This was a reward reading week

Vagabond Viscount By Loretta Chase

Since having found Ms. Chase last year, I've been treating myself to one of her stories a month. I'll try not too gush too disgustingly. But it's (the not gushing thing) a challenge because not only does she write about my favorite regency England (almost a religion among fans) but she does so with wit and charm and range. Meaning she writes wonderfully, each story a gem in its own right and every cast of characters producing new friends who live on in the happy reader's imagination long after the cover is closed. Many of her early titles are still in print, and deservedly so.



Sex, Lies and Online Dating by Rachel Gibson

Ms. Gibson writes contemporary romance with equal but different charms. I was laughing aloud in the prologue, a series of snappy emails between friends. The story continues on a collision course between the to-die-for hero and the lovely, cautious heroine generating more laughs and moving the reader effortlessly into the world of two very real people who manage to be poignant and amusing in one book.



Asking for Trouble by Leslie Kelly

A modern Gothic Blaze, if it had been written by anyone other than Ms. Kelly I would've skipped the title. I couldn't imagine a modern Gothic period let alone a Blaze. But, I'm wild about Leslie Kelly stories and her name on the cover is enough for me.

After all, if I didn't like one it would help cut down on the excessive book buying problem I have. No such luck, she did everything possible to turn me off, one chapter is in first person (Not my favorite. Briget Jones fine - Jack Reacher okay - but the rest of you? Forget about it.)There's a creepy old mansion, a dark and stormy night, and a too familiar mystery. But this is Leslie and Blaze, so it's also funny, quirky and sexy as all get out.