Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas

Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas - 266 pages
The Ravenels #6

Lady Cassandra Ravenel has always wanted to marry -- to find love and have a little family of her own.  However, she's starting to think it will never happen.  She can't find someone to love that loves her in return.  Tom Severin wants to marry Cassandra but he agrees that he is not capable of love.  Then Cassandra is maligned in a scandal and Tom hurries to rescue her . . .

This is the final book in the Ravenels historical romance series.  It is also probably my favorite in the series so far.  I really liked the character of Tom and have from the beginning of the series.  Cassandra was also much more interesting in this book than in the previous ones.  I'm looking forward to see what family and historical period Lisa Kleypas focuses on next.

Scandal by Amanda Quick

Scandal by Amanda Quick - 329 pages

Emily Faringdon had resigned herself to being a spinster ever since her great Scandal at age 19 years.  She has devoted herself to poetry and investing.  Then she meets her pen pal Simon.  She is immediately smitten and knows that they share a transcendent bond.  However, Simon is bent on revenge against Emily's father.
I enjoyed this book.  It was a fun, quick read.

Hollywood Book of Scandals: The Shocking, Often Disgraceful Deeds and Affairs of More Than 100 American Movie and TV Idols by James Robert Parish

Hollywood Book of Scandals: The Shocking, Often Disgraceful Deeds and Affairs of More Than 100 American Movie and TV Idols by James Robert Parish, 292 pages

If you like reading the National Enquirer and People Magazine, you will probably really enjoy this book.  This book contains 32 shocking scandals and affairs of more than 100 American and TV stars.  Most of the stories you have probably have heard of before, but it is fun to read about them again.  The author includes many details and pictures. The scandals are categorized by years, beginning with 1900 and ending with the present (2004).  Marilyn Monroe's death, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton's marriages, and the Roman Polanski scandal are just some of the stories written in this book.  This was a quick and fascinating book!

Blacksad: A Silent Hell (v 4), by Juan Diaz Canales, 112 pages

Blacksad: A Silent Hell (v 4), by Juan Diaz Canales, 112 pages

The Blacksad books are simply beautiful works of graphic art- Juanjo Guarnido, the illustrator, does the whole piece with watercolors- which is a challenging medium that he makes sing.  The story itself is also quite good- Blacksad is a 1950s PI so it has a noir feel, with mystery and twists and a fair amount of bittersweetness.  When Blacksad is hired to find a missing jazz pianist in New Orleans, he thinks it will be routine- but he gets swept into a mystery involving drugs, poison, corruption, and a couple of near-death experiences.  This is an outstanding comic with incredible detail- the bonus was that at the end, the author and illustrator showcase some of the preliminary sketches and explain the choices in color and techniques- a really interesting look into the "making of."

Ravishing in Red by Madeline Hunter

Ravishing in Red by Madeline Hunter - 357 pages

Audrianna is determined to clear her father's name.  So she sets out to meet someone who claims to have information.  Unfortunately, Lord Sebastian Summerhays also shows up.  In the confusion he is shot and the person they want to meet flees.  Hoping to avoid some of the scandal, they eventually marry to save their reputations.  However, they are both still determined to discover the truth about Audrianna's father.
This is the first in Hunter's regency quartet.  However, it is actually the last book I in the series that I read.  I found myself continuing to read it simply because I already knew the characters.  Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have.