Julia Quinn: Everything and the moon

Julia Quinnin viihderomaanissa kaksi petetyksi tullutta rakastavaista kohtaavat toisensa vuosien päästä, ja tunteen paloa piisaa, tosin alussa enemmänkin kostonhimoa ja häpeäntunnetta: Everything and the moon (Piatkus, 2008; ISBN 978-0-7499-0895-9).



Päähenkilöt ovat kumpikin hiukan ressukoita, elämässään kärsineitä, mutta taitavan puoleisesti kirjailija saa hahmonsa jotakuinkin elämään, eikä hirveästi haittaa että tämä juoni on tullut kerrottua aiemmin satoja kertoja. Huumoriakin piisaa, ja sitten on myös kuu, jolla on oma erikoislaatuinen tehtävänsä tarinassa.

When Robert Kemble stumbles across Victoria Lyndon in a hedgerow maze, he can't believe his eyes. The girl who'd torn him in two, who let him plan an elopement and then left him standing by the side of the road, was suddenly within arm's reach, and even though his fury still knew no bounds, she was impossible to resist.

Victoria's father had told her an earl would never marry a vicar's daughter, and he was right. Robert had promised her marriage, then danced off to London while she suffered the shame of a foiled elopement. But even though Victoria doesn't particularly enjoy her new life as a governess, when Robert offers her a job of a different sort - his mistress - she refuses, unable to sacrifice her honour, even for him.

But Robert won't take no for an answer, and he vows to make her his, through any means possible. Can these star-crossed lovers learn to trust again? And is love really sweeter the second time round?

Tracy Anne Warren: The bed and the bachelor

Tracy Anne Warren punoo Englannin ja Ranskan välistä vakoilua historialliseen viihderomaaniin, jossa matemaatikko ja hänen taloudenhoitajansa joutuvat läheiseen kanssakäymiseen keskenään: The bed and the bachelor (Avon books, 2011; ISBN 978-0-06-203305-5).



Ilmeisesti romaani on Byrons of Braebourne -kirjasarjan viides osa. Näppärästi kerrottu tarina, josta ei kuitenkaan kovin paljon muistijälkiä jäänyt.

Lord Drake Byron has no time in his busy life to worry about taking a wife. He is more interested in the unbreakable code he's developed to defeat Napoleons forces. Little does he know that the irresistibly lovely new housekeeper hes just hired is really a French secret agent.

Tracy Anne Warren: The Princess and the Peer

Tracy Anne Warren punoo historiallisessa viihderomaanissa melkoista prisessasatua, jossa prinsessa haluaa kokeilla miltä tuntuu elää tavallista elämää ennen pakkoavioliittoon suostumista: The Princess and the Peer (Signet, 2012; ISBN 978-0-451-23634-0).



Kaikki olennainen romaanista lienee kerrottu takakannen tekstissä. Ihmishahmoilla ei erityisemmin ole syvyyttä, mutta toisaalta kirjailija ei kuitenkaan kauheasti kompuroi tarinansa juonenkuvien punomisessa.

When a royal summons from her brother arrives, Emma knows it’s time to embrace her duties as the princess of a small European kingdom, and marry the man her brother has chosen for her…a stranger she has never met. Instead she does what any self-respecting princess would do—she runs away. All she wants is one week in London. One week to experience everything life has to offer, before she is locked away in a loveless marriage forever.

Former naval captain Nick Gregory has inherited a title he never wanted. As the new Earl of Lyndhurst, he chafes against his landlocked existence—until fate brings a mysterious young beauty across his path. Believing she’s an unemployed governess, Nick offers shelter and protection to the captivating girl, never guessing her true identity.

Emma falls hard for Nick, but knowing they have no future, she flees once more—this time back to her royal responsibilities. But when she and Nick unexpectedly meet again, she learns that against all odds, he’s determined to make this princess his bride.

Mick Herron: Real tigers

Mick Herron jatkaa Slough House -jännärisarjaansa terävästi, kertoen urallaan epäonnistuneista agenteista jotka hoitavat rutiininpuoleisia hommia paremman puutteessa: Real tigers (John Murray, 2016; ISBN 978-1-4736-2121-3).



Herronin kutoma juoni on melkein liiankin monimutkainen toimiakseen, mutta kumma kyllä tarina pysyy koossa, ja vetää mukaansa. Ihmishahmot eivät ole mitenkään sympaattisia, eikä ketään voi kutsua varsinaisesti sankariksi, mikä tarjoaa oman laistaan omaperäisyyttä kerronnalle. Rosoisuutta ja rämäkkyyttä tässä tarinassa riittää, yllätysten lomassa.

London's Slough House is where disgraced MI5 operatives are reassigned to spend the rest of their careers pushing paper. But when one of these fallen spies is kidnapped by a former soldier bent on revenge, the agents must breach the defenses of Regent's Park to steal valuable intel in exchange for their comrade's safety. The kidnapping is only the tip of the iceberg, however, as the agents uncover a larger web of intrigue that involves not only a group of private mercenaries, but also the highest authorities in the Security Service. After years spent as the lowest on the totem pole, the spies suddenly find themselves caught in the midst of a conspiracy that threatens not only the future of Slough House, but of MI5 itself.

Manda Collins: Why dukes say I do

Manda Collins pyörittää rutiininomaisesti historiallista viihderomaania, jossa yhteen laitetaan maaseudulla viihtyvä herrasmies ja Lontoon salongeissa viihtyvä nuori leskirouva: Why dukes say I do (St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2013; ISBN 978-1-250-02383-4).



Mitään muistiinpainuvan omaperäistä romaanissa ei ole, mutta toisaalta teksti on mukiinmenevän sujuvaa.

When Lady Isabella Wharton receives a summons from her godmother, the dowager Duchess of Ormonde, she knows the news wont be good. From her disastrous marriage, to her reckless widowhood, she and the duchess have never seen eye to eye. But this time the old woman has gone too far.

TRUE LOVE IS OFTEN FOUND

With her whirlwind social life in London, Lady Isabella Wharton has little interest in the customs of the country. But when her godmother asks her to pay a visit to her bachelor grandson in Yorkshire, Isabella can’t refuse. It behooves her to please the old dowager, since she harbors one of Isabella’s most scandalous secrets. So off she goes to see the newly-titled—and notoriously rustic—Duke of Ormond.

WHERE YOU LEAST EXPECT IT

Trevor Carey doesn’t care about what goes on behind ballroom doors. He is content with the simple life—and isn’t ashamed to admit it to a society flirt like Lady Isabella. But the country air brings out a different side of Isabella—one full of longing and passion. Can her sophistication be hiding a desire for love? When a blackmailer from the city arrives to threaten Isabella, Trevor will shield her from harm—even travel to London. Can the duke tackle the ton on Isabella’s behalf … and manage to keep her all to himself?