Janet Evanovich - The Rocky Road to Romance (1991)

This is the fourth book in the Elsie Hawkins series and another wacky high-spirited romance from Evanovich.

When WZZZ's usual traffic reporter breaks his leg Daisy Adams, from the station's dog trivia and recipes slot, offers to fill in until he can return to work. Station owner, Steve Crow, would like to turn her down, but it's love at first sight and all he can think of is how to keep Daisy in his life.

This book is part of the Elsie Hawkins series, but like the others, Elsie plays a bit part. In this book she comes in as security guard to protect Daisy from a drug pedler she accidentally caught. In all the books Elsie carries a big gun, is a terrible shot and reminds me a lot of the character Grandma Mazur from the Plum series. I'm qite fond of Elsie and I'd really like an 'Elsie' in my life.

This is another fluffy light romance from Evanovich's early books. It's more for when your mind is tired & just needs a fairy-floss distraction. It's not the kind of book that will have you puzzling over anything or leave you wondering at the end.

Janet Evanovich - Foul Play (1989)

This is one of the first books written by Evanovich and it was re-printed recently, along with a handful of others, that she says disappeared from print as soon as they came out. It's interesting to read an early Evanovich, you can see the character development. There are character names and aspects of personalities that start in these early books and are fleshed out for her Stephanie Plum series.

Amy Klasse is fired from her children's TV show job and replaced by a big breasted woman with a dancing chicken. Incensed, she rampages her way through a supermarket and runs into veterinarian Jake Elliott. Jake takes pity on her and gives Amy a job as his receptionist. Unfortunately, the chicken disappears and Amy is suspect number one in this wacky romantic adventure.

It's an okay book. It's a nice bit of fluff for the end of a tiring day when you just want a light crazy-romance-comedy-adventure with a happy ending.

Janet Evanovich & Charlotte Hughes - Full House (2002)

This is the first book in the Max Holt series. It starts with the genius Max as a teenage boy on his uncle Nick's ranch. Nick is trying to run a Polo school, but Max is busy fighting inequality in society - by blowing things up. Add to the mix Max's much older and very self-involved sister Dee, who is about to enter her fourth marriage, but is crashing at Nick's home until the wedding - and driving him crazy.

So Nick does the only reasonable thing - he tricks the woman he's lusting after, Billie, into taking Dee into her home. It's an avalanche of the usual calamitous high-jinks Evanovich is infamous for until the explosive ending.

The book was okay, but I found Nick's character super-cold. Particularly near the end (SPOILER) where Billie has only been kidnapped for an hour, but he's all ready to sink into despair and assume she's dead. Umm... that's the spirit??! Apart from that it was interesting seeing a teenage Max, he's a fun character.

Georgette Heyer - The Grand Sophy (1950)

Heyer obviously had extensive knowledge of the Regency period in English history. Her books are full of the kind of details that tell you the author was as much an historian as she is a brilliant fictional novelist. She included much trivia that you wouldn't generally find in a history book, the little things that make the culture of the time - like the name for a ladies maid was an Abigail, which we now use as a girl's name. These little authentic details make the books and show how much the author cares about what she writes.

The Grand Sophy has the most assertive heroine yet. Nothing gets between Sophy and what she believes is the right thing to do - and woe betide anyone who tries. But what can be expected from a girl raised by a father who preferred her not to be missish, able to handle her own gun, to ride at a neck or nothing rate and thought dragging her around Europe on his consulate missions, surrounded by soldiers during the Napoleonic war, was a good environment to raise a child - and he was right. Sophy is just majestic. She is lively, caring, intelligent and courageous. Sophy is everything I'd want to be if I lived in the Regency period.

Sophy is my absolute favourite Heyer book. The character's are lovelorn, grumpy, annoying and often hilarious. What can you say to a Marquesa who thinks it perfectly polite to suggest that her luncheon guests join her in the sitting room for a little siesta or the poet who forgets the world when his muse whispers to him and the Lord who thinks everyone wants to know every detail of his last cold and what his mother treated it with? Nothing. You can only laugh. Heyer is at her wittiest in this book. The characters are just endearing even though you wouldn't like to meet some of them and Sophy handles them all with skill. She would have made a brilliant tactician - Sophy moves people around like a King leading troops into battle.