Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Book Review and Blog Tour: Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale

 

Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publish Date:February 1, 2010
Paperback,  480 pages


My Review:

What a fun book.  I loved it from the start.  It is my first book by Laura Kinsale and I will definitely be checking out her backlist now.  

From the start of the book I fell in love with Callie and Trev.  Callie has been engaged three times yet never married  and she feels she will spend life in spinsterhood and she is comfortable with that.  Trev is one of those wounded men, he's been a bad boy and doesn't know if he can change his ways.  He's in love with Callie but doesn't think he's good enough for her so every time he gets close, he pulls away.  Callie has always been in love with him too, but doesn't think he returns her love.  It's a wonderful romance in that they keep getting close in the beginning of the book for Trev to pull away.  But you know they love each other so you keep reading.

I loved the dialogue.  Especially between Callie and Trev and Trev and his maman.  The dialogue is very witty and had me laughing out loud several times when reading.  I would have to say that Ms. Kinsale is a master of dialogue based on this book.

The plot got a little slow to me at times, but never too slow, I wanted to keep reading.  I wanted to learn more about Trev and Callie and what crazy situation they would get into next.

If you love historical romance this is a book for you. 

Rating: 9.0/10.0

Rating Breakdown
Characterization:      2.0/2.0
Plot:                        1.5/2.0
Writing:                 1.75/2.0
Attention-holding:  0.75/1.0
Ending:                    1.0/1.0
Believable:               1.0/1.0
Genre:                     1.0/1.0    
Rating:                 9.0/10.0

About the Book:
"It was quite settled by now. She was born to be a spinster. The gentlemen would have to declare their undying devotion to other ladies. Callie would be too much occupied with developing a delicate constitution and a dependable recipe for tapioca-jelly."

She is, after all, Lady Callista Taillefaire, jilted three times in spite of her fortune and her father's best efforts to find her a husband. Now her greatest desire is to win the silver cup at the agricultural fair with her gigantic prize bull, Hubert. But when Callie's only old flame returns from his long and mysterious absence in France, her quiet spinster life turns upside down.

Dark-eyed, elegant and a magnet for trouble, Trevelyan d'Augustin has given Callie lessons in more than his language in the past. Her father put a harsh and humiliating end to any dreams of romance with a French émigré scoundrel, however, and Callie never thought to see him again. Swallowing his pride, Trev has finally come home to care for his failing mother, but his secrets and misdeeds follow him.

Callie soon remembers that nothing is ever peaceful with Trev around. The enormous Hubert vanishes into thin air, one of her former jilts comes back to woo her in a most determined manner--and her bull takes the town by storm! In the midst of these misadventures, Callie finds herself falling in love again with the worst possible man for her...
*** I received this book from the publisher, Sourcebooks for review. ***

Look for this ARC as a giveaway in my weekend wondering post this weekend - which will feature romance of course - it's Valentine's Day, or as I joking say to my family and husband - who cares about Valentine's Day - it's Daytona! (I'm really joking and not joking - I love racing but I adore and love my husband even more - everybody say awwwww)

CymLowell