Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous discussion

September through October Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous read will be a choice of either: Lady of Fire by Valerie Vayle or Flame of Savannah by Maggie Lyons. You can choose to read one or the other, or even both. Both books tied, so, it's nice to have choices. ^.^

Official reading starts the 21st of September(this month), with plenty of time inbetween to fetch one of the books.

Which book are you reading? :)

Not having one or the other book would simplify things for me, but I have both. <= decisions are hard :P

Karla (Mossy Love Grotto) wrote: "Not having one or the other book would simplify things for me, but I have both. <= decisions are hard :P"

Haha, I have Flame of Savannah, so that'll be a no-brainer, plus it's what I voted on AND I've been itchin' for this one for awhile. :D

Thank you for the book recommendations. I'm currently reading Outlander by Diana Galbaldon and am about halfway through.

I will pick one of these after I finish which will be very soon :)

I think I'll get Lady of Fire. Can't resist a pirate tale.

I might tackle Flame of Savannah, I've had it on the TBR for a while now :)

Can any of you who own Lady of Fire tell me the page count? This info is missing from Both GR and AMZN.

Andrea (Catsos Person) wrote: "Can any of you who own Lady of Fire tell me the page count? This info is missing from Both GR and AMZN."

494 pages, according to Worldcat. I just added it because I saw it was missing.

Thanks!

I think I'll read Lady of Fire. I haven't read a medieval HR in a long time.

Lady Of Fire for me, it would take forever to find which box the other one is in.

I'll read Flame of Savannah :)

Awesome! I'll be reading Lady Of Fire as well ;)

I'll be reading Lady of Fire. It is on my TBR list. :)

Kerrie wrote: "If I can find Flame of Savannah in my bookcase, I'll be reading that. Things are crammed in there every which way. So I can fit more on it. :D"

Being Karla's sis, I imagine this implicates you as the troublemaker. >:D

I'm not feeling Melinda. I want to slap her in to the middle of next week.

Edit

This is how I felt by page 50!

Now that she has what she wants (view spoiler)[ an English nobleman as her thrall (hide spoiler)](let anyone try to stand in her way! Her parents aren't even immune).

I've started reading again. I am enjoying the secondary romance (as improbable as it is!).

The author over uses the word "belle" in this book.

Do not buy the Kindle book for this title. It has been modified!!! AMZN used the old 80s book cover to indicate the kindle edition. I bought it yesterday because it was cheap (I know that we just discussed how author's change things in their kindle editions. Please slap me!) I had already read up to the 5th chapter in the book itself. As I was flipping through the kindle edition to find my place, I saw an unfamiliar name. Melinda's cousin Caroline's name had been changed to "Julianne"

Ugh, that sucks!! But the only way we'll know for sure - if it's not explicitly stated - is for someone to get burned and get the word out. :( Since you've got both editions, can you ascertain if it's just things like name changes that have been done, or if actual content has been "cleaned up." Since this is a southern romance, I'm thinking Lucy's portrayal might have gotten a do-over.

*checks*

That would be an affirmative.

Original version:
"We oughts to be gettin' home pretty soon, missy. I gots to start gittin' yo ready fo' the ball tonight," Lucy said.

Kindle version (from the preview):
Lucy called from behind. "We need to be getting home, young ladies."

The first few paragraphs have been significantly rewritten and switched around. It looks like the author edited it the way he wants, now that he's grown as a writer. Understandable, but it's my preference to read the original. Of course I always state as such in a review, so it's not like the author could take umbrage at me misleading any readers of my reviews.

I don't know how bodice rippery the original was, but if cleaned-up prose and a less dialect-y portrayal of slaves is what one would prefer, then the Kindle version would probably be a fine choice. I'm sticking with the paperback. :P

I'm up to nearly page 40 and I admit to liking the brat. She's very young Scarlett O'Hara-ish. I keep expecting her to say Fiddle-dee-dee! LOL

Started this this morning :)

I read a bit more tonight. Really liking it. :D Melinda's a classic BR brat so I can't wait to see if she gets put through the wringer.

I have read up to page 274 and I can't see anything bodice rippery yet. But it looks as if the H is about to be put through the ringer rather than bratty Melinda.

As long as someone does. I'm not picky. LOL

This will probably be a Southern HR instead of a BR, but The Black Swan is practically a regular HR except for the voodoo island interlude.

There's no way to know for sure about these books until we read them since reviews are usually so lacking about the oldies.

I'm at the part where Melinda's about to head to her cousin Caroline's house to try and spend more time with and monopolize Geoffrey Randolph after she meets him, takes him to the ball, and he professes his love and adoration. Within a couple hours of meeting her. I was like... ha! xD

She's determined. :D I'm reading it slowly because of juggling other books, but I'm really enjoying it.

Still chugging along. Read the duel and Melinda's miraculous love-rays healing Geoffrey from his dueling wound. Then his man Judas was just set upon in the alley, and now Carlton Rhodes is meeting up with this mysterious other Englishman, Barnes. I'm curious as to what's the deal with Geoffrey's deep dark secrets, and what Barnes has to do with it...

I just got to the part hinting at Geoffrey's dark secrets....still near the beginning, but I'm juggling it with a couple other books so it's taking me awhile.

Just finished. I liked it, in an odd sort of way, though it's not one I'll want to re-read. But it was interesting, and I'm glad I finally read it and got it off the TBR pile.

I don't plan on keeping my copy (paperback), so if anyone here without a copy would like to read it, I'd be more than happy to send it along. Just PM me the address. If not, I'll just toss it in my yard-sale box :)

Ain't she? I love it. :D

p 286, ch 16

I think that there is something nefarious going on with Geoffrey's aunt.

(view spoiler)[I think that the eeeville Stafford Barnes is behind the aunt's decline in health (poisoning maybe?) and that Barnes has planted servants in her house to help him to carry out his plans to do the aunt in. (hide spoiler)]

I was thinking (view spoiler)[the aunt's illness was caused by poisoning too! Especially when it was mentioned the maid was new. (hide spoiler)]

Kit★ wrote: "I was thinking [spoilers removed]"

I guess I'm not crazy then!

If someone needs copies of Flame of Savannah or of Lady of Fire, I would be happy to send in exchange for two books. I prefer that they be old skool (from the mid 1990s or earlier).

Contact me if you are interested.

Kerrie wrote: "I really just started this and I'm loving Melinda. She's channeling Vivien Leigh like nobody's bidness. :D"

I JUST started reading it too. >:D We're late bloomers. lol

Prologue: Elegant and hedonistic... WIN. I seriously have to shake off the Marilee and Tosanna greatness and capitalize on the norm of most heroines... They've just ruined me against other heroines. ;__;

I don't know how/if Melinda matures throughout, but she's so far reminding me of Dulcie from The Black Swan. Not a spitfire like Tosanna by any stretch, but...I dunno....a quieter kind of grit? At least I hope she pans out that way because I really loved Dulcie and haven't found too many others like her.

Was it confirmed that the BR pieces were edited out, or just edited the language, etc?

I haven't done a side by side comparison lately, but so far - in the original - there's been no BR-ness. So I think any/all changes have been in the language and general prose department.

The writing isn't exactly ornate, but from what I saw in the reissue, it's been stripped and streamlined. OK for some genres IMO, but for Southern Romance, the rambling ornateness is part of its charm.

I'm also finding the suspense/intrigue aspect of the plot more interesting than what's usually found in modern HRs (where it's a toss-off nod to "having something happen"). Maybe it's the dude aspect of the author - he puts more focus on it rather than giving it token service and then rushing back to more inane non-action in the romance department.

Great secondary character development as well. All in all, I'm greatly enjoying myself. :D

I liked the secondary characters a lot! I think I was more worried about Cathleen's love than Melinda and Geoffrey's, and Judas... Ha! Judas was by far my favorite character of the book.

@Kit

I too was more interested in Cathleen's and Aaron's love story than in Melinda and Geoffrey's.

Judas got more action than anyone, didn't he?

Lol, yea he did!

I realized I didn't comment about this one...

Overall I enjoyed it, but I thought the pacing was too slow in parts. However, the feel of antebellum Savannah was excellent. Very descriptive!

A minus was that the secondary characters nearly completely overshadowed the main couple. They had the majority of the conflict and drama and heartache - Cathleen and Aaron, and Judas' backstory as well. It was definitely "their" book instead of Melinda and Geoffrey's.

At least I think I know what to expect when I read the other Maggie Lyons titles on my TBR and to pick it when I'm in a more slow and leisurely mood.