duke, to finally get around to marrying her. But as she watches him from afar, she has a sneaking suspicion that he never thinks about her at all…

It’s true. He doesn’t. Thomas rather likes having a fiancée—all the better to keep the husband-hunters at bay—and he does intend to marry her…eventually. But just when he begins to realize that his bride might be something more than convenient, Thomas’s world is rocked by the arrival of his long-lost cousin, who may or may not be the true Duke of Wyndham. And if Thomas is not the duke, then he’s not engaged to Amelia. Which is the cruelest joke of all, because this arrogant and illustrious duke has made the mistake of falling in love…with his own fiancée!

Review:

Mr. Cavendish, I Presume is the second book in a two-part series called The Two Dukes of Wyndham. Book 1, The Lost Duke of Wyndham was released earlier this year and it started the story of two men, Jack and Thomas (and two women: Grace and Amelia) whose destinies would be forever changed after a chance encounter one night, when Jack, a highway man is recognised by the dowager duchess of Wyndham as the son of her favorite son and therefore, the true Duke. That first book told the story of Jack, and his path to discover the truth about his past whilst falling in love with Grace. I adored The Lost Duke of Wyndham, fell in love with Jack and his sunny personality and couldn’t wait to read book 2, Mr Cavendish, I Presume.

And here is the catch: what makes this series different (and very clever, if you ask me) is that rather than being a proper sequel, Mr Cavendish is actually the very same story told from another point of view, that of Thomas, the man who lost the Dukedom. The story starts a little bit earlier in that fateful evening. They are all at the country ball and although you don’t need to read The Lost Duke to be able to get in this story, it is like you are sharing a little secret with the author – you know that as soon as Grace and the Dowager leave they will meet Jack. But I am getting ahead of myself.

So, they are at the country ball and Amelia is waiting for her fiancé Thomas, the Duke of Wyndham. They have been engaged since they were children in a contract signed by their parents – they know they are getting married soon but no effort has been put into their relationship – it just is. So, Amelia is there waiting for Thomas to arrive so that they can play around the mechanics of their relationship, the one that is repeated over and over again: he would arrive, everyone would fall silent as appropriate in the presence of a Duke, he would walk to Amelia, greet her, they would exchange a few words (about the weather), they would dance and he would leave. No effort from either of them. No meaning behind any of their encounters.

BUT. It just so happens that that night is a fateful night for many reasons – not only Thomas’ destiny as the Duke is about to be changed, this is also the night Amelia decides she has had enough of not being noticed and says “no” when he asks her to dance. And that is all it takes for Thomas to actually pay attention to her for the first time. They have their first meaningful conversation and their first kiss. And this is when BOTH of them truly start to look at each other – but the Fates were having a laugh, because after this night all changes with the prospect of not being the real Duke is hanging over Thomas’ head and a search for the real man behind the title begins. And Amelia? It just so happens that the marriage contract is between Amelia and the DUKE, not with Thomas.

Again, this book is not really about the mystery of who is the Duke, as it is very clear from the start that Jack is the rightful Duke. The point of these books is to find out what this change means for these two men and to follow them both in their journey of self-discovery.

And if Jack’s book was a whiff of summer breeze, a perfect reflection of his sunny personality and full of laughter wrapped up with clever prose, Thomas’ is the complete opposite. It is more serious; it bears deeper reflection of what makes a man. These two books could not be more different.

When it was clear Jack was his cousin, Thomas loses all bearings – suspended in space, not knowing whom the hell he was. His entire life up to that moment was about Wyndham: the tile, which always came first, along with the sense of propriety, with the sense of pride, a deep knowledge of the History of his position, and a care for the lives of people that depended on him. Nothing was ever about Thomas Cavendish and once he is stripped of the Title and Wyndham he is no more, he is left alone with himself and that is truly the moment where he wakes up, for he must find out who Mr Cavendish is. And that is when he realises that what he always thought was the title was indeed he – HIM alone, the honour, the pride, and the sense of duty. It turns out Mr Cavendish made the title and not the other way around. But it is a long journey before he realises that and one that is profoundly moving. He is at the same time, dismayed, terrified that his is losing his identity but also somewhat exhilarated at the prospect of freedom.

At the same time, the romance in Mr Cavendish is as complex as The Lost Duke’s was simple. In the latter, it was a matter of love at first sight, with no doubts about it. But Thomas feels, one he gets to know Amelia, that he cannot love her, will not love her because he just can’t bear to offer nothing to her. But, what about Amelia? Does she have any saying in any of this? A woman who has always been a pawn finally allows herself to ask questions – to question other people but also to question herself and Thomas. To find her voice. And it turns out, once they start a friendship, that Amelia really wants the man, whomever he is.

They begin the story sharing a destiny but that meant NOTHING to them. Paradoxically it was only when they lost their future and shared noting, stripped of what they thought they were, that they started to fall in love. And their one and only sex scene is one of the most beautiful and meaningful I ever read.

I cannot tell you how much I loved Mr Cavendish, I Presume. It was an amazing reading experience to finally be able to fill in the gaps from The Lost Duke and to understand what was going on inside Amelia and Thomas’ head. Similarly, it was great fun to read about Jack and Grace from Thomas’s and Amelia’s point of view and KNOWING what was really going on between them.

My reaction to each of these books was completely opposite – I had a huge smile on my face whilst reading the Lost Duke and tears in my eyes whilst reading Mr Cavendish, not because it was sad but because it was so beautiful and significant.

It occurred to me that one of the things I love the most about Julia Quinn’s books is the simplicity of her plotlines: there is no great drama, no great villains, no great misunderstandings. It is usually all very simple love stories, gift wrapped with some wonderful, clever dialogues and a lot of sense of humour and a lot of heart. Differences apart, both The Lost Duke of Wyndham and Mr Cavendish, I Presume share the same heart-warming feel – you know the one, that one that leaves you with a smile on your face and a dreaming look in your eyes when you close a really good book.

The Two Dukes of Wyndham series and its two books will most definitely make my top 10 reads of 2008.

And to wrap things up, there is a surprise, a gift really, for long-term fans of Julia Quinn: in the epilogue there is a crossover with another one of her series, the Bridgertons. I will say no more.

Notable quotes / Parts: I can’ really quote anything because I read an ARC and I don’t know what made the final book or not. But there is one scene when they are on the boat to Ireland to go looking for Jack’s parents marriage certificate and they are approaching the end of the journey and Thomas knows they are going to find out that Jack is the real Duke. Amelia is sitting on a bench and he comes and sits next to her and they start to talk. And then Amelia says they would have been friends. If they had met in different circumstances, they could have met in London, in another time, not at a ball, but sitting on a bench and they would talk about maps (something they both love) and Thomas would think how nice to know a woman who didn’t hide her intelligence and she would think how lovely to have a man who didn’t assume she didn’t have any. They would have been friends – and he says she will make a perfect duchess and he regrets that she was never his. And I truly hope this scene has made the final cut, because it is SUCH a poignant, powerful scene that says a lot about who they were and they had become to each other – not yet love but on the way to be.

Additional Thoughts: GUESS WHAT: WE HAVE TEN PACKAGES WITH BOTH BOOKS TO GIVEAWAY! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LEAVE A MESSAGE ON THIS POST BETWEEN TODAY AND SATURDAY MORNING FOR A CHANCE TO WIN ONE OF THEM. GOOD LUCK!!!

Verdict: Need I say more?

Rating: 9, damn near perfection

Reading next: King of Sword and Sky by C. L. Wilson

Happy Sunday!!!

So, not a lot of news today, just a couple of announcements, some pimpage and something about the Batman comics brought to our attention by Katiebabs.

Pimpage:

Our good friend and powerpuff girl comrade is starting her own blog! Is is called Babbling About Books, And More! She is preparing loads of cool stuff in this first week so go forth and say hello!

Also this week My Friend Amy’s celebration of everything Blog-ish –The Book Blogger Appreciation Week starts tomorrow with heaps of prizes and giveaways!

This Week:

On Thursday, Ana reviews Mr Cavendish, I Presume (release date: Sep. 30th) by Julia Quinn. The first book in the two-book series, The Lost Duke of Wyndham is on her Top 10 reads of 2008 – will the second book make it as well?

On Friday, another Powerpuff Girls review with Katiebabs at her new casa. We will be reviewing King of Sword and Sky by C.L. Wilson – another one of Ana’s favourite series – will this one ALSO make her top 10? And how many spots are there on her top 10 , exactly? It surely seems more than…..10. What is happening inside this girl’s head? And why is she speaking in third person?

And finally, the coolest–craziest news ever. Well, ok, that is a gross exaggeration, but I need to make this stash sound a little bit more interesting, don’t I? So here you go: It seems that someone at DC didn’t do her/his job right – apparently the most recent issue of All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder went to print full of swear words like f**k, s**t and worse! Holy crap, Batman! DC seems to be trying to pull the issues from circulation but some copies made to the distributors. Thea went all over town trying to find one, but alas to no avail. You can read the article here.

That’s it for today, folks. Hasta mañana!

I was working on my calendar and preparing my schedule for the next few weeks (I am NOT a control freak ok?) when I realized how many highly expected books are coming out between now and September 30th. This is going to be a crazy period. Just check it out:

August 26th

Wanderlust, the sequel to highly acclaimed Grimspace by Ann Aguirre. Kmont has already done an early review of it. Sounds good!

September 2nd

Nalini Singhs’ 5th installment in her Psy/Changeling series, Hostage to Pleasure. I have read it and let me say it: it is AWESOME. Stay tuned because we are preparing one of our specials, this time a whole week including an exclusive interview with Nalini and a giveaway! Meanwhile, you can check Kmont’s awesome review of Hostage to Pleasure here. (the woman is on a roll) . She is giving away a copy of the book and you have till midnight Wednesday, eastern standard time (U.S. residents only) to enter and the winner will be chosen and announced on Thursday.

September 30th – the one date to rule them all:

Mr Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn. One word: INCREDIBLE. Books such as this are the reason why I read romance novels. Mr Cavendish is quite simply, one of the best romance novels I have ever read. A highly emotional journey that brought tears of pure joy to my eyes. It is the second book in the Two Dukes of Wyndham series with both books taking place at the same time. You can check my review of book 1, The Lost Duke of Wyndham here.

King of Sword and Sky – the much awaited 3rd installment in CL Wilson Tairen Soul series. I think this is my favorite series at the moment, can’t wait to read it!

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – We both love Neil Gaiman and we can’t wait to get our greedy little fingers on this one – the book is a homage to the Jungle Book about a boy whose parents die and he is then adopted by the inhabitants of a cemetery. Can we say “classic” right here, right now? No? Too soon? Ok.

Seduce me at Sunrise – Lisa Kleypas’ second installment in her Hathaway sisters series. Merripen and Win’s tale started in Mine till Midnight and the glimpse into their relationship in that book was enough to have fans waiting anxiously for their story.

And let’s not forget LAST week’s releases of Breaking Dawn, Shades of Dark (a MUST read for Sci-FI fans, the sequel to Gabriel’s Ghost by Linnea Sinclair) and The Rake’s Guide to Pleasure (which I highly recommend).

What about you? Which books are you looking forward to in August and September?

Title: The Lost Duke of Wyndham

Author: Julia Quinn

Review number: 58

Genre: Historical romance

Stand Alone/series: Book 1 of a two books series called The Two Dukes of Wyndham

Summary: Jack Audley has been a highwayman. A soldier. And he has always been a rogue. What he is not, and never wanted to be, is a peer of the realm, responsible for an ancient heritage and the livelihood of hundreds. But when he is recognized as the long-lost son of the House of Wyndham, his carefree life is over. And if his birth proves to be legitimate, then he will find himself with the one title he never wanted: Duke of Wyndham.
Grace Eversleigh has spent the last five years toiling as the companion to the dowager Duchess of Wyndham. It is a thankless job, with very little break from the routine… until Jack Audley lands in her life, all rakish smiles and debonair charm. He is not a man who takes no for an answer, and when she is in his arms, she’s not a woman who wants to say no. But if he is the true duke, then he is the one man she can never have…

Review:

It is no secret that I adore Julia Quinn’s books and I may be biased for that, but the Lost Duke of Wyndham is not only a delightful read but also her best book to date, in my opinion, and one that will most definitely make my top 10 of 2008.

Grace Eversleigh is a very down to earth young woman who is a companion to the dowager duchess of Wyndham . Over the 5 years she has been in the employ of the woman she has learned and accepted her place in life. It is not an enviable position since the dowager is very difficult person (“Under her grace’s stern, exacting, and haughty exterior did NOT beat a heart of gold”) but it is the one available to her as a single orphaned woman with no means to support herself. They are coming back from a dance one night and their coach is stopped by a band of highway men. Jack Audley is their leader : a rogue and a charmer, ex-army soldier turned thief ( I will not dwell on the fact that being a thief is a bad bad thing which should not be so easy to get away with) who is now about to face his destiny. The minute the dowager gets off the coach his life will change forever – she immediately recognizes him as the son of her favorite son and offers him a chance to learn about his background. He barely has time to steal a kiss from Grace ( her first and the one that will also change her forever) before he is hit with a truth he can not stand and sets off with only a ring – a ring that is very much like the one he owns, the only piece of heirloom left from his long-dead father.

The next morning, Jack decides to explore and goes to the family house -actually a castle – and is taken aback by the grandeur of it. Having his curiosity somewhat soothed he is about to leave and go back to his life when he sees Grace and those precious moments are his last moments of freedom. He leaves but the duchess manages to extricate from Grace the fact that he was there and she decides to kidnap him and bring him home so that she can give him back the life he should have had. Because if they can prove that Jack is legitimate, if they can prove that his parents were married, than Jack is the true Duke of Wyndham.

Grace, clever and attuned woman that she is, is the first one to think of the repercussions: for everyone. For herself, for she is attracted to a man who is either a thief (and therefore should be arrested) or a Duke (therefore way out of her reach) . For Jack, whose life is to be changed so much. For the Dowager , who has found a connection to her favourite , long-lost son. Most of all she is the only one to foresee the complications and to feel for the current Duke , Thomas, who is her good friend , the other dowager’s grandson, Jack’s cousin and a man who has grown up to be the Duke. In fact, this is one of the most interesting things in the book because for Thomas, the Duke is the Title, the title defines who he is – and if he is stripped of it, what is to become of him?

Things get even more complicated by the fact that Thomas has been betrothed to Amelia, their neighbor, since they were children, but the marriage contract is between Amelia and The Duke, regardless of who he is. If Jack is the Duke then, will he have to marry Amelia? But how, if he is already in love with Grace?

Jack is one of the most charming heroes I have ever read, a rascal with a brilliant sense of humor who is hardly ever serious. But whose façade hides feelings of inadequacy, grief and sadness. I was completely infatuated with him from the start: Jack laughs, I laugh, Jack charms, I am charmed. Jack cries, correction, Jack SOBS, OMG bring me a box of Kleenex already. My heart gives a somersault every time he thinks about Grace – he is far from being an Alpha male and it is refreshing for a change, to read a non alpha male after reading so many paranormals lately. He falls in love with Grace so hard and so fast and he is the romantic one whilst Grace, who has learned and accepted her place in life is the one to be calm and centered throughout the book – she is the one that knows what will be required of him if he is to be Duke and the one that has to make a decision of whether to search for her own happiness for once in her life.

The Lost Duke of Whydham is an extremely well done mixture of simplicity and complexity: The simplicity lies in the romance itself which is as straight forward as it can be. They fall in love pretty much at first sight and do not deny their feelings even if it happens fast and suddenly. In fact, they bask in the glory of what they feel and it is heartwarming to see how they search for each other’s company , how they share a sense of humour and how they feel the complicity of each other’s mind. They have things in common , they love life, they love art, they pine for their happy childhood , which they both want to emulate when creating their own family – that is also a refreshing change from the Sad Childhood curse. They have memories of laughter and that’s what they want. There is no silly conflict to keep them apart – if they are to be apart is because of forces that work against them – or because Grace can not forget who she is.

The complexity and the tension in the novel therefore come from the conflict surrounding the Title. Jack never wanted to be a peer, he has a carefree attitude to life that he can hardly reconcile with having that many responsibilities – and even if he wanted to, he never had the necessary training or the necessary education to do so. Furthermore, Jack has a Secret and Teh Secret may make things even more uncomfortable. Thomas, oh the other hand, has had years of training, and years of behaving and carrying the Title on his shoulders – if he isn’t the Duke, then who is he?

He is not the most likable character in the world – the fact that he seems to not care for his fiancée Amelia and is a cold and proper peer of the reign makes it even so. But one has to give kudos to Julia Quinn who knows how to write secondary characters. At the end, you are feeling for Thomas and for what everything will mean to him if he is to lose the Title and you feel for Amelia who is but a pawn in her father’s game for power. Always waiting for Thomas to make a decision and set up a date for the wedding. They end up growing on you and if you don’t want to read their story (coming up, next) then you are probably made of more stern stuff than I am.

So is Jack the true Duke? Not telling. But I must admit I was very surprised at how things turned out to be.

The Lost Duke of Wyndham has all of the Julia Quinn’s usual signature: the lightness ,the clever dialogue , the witty banter but do not be fooled. As light and humorous as this is, the prose is as refined as it can it be with a deep level of emotional sophistication. I had a smile of my face for the entire time I was reading it (well, expect for when I cried a bit with Jack at his reunion with his aunt) .

Anyway, since I am running out of adjectives I will just say one more thing: go read this book.

Notable quotes / Parts: Should I quote funny or should I quote awwwww? I will quote a scene that is both:

He was always hoping for a glimpse of Grace, no matter where he was. Just the sight of her made something tickle and fizz within his chest. Half the time she did not even see him, which he did not mind. He rather enjoyed watching her go about her duties. But if he stared long enough and he always did; there was never any good reason to place his eyes anywhere else – she always sensed him.
Eventually, even if he was at an odd angle, or obscured in shadows, she felt his presence, and she’d turn. He always tried to play the seducer then, to gaze at her with smoldering intensity, to see if she’d melt in a pool of whimpering desire.
But he never did. Because all he could do, whenever she looked back at him, was smile like a lovesick fool. He would have been disgusted with himself, expect that she always smiled in return, which never failed to turn the tickle and fizz into something even more bubbly and carefree.

Awwwww. Seriously now.

Additional Thoughts: Kate at What Kate’s Reading, wrote a very interesting review where she analyses the relationship of art and love in the book . You should check it out. Here

Verdict: Funny and heartwarming. Very romantic. I had high expectations for this book and Julia Quinn surpassed every one of them. I loved it.

Rating: I laughed , I cried, I sighed, I loved the writing, I loved Jack. I will keep this and re-read it often, I am sure. What grade could this be? 9, damn near perfection!

Reading next: My Lord and Spymaster by Joanna Bourne