I didn’t have time to buy any new books for my travels before I left, but fortunately I had a couple of books on my ereader leftover from my summer travels: Lord of Scoundrels and Her Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase.
I have probably mentioned before that I’ve been enjoying historicals more recently and I’d seen these books reviewed well on Smart Bitches and Dear Author. I expected them to be good, but I didn’t expect them to blow me away as they did.
I admit that I’m not a history buff – which probably makes it easier for me to lose myself in the story when the writing is good. I don’t care whether the crystal, the dresses, or the hairstyles are totally accurate to the period – when the writing is as good as it was in these books, all I care about are the characters and the story.
I started Lord of Scoundrels on the direct flight from Cairo to NY – which was great because it meant I had the time to sit and just read. I certainly didn’t want to put it down once I’d started. Once finished, I quickly began on Her Scandalous Ways . I’m almost grateful for the jetlag that causes me to wake up at dawn because it means I get an hour of reading in before the day really begins.
In fact, the only problem I have with books that I enjoy this much is that they undermine my confidence in my own writing. Will I ever write a story or create characters that will resonate with a reader as much as these books resonated with me? I wonder. And yet, in spite of the niggling doubt these books created in me, I’m probably going to re-read these books on my way home again too.
Yes, they are that good.
