Unwrapping My Favorite Second Chance Romance Novels...

Second Chance Romances are some of my favorite romance reads, whether in contemporary, historical, or even paranormal. After all, PERSUASION by Jane Austen is a classic second chance romance. I love the idea of two people recognizing how they’ve changed since the breakup, and who are now willing to prove themselves worthy of a second chance to win back love. We get to watch the spark that brought them together originally re-ignite and grow into something amazing. I’ve seen studies, which show how some couples who marry, divorce, and reunite in a second marriage usually have a stronger marriage and commitment to each other than the first time around. With experience, and age come wisdom, as well as maturity, I suppose, and those things in combination probably do make for better relationships.

When it comes to romance novels, it always seems to come down to the feeling that two people are truly meant to be together. If they’re not, no matter how connected they are, attracted to each other, or in love, the reader won’t get behind it.

I was watching a scene from THE NOTEBOOK, and got to thinking about Noah and Allie. If she hadn’t decided to face her misgivings about marrying Lon, she might never have met up with a Noah again. Then what? Would they have met again later in life? Is it fate or just luck when it comes to a second chance at love?

Of course, I’m still trying to figure out how he got up those stairs with his pants around his ankles. What an amazing man to be able to do that without falling. Hee Hee!

Of course, Mr. Sparks refuses to call his book a romance but we all know it has the sweetest happily ever after of any.

Some of my favorite second chance romances are:

The entire Second Chance series by Peggy Bird…all worth reading.

TEXAS WIDE OPEN by K.C. Klein…an amazing book which takes you to the past, back to the present, and back again, all while telling an incredible love story.

COLLIDE, a Barker Triplet novel by Juliana Stone…one of my all-time favorites.

ACADIAN WALTZ by Alexandrea Weis is 
not a traditionally second chance romance in that the relationship was unrequited but once they were together, it was explosive. Love this book.

SECRET MANEUVERS, an Ex Ops novel by Jessie Lane – I still love the way this was written, first person from two different points of view.

SWEETEST MISTAKE, a Sweet Texas novel by Candis Terry…it’s a Candis Terry novel, what more do I need say? Jackson and Abby forever.

VAMPIRE INTERRUPTED, an Argeneau novel by Lynsay Sands…it’s only fair that the family matchmaker get a second chance for romance with her beloved Julius. I really should write a review for this one…

And of course, PERSUASION by Jane Austen because Anne was a woman who grew with her years, and who learned to stand up for herself against family and society. Of course, had the Captain not been able to forgive, Anne and Elliot might never have had a second chance at love

So what are your favorite second chance romances? Movies work too!

Happy Reading Everyone! 

Unwrapping: Wacky Wednesday - Miss Jane's Eye Candy

I've been feeling much the way Jane felt when she fell ill at Netherfield Hall and have been fighting some kind of bug since Friday which gives a whole new meaning to Black Friday for me. But I took some meds this morning that actually have my head unstuffed enough to think so I'm going to get this post done before I fall into another fog.  : )

The other day I enjoyed a delightful discussion on another blog about who was the better man, Mr. Darcy or Captain Wentworth ... personally, I think they are both lovely but have a special affinity for Mr. Knightley.  My likes and dislikes of an Austen man come from the books but I do have to admit that with the onslaught of productions made, my likes and dislikes have been greatly reinforced by the male who plays the part in the various visual versions.

Take Mr. Darcy ... we all nearly agree completely that Colin Firth is THE Mr. Darcy that we now imagine when we read PRIDE AND PREJUDICE but there have been others who haven't been too hard on the eyes or the heart.

                                                         

But when Matthew MacFadyen stutters his words and declares, "you have bewitched me body and soul." I melt completely away!!!

Then there's Elliot Cowan from LOST IN AUSTEN who isn't anything to toss in the trash although I suspect he might have made a better Heathcliff but then that's a different genre.


As for Captain Wentworth, I personally feel the eye candy is not quite as sweet but I certainly wouldn't turn any down.  I've always felt that the Captain deserved a better look when it came to casting the role after all, the man is charming, dashing and easily caught the eye of many a female.   Rupert Penry-Jones, I think has caught the eye of the viewers --

 

But I've always felt that Ciarán Hinds might have had more the look of a man who had ridden the seas and seen battle.

 

If ever someone decides to make another production of PERSUASION, and I hope they will, I hope they consider someone like Philip Winchester - now there's an American, who can do British and would make a very good Captain Wentworth - in my opinion, of course.

And then there's my favorite Mr. Knightley -
It goes without saying that Jeremy Northam is probably my ideal sweet George but other's have done the job well, too.

 

Mark Strong played the role quite well and brought out the country gentleman in Mr. Knightley to Kate Beckinsale's so-so Emma.





My least favorite George Knightley was Jonny Lee Miller's portrayal but he would do in a pinch so I'm not going to throw him out.  : )

Oh, my word but there are so many more delicious Austen men to choose from but since I'm beginning to get a bit foggy again, I think I'll save the others for another day. If you have any Austen men that you are particularily fond of, I'd love to know about it.

If remakes were made of all of Miss Jane's works, who would you like to see play your favorite heroes?

Till next time - Happy Reading Everyone!

Unwrapping: Regency Romance - The Beginning

19th Century England - Regency Romance conjures up images of ladies and gentlemen in fine clothes strolling the streets or attending a ball, all good manners and propriety. As Jane Austen potrayed it, the men would have been properly attired, displayed impeccable decorum around the ladies and the ladies would also have been properly attired with gloves at all times and displayed proper manners in regards to the gentlemen neither desiring nor ignoring their attention.
And so goes the way of the ton - which comes from the French term, le bon ton - pronounced more like tone than ton as in the measurement. The phrase le bon ton, meaning good manners or "in the fashionable mode" were characteristics held as ideal by the British ton. The ton dictated all that was acceptable in regards to fashion, etiquette, manners, social customs and nearly every aspect of social life among the aristocracy of 19th Century England including the monarchy.

A young lady would have been presented to society, usually at a ball, and only danced with respectable gentlemen who had been approved by her parents or guardian. She would have worn white in proper manner and gloves so that she never touched the skin of any gentleman to whom she was introduced or partnered with for a dance. Such were the rules of social interaction between single men and women under the watchful eye of the ton. 

Jane Austen was without a doubt the inspiration for all Regency Romance Novels written today for hers were the first and foremost in Romantic Literature stemming from the 19th Century. She lived that world and wrote about it. She created characters like the Bennett sisters as well as other strong female characters with whom every female reader could relate on some level and gentlemen like Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Wickham with whom every male reader could reflect upon to emulate or despise.

As we journey through the world of Regency Romance Novels, we will be reminded of the works of Jane Austen even though the writing is very modern in comparison. Today's Regency Romance writers give over to the audience yet take into consideration the landscape of the story. After considerable research and reading of their own, these wonderful and talented writers have created an environment that feels like Regency England.  The dialogue retains the sound of the era. The description of the clothing, the surroundings and in many cases, even what's served for dinner all lend to transporting the reader back to a time of elegance and societal reserve just as it was in Jane's time.

If you haven't read Regency Romance but are a fan of history, period piece movies, or just good stories, I hope you'll stay with us over the next month as we explore the elegant, well-mannered, yet under the surface steamy, world of Regency Romance Novels. I promise, in addition to beautiful romance stories, you'll also meet spies, rakes and men you'll find yourself imagining in your daydreams. Oh, fellas, if you're willing to take a ride with us, you'll meet some sword wielding, gambling, always ready for a fist fight kind of guys who might make you rethink the genre as well.  There are even some comedic moments that will have you laughing out loud.

Join us next time when we meet one of those Regency Romance writers who will have you rushing to upload or rushing to your bookstore to get a copy or two.  In the meantime, I'm wondering which of Jane Austen's works is your favorite?

I love all of Jane's works and even though PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is one of my favorites as I'm sure it is for most of us as we all wish to be as outspoken as Lizzie Bennett - I have a special place in my literary heart for EMMA. Perhaps because it was Jane's last completed work or because I seem to relate to her the most of all of Jane's ladies.

Emma was convinced that she had no real need for a man in her life for as she put it, "never, never could I expect to be so truly beloved and important; so always first and always right in any man's eyes as I am in my father's." After meddling in others' love lives, she found love in the most unexpected place, right at her side. When she was looking least to fall in love, she realized that she had already fallen in love with the man most suited for her, her best friend and the one whose opinion she regard most highly.  "She saw that there never had been a time when she did not consider Mr. Knightley as infinitely the superior, or when his regard for her had not been infinitely the most dear."

So which of Jane's Austen's works is your favorite? I hope you'll share your choice and reason with us - if not for us then for Emma ... I'm sure she would be delightfully amused.

Happy Reading Everyone!

  

Unwrapping: Wacky Wednesday

It's November, the days are getting ever longer and a bit too cool for most of us, especially after the Tricksters of Halloween decided to bring a snowstorm to the Northeast.  Leading up to Halloween, we learned about the subgenre Paranormal Romance or Urban Fantasy as some refer to it. We met authors who use their imaginations to take us to realms of wonder that we didn't know existed but soon we'll be traveling back in history to a time when women were ladies and men were gentlemen - Regency England.

Before we delve feet first into the society of the ton, I thought we'd ease into with a little transitional fun. Jane Austen was, without a doubt, the leader in changing the way women thought, acted and eventually wrote in their world. She was a pioneer of her time writing novels when women were thought of as being beneath anything so scholarly. But what if she lived in an alternative world? How would she have behaved and reacted to a life with the Damned?

For Wacky Wednesday, I'm going to share with you an excerpt from the second of two novels that put our dear Jane into close contact with vampires, in fact she's drawn in so completely that she actually becomes one of the Damned.

Janet Mullany, with a great love and appreciation for Jane Austen, has taken the author to a new level in JANE AND THE DAMNED in which dear Jane meets the Damned and becomes enamored with their world. In JANE AUSTEN: BLOOD PERSUASION, she has pulled herself free of the Damned, or so she thought but soon finds it's not that simple to be rid of her old 'undead' friends. Banished from polite society, the Damned have appeared in her village and threaten to interrupt her work on what will surely be her greatest masterpiece. Not only that but her young niece, Anna, and another dear friend, have developed an infatuation with the Damned. What is she to do?

Enjoy the excerpt from JANE AUSTEN: BLOOD PERSUASION and perhaps you'll be inspired to read the complete novel yoursel. I hope so, it's a uniquely wonderful experience.


After dinner, Dorcas led her female guests upstairs to the parlor, where one of the handsome footmen assisted in pouring and handing out tea.

"How very polite we - you - have become," Jane said to her in a low voice, thinking of the activities in which the Damned indulged when she had last been among them.

Dorcas sighed. "I know. It is so very tedious. But tell me, Miss Jane" - in a slightly louder voice - "how long does your charming niece stary with you?"

"A month or so," Jane replied. Lay one finger, or one tooth upon her, you or any of your kind, and I shall rip out your throat.

"I am most saddened you trust us so little," Dorcas replied quietly. "But do you not see? It is your true nature as one of the Damned that makes you so very protective of your family."

"You are mistaken, ma'am. My family has always been my first loyalty."

A flicker of canine appeared at Dorcas's lip.  "William is of your family. By extension, so am I and Tom. We shall stand by you, whatever you feel, although your ingratitude pains me."

Jane bowed her head. She declined an invitation to perform at the pianoforte, a handsome instrument she envied, but encouraged Anna to do so, and was gratified at the warm applause that met the young woman's playing.

"Charming, quite charming," Tom announced, as he and William entered the drawing room. "You play exceedingly well, Miss Anna. Do you sing, too?"

Anna gazed at Tom with obvious admiration, making no effort to hide her attraction, and a small triumphant smile played over Tom's beautiful lips.

Jane clapped her hand to her mouth as pain surged through her canines. Horrified, she fought to regain control. William gave her a concerned look.

"Why, what is the matter, Jane?" Mrs. Austen asked.

"Toothache," Jane muttered from behind her hand. "Do not concern yourself, ma'am." Sure enough, her canines were aching and sensitive and sharp to her tongue. She was not quite en sanglant, but it was the nearest she had come so far.

"We really must take you to the dentist if things do not improve," Mrs. Austen said. "What do you think, Martha?"

"Dear Jane, allow me to look," Martha said, and touched Jane's hand with her own. They both wore lace mittens, and the effect of bare skin touching her own was too much. Martha's anxiety flooded her mind, overwhelmed her.

Jane leaped to her feet. "I beg of you -"

"Jane, you must drink this." William was at her side, a small glass of wine in his hand.

A drop of something dark coiled and spread in the wine, dissipating like smoke and releasing a rich scent. She reached for the glass and its precious liquid, a single drop of William's blood dissolved in wine, the first time he had ever allowed her this great privilege. A great sense of well-being and safety spread through her as she drank her Creator's gift.

"So. Do you feel better?" William took the glass from her and placed it on a tray held by a footman who lingered nearby. Jane suspected, from the gleam in his eye, that the footman might take the glass away and scoop out any last drops for himself.

"Much better, thank you." Her teeth were once more under control, and her anxiety and rage had ebbed away, leaving a peace and happiness in their wake.

"Let us repair to the Great Gallery, ladies!" Dorcas moved forward to take William's arm. "I believe I can hear our musicians tuning their instruments."

If you enjoyed this excerpt, I hope you'll find a copy of JANE AUSTEN: BLOOD PERSUASION and read it from the beginning - it's worth it.

Happy Reading Everyone!!