The Courtesan and The Samurai by Lesley Downer

Synopsis: Japan, 1868: the last shogun has been defeated, the age of the emperors is about to begin - and in Japan's frozen north a diehard band of loyalists plans a desperate last stand. Hana is just seventeen when her husband goes to war, leaving her alone and very vulnerable. When enemy soldiers attack her house she flees for her life across the shattered city of Tokyo and takes refuge in the Yoshiwara, its famous pleasure quarter. There she is sold into a brothel and forced to train as a courtesan. Yozo, a traveller, adventurer and brilliant swordsman, returns to Japan after six years in the Victorian West to discover that the world he left behind him has been destroyed. Travelling north to join his rebel comrades, he is captured during their final battle. Escaping, he makes his way south to the only place where a man is beyond the reach of the law - the Yoshiwara. There in the Nightless City where three thousand courtesans mingle with geishas and jesters, the battered fugitive meets the beautiful courtesan. But each has a secret so terrible that once revealed it will threaten not only their union - but their very lives...

My thoughts: Very well written and well documented with a natural connection between history and fiction. What lacked for me, however, was the absence of dynamism, maybe because of the presence of a lot of narration and less of dialogue and interaction between characters.

                If you are a fan of anime and watched Hakuoki Shinsengumi, you’ll be able to identify immediately the link, since both anime and book talk about the same time lapse in Japan’s History. You’ll see that Commandant Yamaguchi is actually Hijikata-san, the most capable swordfighter from the militia.

                Something that really got my eyes is the capacity of the author to tell a good story with sufficient details to make the scenes alive in my head. Furthermore, her love and passion for the Japanese culture makes this novel very recommended for  those who love it as well.

                Despite the compliments above, the lack of dynamism really caught me. Honestly, what made me continue this book through until the end was my wish to see the main characters encounter and because of my own fanaticism and love for this culture. This novel was more like a historical account than a novel in itself because of the few dialogues in the beginning of the book and until at least its half.

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The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syria James

Synopsis: Many rumors abound about a mysterious gentleman said to be the love of Jane's life—finally, the truth may have been found. . . .

What if, hidden in an old attic chest, Jane Austen's memoirs were discovered after hundreds of years? What if those pages revealed the untold story of a life-changing love affair? That's the premise behind this spellbinding novel, which delves into the secrets of Jane Austen's life, giving us untold insights into her mind and heart.

Jane Austen has given up her writing when, on a fateful trip to Lyme, she meets the well-read and charming Mr. Ashford, a man who is her equal in intellect and temperament. Inspired by the people and places around her, and encouraged by his faith in her, Jane begins revising Sense and Sensibility, a book she began years earlier, hoping to be published at last.

Deft and witty, written in a style that echoes Austen's own, this unforgettable novel offers a delightfully possible scenario for the inspiration behind this beloved author's romantic tales. It's a remarkable book, irresistible to anyone who loves Jane Austen—and to anyone who loves a great story.

My thoughts: I don’t know if what is described in the book is real, but I’ll have a leap of faith and say “yes”, especially because an specialist on the studies of Austen’s life has signed it at the end of the book’s introduction.

This novel is about an autobiography of Jane Austen, one – if not the only one – of the most beloved authors of all time, and a secret love that she might have had and no one knew! I found the writing perfect and flawless, in a way that only Jane could do (which makes sense since according to the specialist, she wrote it herself). It’s possible to see that her life on daily basis influenced her works. She transmitted her feelings to her characters, making them extremely real and connectable with the reader.

Mr. Ashford is the most perfect man in the world, not because of his fineness and romantism, besides the love that he had for the author, but because he was real. He wasn’t made of Jane’s vivid imagination, he really lived and breathed and loved Jane Austen very deeply. However, studies shows that never existed a Mr. Ashford nor the Mansion where he lived according to Jane’s diaries, leaving us with the unanswered question: who was he? What was his real name?

I’m head over heels with this novel and sincerely hoping that the other works found in her chest of memoirs are translated and published, because they are of immeasurable worth to the history of English literature and because they bring to light the mysterious life of this author.

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A Passionate Love Affair with a Total Stranger by Lucy Robinson

Synopsis: A Passionate Love Affair with a Total Stranger by Lucy Robinson, author of The Greatest Love Story of All Time, is a hilariously funny and gorgeously romantic story about falling in love when you least expect it. Charley Lambert has put considerable effort into achieving a perfect life. She has The Job. The Wardrobe. And The Flat. Her womanising, junk food-loving housemate Sam lowers the tone a bit but that aside, things are peachy. Then she breaks her leg in three places, watches her unrequited love propose to someone else and - worst of all - is forced to hand over her job to her nasty deputy while she recovers. Workaholic Charley fears that she will soon go mad. Desperate for something to do, she discovers her talent for helping the lovelorn online. And then William arrives in her inbox. Within hours of his first email, her world starts to change. Helpless, she watches herself fall in love with this man and begins to realise that she's not who she thought she was. But will she be brave enough to turn her back on her old life - all for a total stranger? 

               Laugh out loud and fall in love with Lucy Robinson's A Passionate Love Affair with a Total Stranger Praise for Lucy Robinson: 'Romantic and laugh-out-loud hilarious' Cosmopolitan 'Prepare for public-transport belly laughs' Glamour Lucy Robinson is the author of The Greatest Love Story of All Time. Prior to writing Lucy earned her crust in West End theatre production and then factual television, working on documentaries for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five. Her writing career began when she started a dating blog for marieclaire.co.uk where she entertained readers with frank tales from her laughably unsuccessful foray into the world of internet dating. Lucy was brought up in Gloucestershire and now lives with her boyfriend in South London. She is writing her next novel while working on various television projects and plotting a return to academia.

My thoughts: L-O-V-E I-T! Every page of it made me fell in love more and more with Sam! I just want one for me too! Charley, you lucky bastard! J

                This book was extremely charming and funny! The writing is very catching and well-written; it has great characters that make you cheer up for them. When it got to the high point of the book I literally ran around the house screaming madly. :D

                When she starts hooking up with her “boss” John – SPOILER – I got extremely angry! I mean, for Goddess’s sake, girl, you have Sam right next to you! What is wrong with you?! However, since John is such a Don Juan, every time that he said something cute or romantic or both, it totally blew me and Charley away! LOL

                The ending was thrilling to me, seriously. Not the kind of ending that makes you cry, but rather rejoice on the cuteness and beauty of it. The romance is balanced with the laughter, making this book a delightful and highly recommended reading. The only thing that lacked for me was the fact that Sam and Charley didn’t have a night together – ;) – , but that can be totally forgiven given the fact that the book was perfect.

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Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn

Synopsis: THERE WENT THE BRIDE ...

               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 fiancee --- 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 fiancee!

My thoughts: First of all, I thought that Thomas was a selfish asshole, greedy and short-minded, that only thought about himself and his own pleasure. Only when Jack – the man that was, maybe, the true duke of Wyndham – showed up that he showed me that he had the minimum of nobility and chivalry.

                While I was reading, I really hoped that Jack would start courting Amelia and he and Thomas would get in a fight to win her heart. Ok, they actually fought, but not for the reasons that I expected and wanted! As the story went by, I started to cheer for Thomas and Amelia, so that they could get together and prove that Thomas was the real duke. I’m not going to tell you, readers – if anyone is reading – if he is or isn’t the real duke, but he and Amelia get their share of happiness in the end. The level of romance was regular, in my opinion.

                Milly was one of my favorite characters. She’s one of Amelia’s younger sister and, for me, deserves a story of her own. The only thing that I didn’t like was the epilogue. I think it was, on itself, very weak and unpromising, especially if you compare it with Everything and the Moon.

                Julia Quinn is really one of my favorite authors ever. The way she writes makes me twist and turn throughout the reading, in a wave of feelings and emotions.

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I've Got your Number by Sophie Kinsella

Synopsis: I’ve lost it. :( The only thing in the world I wasn’t supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It’s been in Magnus’s family for three generations. And now the very same day his parents are coming, I’ve lost it. The very same day! Do not hyperventilate, Poppy. Stay positive :) !!
 
              Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!
 
              Well, perfect except that the phone’s owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his personal life.
 
              What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents . . . she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.

My thoughts: extremely funny, I laughed a lot! The plot is very creative and different and the romance comes as a consequence and not as the center of the story.

Poppy is a random girl, and very ordinary, but I think that that’s why you become so connected to her: it could happen to anyone. Sam is suuper cute! I’m in love with him! He’s funny, hard-working, good looking (obviously), making Magnus looks like a piece of sh*t, really. He REALLY needs a psychologist to treat himself. He can’t make decisions for him own, unless he has the approval of his parents. Another thing that needs a therapist is the Magnus’s family. For God’s sake, with the exception of the younger brother, all the family are nuts!

In my opinion, all the characters fell in love for each other quite fast, but since most of the novels nowadays are following the same pattern, I can’t judge one without judging them all. There weren’t many romantic intense scenes – with kisses and etc – but nonetheless the writing made butterflies in my stomach. As soon as Sam appeared, they showed up.

As my first novel from this author, I thought it was quite promising. The way the story went was different from what I thought, guaranteeing a great and unexpected ending. Really recommend it for a good laugh! J

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Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy by E. L. James

Synopsis: When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

My thoughts: O.K. I’ve finally read this book, but as everybody read it already or know the story, I won’t do the traditional and do my “synopsis” of the book. I read the trilogy firstly because of my friend that kept telling me that I should read it, that Christian Grey was a hot man and all and secondly because I was really curious to know what was all the fuss about. I’m going to write about the three books here.

                When I was reading the first book, what really caught my eyes was the plot. The whole BDSM scenario was very unique and gave space for women to talk freely about what they liked in bed and so. But the bad language of Mr. Grey and the stupidity of Ana really got on my nerves! How can she trust a man that tracks her down wherever she is, controls her and she just goes with the flow?! “Obviously because he is rich and beautiful and a god in bed.” PLEASE! I had to stand the whole reading until I finally got used to the bad language. If he wasn’t rich, would you at least look at him? The only part that I agree is with the bed part. He really seems to nail that down. The end was quite surprising because I didn’t think that Ana would do what she did, but SHE ASKED HIM TO DO IT! For god’s sake, if he told her that it was better not, and he’s a pro in it, then LEAVE IT ALONE!

                The second book, I wanted to slap Ana across the face. She COULDN’T stay two pages without telling that she loved him and would give her life for him. OKAY, I get it, next! I grew very tired of all that thing. What really liked was that we finally understood why Christian was like that: his past was very dark, twisted and quite sick, in my opinion. Imagine his mom when screwing with other women?! That explains why he goes to the therapist A LOT. He gets cute in that one. That was the beginning of me liking the character.

                Last, but not least, the last book. I’ll have to admit it: I JUST COULDN’T FINISH. There I said it. She is just so dump that I just couldn’t read it, despite the fact that Christian was becoming cuter and cuter. My friend wanted to kill me. (LOL) What made me give up: the fact the book had to be ENHANCED in other languages in order to be sold in book shops. I met a Brazilian girl that told me that she could read it in English perfectly despite the fact that she has a very Basic knowledge in the language. I was like “WHAT?!” Then I found out – actually it was in the middle of the first book – that the author made the book based in the Twilight series. Ok, I liked the series, but couldn’t she be a little more authentic?!? The only thing authentic in that s*** was the plot about mature content!

                Well, I have to say that I’m kind of disappointed with all that. I mean, there are SO many great books all around the globe, but only this kind of novels get to the level of becoming movies. I REALLY hope that they make a good movie. It’s the least they can do right now. Let’s pray that they choose a good screenwriter and cast to make it at LEAST worth it.

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