Bodice Ripper Readers Anonymous discussion

(I hope this is the proper category for this thread).

I have read so many novels overtime; most are M.I.A or simply forgotten alltogether..but I was organizing my 'read' list, and have simply forgotten a few. Maybe some of you can recognize them? Unfortunately, I don't recall most characters(hence my dilemma), but I will give the best descriptions I possibly can.

1.
Island-to-regency novel, the heroine's name is Golden and she was raised on an island. The hero, for whatever reason, takes her from the island back into London society as a proper lady. SOLVED Tradewinds by Annee Cartier

2.
Regency novel, heroine was a street peddler, who may happen to either be a 'lost fortune' sort, or something relative. It's almost eerily similiar to A Loving Scoundrel , but I wasn't entirely sure. I know the girl is trained into being a proper lady.

3.
Medieval timeline, heroine is possibly a healer, and fixes the hero's ruined sword arm. That's all I know, but it's sort of like Taming the Beast , but in the description it never states whether or not she heals his sword arm. Maybe it jus' doesn't explain fully, and nobody commented on it, either?

4.
Western like novel. Heroine is on a riverboat, playing cards. She either loses her hand to the hero, in a card game, or she has nothing to cover her losses, so she agrees to marry him/provide an heir. The hero at one point even tries to trust her enough with his heart, and aims to give her a very fragile glass heart ornament, but thinks she betrays him, and destroys it. SOLVED The Lady's Hand by Bobbi Smith


5.
I found this book at the dollar store ages ago, so it may not even be in print anymore, or just never popular. All I know is that the heroine moves into this possibly 'haunted' house, either to be a governess or something...but the 'lord's sister-in-law is named Camilla(or relatively close). She ends up being the villain. I know that's vague. Lol SOLVED Mistress of the Moors byJudith Conklin

6.
Hero and heroine are stranded on an island ..but it started out as a plantation. Heroine has a half-African American brother, who the hero thinks is her lover. So, once they return to land; she becomes pregnant and hero jilts her until he learns otherwise. SOLVED Captain's Bride by Kat Martin

Any help, or suggestions are most helpful!

No. 2 does sound like a loving scoundrel. is the heroins name danny, and she pretends to be a boy for the first 15 yrs of her life, becuase her governess dies in an alley and the street urchins take her in. She end up marying Jeremy Mallory...?

Yeah, #2 does sound like that one. I just wasn't sure if she was a street peddler, like--she sold food in a vendor. Did she in that Loving Scoundrel?

no she was a theif, and she met jeremy when he needed something stolen back, and then accidentally discovered she's female, and then she got kicked out of her gang and demanded a job because it was his fault, and she became his maid.

3.If it's not Johanna Lindsey's A Loving Scoundrel, it might be
Shirlee Busbee's :
A whisper of passion... She was a raven-harried waif from the streets of London-- a wild innocent to be rescued... and tamed. A spirited beauty, she would captivate Royce Manchester's jaded heart-- while resisting the smoldering desire she felt fo her virile protector.
A whisper of danger... In Royce's glittering world of money and privilege, young Morgana discovered the shocking secret of her true identity-- entangling the wealthy American planter in a deadly skein of aristocratic family intrigue. But grave peril would only feed the flames of a love that knew no bounds... and a glorious rapture that would not be denied.

There hero's a cad who bangs one chick after the next, but once the heroine cleans up, he's hers forever. She was involved in a street gang, but then turns out to be the presumed dead daughter of a noble.

Or it could be one of my all time favorites , this takes place in France, the heroine lies to her family that she's a vendor of sorts, but is actually a pickpocket, with a hidden identity. She's black-mailed into posing as a noblewoman's long-lost daughter. But this books has so many twists and turns it's hard to forget.

#4 & #6 sound familiar, but I'm drawing a blank for now. Good luck!

I believe the premise for the book went something along the lines of---she was a daughter of a noble, and the hero discovered it, went to clean her up/introduce her to society. Found her selling her wares on the street. I've no recollection of a street gang or anything remotely.

Shirlee Busbee's fit the description more accurately than that of Promises of Summer, but despite all that--I'm aiming to add those to my must-read nevertheless. :D

Brainstorming and meditating these books' entirety, really draws out conclusions as to their title, too. Lol Thank you for taking the time to aid me in this conquest...I'll find them yet!

Another book's plotline came to mind last night;

London setting--heroine is French, I believe--or had previously lived in France. For some particular reason, her reputation was practically in ruins, albeit she's innocent of the gossipy accusations. One of her faux pas concerned an incident in France--where she reportedly jumped into a fountain naked. Her attire, given her French occupancy--was quite scandalous in the eyes of the ton, and therein simply validated the rumors concerning her. Her eyesight was poor, as well--and the hero even purchases her a pair of glasses inorder to read. I suppose he considered her a half-wit--and truly, it wasn't far from the truth.

Hero thinks she's a simmering tart. At one point he says, "Thank God for Marie Antoinette".

That's all I remember, any idea lovelies? XD HELP!

Ack! That first part about the fountain sounds SO familiar, but everything else is a blank. :(

It eludes me.. *rolls out crystal ball* >.< I remember the heroine also attending the Opera with the hero and his 'intended' whom he has delayed in marrying. The anti-heroine was a bit of a stiff-necked blueblood. The heroine, being rather simple in tastes and mind--she confessed to openly weeping during the theatrical production, whilst the anti-heroine criticized it. The hero attempts to instill some smarts in this wanton creature; she confesses she doesn't read overmuch, and he wheedles out that it's due to her headaches whilst reading. Hero produces glasses, and the girl soaks up a few volumes, and the heroine is questioned right schoolmarmy on its contents. It just so happens, that the heroine isn't a one-celled organism after all! The hero, an unavowed libertine, clandestinely given her a book on such Revolutionary proportions--I suppose to glean a political opinion out of her.

Now I'm REALLY drawing a blank. :P

Here's another, it should be on one of the legendary bodice ripper list; it's a bit off the wall. XD

Heroine is either accosted by hero, or sleeps with him. She runs away/thrown on a ship, where she is given to I believe the captain. Her and another girl are trained sex-slaves to him. Later on, she's discarded, given to another pirate who is impotent, and instead--flogs her religiously. -.-

Lol, I may drag these over to the other group, 'cause I swear, I'm brain lagged. XD

Mermarie wrote: "Here's another, it should be on one of the legendary bodice ripper list; it's a bit off the wall. XD

Heroine is either accosted by hero, or sleeps with him. She runs away/thrown on a ship, where s..."

Ive read alot of pirate reads and an "impotent" pirate is one I would think to remember..but you got me here*scratches head*

He was the third anti-hero/villain..and I don't think the hero even cared about to rid of the guy... the hero spent a lot of chapters in separation from her, too. Lol She was pregnant at the end, and the 'hero' was questioning her on who the child belonged to--and casually inquired whether or not it was the third guy, and she's all..no, he couldn't....

Mermarie wrote: "He was the third anti-hero/villain..and I don't think the hero even cared about to rid of the guy... the hero spent a lot of chapters in separation from her, too. Lol She was pregnant at the end, a..."

If you find out about this one let me know.

I will, it'd be a BR you girls need to read, if you haven't. It's pretty like WTF? on so many ungodly levels. lol

He finally makes his presence known again sometime later in the book..and you're like..weee..the peasants rejoice! lol

4. Western like novel. Heroine is on a riverboat, playing cards. She either loses her hand to the hero, in a card game, or she has nothing to cover her losses, so she agrees to marry him/provide an heir. The hero at one point even tries to trust her enough with his heart, and aims to give her a very fragile glass heart ornament, but thinks she betrays him, and destroys it.

The Lady's Hand by Bobbi Smith < I finally found that book that was MIA! :D I loved this little riverboat dalliance!

I read many of this authors books back in the day but passed on this one as I started to find her stories/plots becoming all the same..just might track this one down though.

I hadn't read any of hers when I picked it up, so it may seem so original to me. lol

I would love to figure out that one with the sex-slaves and the impotent pirate. >:( It eludes me still!

That pirate one totally stumps me. I have NO CLUE.

I need to figure it out desperately, it's a BR in every regard! Pirate slavery and floggings/rapes. Lol

I really hope you eventually can ID that pirate one, because I so wanna read it. :D

Oh me too, it's jus' hard to pin-point it when your best memory is.."Girl gets kidnapped by pirates".....doesn't quite narrow it down. lol

Damnit all, #5 WASN'T the Raven. Blasted..although, it was a book I had previously read and forgot all about.

Hmmm...another one, that came to me.

Hero's name is Masterson, but they call him Mast for short. That's _all_ I rightly recall. XD

I thought perhaps it was this old gem:



It looks like a cover I would have immediately been drawn to, but it'll require re-reading to be sure. Something tells me I won't mind that field study one bit. ;) Lol

Speaking of hero's names, one I added today has a hero called Whip. Awesome. :D

Hahaha...this calls for a thread, "Strangest hero/heroine names!"

Once more, Miranda's matriarch was "Honora". I wasn't sure if it was merely a long, drawn out euphemism for 'horny'. XD

I also found:

On a Romance Reader search-by-character-name engine.

Which, by the way, I had to add manually! But it's another Zebra!

#5 is Mistress of the Moors by Judith Conklin

I've got one, and it's been itching in my brain for the past two years or so.

I'm pretty sure it was a Zebra, and was about an English girl (raised on a tropical island that I *think* was Tahiti?) hooking up with an American whaler. They get married, and he's going back to Boston to tell his family, and wants her to stay on the island until he comes back for her. She disguises herself as a boy and sneaks on board where she is almost immediately found out. He takes her to Boston where his family treats her like shit (I think she saves a niece or nephew from drowning in a pond?) and the woman that the family expected him to marry ends up getting her kidnapped by some oogy dude. Hero rescues her but then tries to sweet talk the Other Woman into confessing she did it by claiming he loved only her and not his wife. Wife over hears, and rather than breaking a foot off in him decides to run away back to the island. He follows, they clear the air, kiss kiss, fondle rub, all is well, the end.

The hero was I think blond, and the heroine was black haired (Raven tressed, of course!) with purple eyes? I think? I want to say "Tempest" was somewhere in the title, but a GIS on Tahitian Tempest only kicks up perfume and porn. Published sometime in the mid '80s, I think.

Any ideas? I'm losing hours of my life trying to find this title.

Stacy wrote: "I've got one, and it's been itching in my brain for the past two years or so.

I'm pretty sure it was a Zebra, and was about an English girl (raised on a tropical island that I *think* was Tahiti?)..."

Gosh Stacy..there are so mant "tid-bits" there that are jogging the memory..but its just not coming.Some of that is so fimiluar..just cant pin-point aghhh:/

Stuff like this has me pondering whether to focus on creating a database of these stuff, plugging in characters' traits, all locations, occupations, etc. I doubt such a thing is even doable considering how many romances there are (plus I seem to forget my to-do list when I'm actually reading!), but would it be NICE.

I don't recall reading any book with the hero as a whaler. That would stand out, I think. But I'll look around. :)

See..that's what stands out for me..Hero as a whaler. I know I read one like that and I didnt think it would interest me,but I do remember I couldnt get into it..are they lying on the beach? Embracing and he is about to kiss her? He's blonde..she has black hair to about mid-shoulder?

Stacy, I gave a quick lookthrough my Zebras (Authors L - Z, at least) and the only one I saw that takes place in the Pacific is Wild Island Sands. The others were all Atlantic-based. I've gotta dash off and do boring RL stuff, but I'll check the first half of my bookcases when I get back.

Sandi-- that sounds right! There's something about a lagoon behind her house, maybe? I remember picturing it as a hot tub in my head, but I was like, 12 when I read this.

Karla-- that's not it, sadly. :( Maybe it's not a Zebra. I could swear it is, but again, I'm running off about 20 years since seeing the cover. The cover looks very Zebra-ish, I remember that. A lot of pastels, a lot of peachy or pink colors, I think? The maddening part is that I know I could recognize it if I saw it again. I literally know everything about this book EXCEPT anything that would help me ID it.

Thanks for looking, Karla! I really appreciate it!

Yes! Stacy That's the picture/cover I have in my mind!
(no hot-tub but a lagoon)It's killing me I cant remember the name Agh!!

Sandi, at this point I'm just glad that I didn't apparently have a stroke and imagine this whole book!

Stacy wrote: "I've got one, and it's been itching in my brain for the past two years or so.

I'm pretty sure it was a Zebra, and was about an English girl (raised on a tropical island that I *think* was Tahiti?)..."

I'm going to look for this, because I've seen this book somewhere when I was looking for the Heartfire, Lovegram and Splendor series. I know it's in my "Zebra" book shelf..so, you can add me and search, if I don't get a chance. She has dark hair, mid-shoulder, he's almost kissing her, and is definitely a blonde.

Is it this book? Orchid Moon by Camille Crawford


In Tahiti with her father to establish a trading post, Boston-born Sirena Sinclair, called Tiare by the Tahitians, becomes torn between her love for the island and her love for a handsome sea captain.

Stacy, was that the book? Let us know. :>

Mermarie wrote: "I also found:

On a Romance Reader search-by-character-name engine.

Which, by the way, I had to add manually! But it's another Zebra!"

Found this one used ("very good" condition) on Amazon for $3.99 including postage. Is it a good one?

Regan: I actually have no idea. I honestly don't have it. I love Zebra's Heartfire/Lovegram series and I went on a crusade to unearth them all, so I could add them to a gallery I've been working on forever. I've had to randomly use different sites, FictionDB.com, Goodreads, Paperbackswap.com and Worldcat.org to find missing ones from the series, that I wasn't aware existed in pursuit of fully finishing the galleries by year and series.

Mermarie wrote: "Regan: I actually have no idea. I honestly don't have it. I love Zebra's Heartfire/Lovegram series and I went on a crusade to unearth them all, so I could add them to a gallery I've been working on..."

Ok, no worries. I'm always looking for the keepers.

3. once a warrior. just finidhed and loved it.

Beth wrote: "3. once a warrior. just finidhed and loved it."

Did the heroine cure his swordarm, by chance?

Beth wrote: "3. once a warrior. just finidhed and loved it."

Once a Warrior, by who? Karyn Monk? I don't believe that's it.

Mermarie, can you please provide the title link to each of the SOLVED book searches in your first post in this thread?

I hope it is not too much trouble.

Thank you.

JennyG wrote: "Mermarie, can you please provide the title link to each of the SOLVED book searches in your first post in this thread?

I hope it is not too much trouble.

Thank you."

Sure, if you need the information. :D

Thank you very much Mermarie! :)

The second one might be A Perfect Bride by Samantha James

PERFECTLY MARVELOUS

Devon St. James must surely be dreaming! She closes her eyes in London's poorest slum, and awakens wrapped in fine linens ... staring into the eyes of the most gorgeous man she has ever seen! Sebastian Sterling, marquess of Thurston, is clearly shocked to have a girl from the streets in his bed, though the heat of the desire burning in his gaze is unmistakable. But if he believes Devon will easily submit, he is quite mistaken!

What the devil has he done? It's bad enough their family is already mired in scandal, now Sebastian has to deal with the exquisite young beauty in rags he had impetuously carried into his home! Worse still, the lady is driving the serious, responsible marquess to distraction with her fiery spirit and breathtaking sensuality. But perhaps, just perhaps, with some of Sebastian's private schooling, this low-born enchantress can learn refinement and manners -- and be miraculously transformed from merely his passionate obsession into ...A PERFECT BRIDE

JennyG wrote: "The second one might be A Perfect Bride by Samantha James

PERFECTLY MARVELOUS

Devon St. James must surely be dreaming! She closes her eyes in London's poorest slum, and awakens wrapped in fine li..."

Sadly that's not it, but it sounds like the premise. I may have to re-read one of the ones suggested above, because I think it could be possibly one of those.

And thank you for the suggestion---anything to stir up the memory again. =D