stephanie laurens' latest regency romp, the brazen bride, continues the black cobra quartet with feisty heroines and heroic officers

Stephanie Laurens returns her fans to the world of the Regency rake and the feisty heroine in her third instalment of The Black Cobra Quartet, The Brazen Bride. 

Yes, the dashing young men in uniform, on secret missions to save the world, whilst simultaneously managing to sweep swooning – but feisty and apparently quite sexually liberated – off their feet, before ending up in a loving, and raunchy, marriage.
Much as the above sentence can be read as Laurens' formula for her best-selling Regency romance novels, and formula it is, it does nothing to explain why these books are so much damn fun to read. 

In The Brazen Bride, readers follow the story of Logan Monteith, one of the four British officers tasked with getting an important document from India to England, while avoiding the dreaded Black Cobra – a blood-thirsty gang of thugs and assassins. Caught by three of them on his ship to England, Logan is wounded but manages to kill his attackers just as his ship goes down with all hands – except him.
Washed ashore, he's rescued and rehabilitated by the lovely Linnet Trevission – lady of a manor who isn't too shy to take what she wants; innuendo intended.
As he recovers, Logan grows to love the estate, its people, and – of course – the fiery Linnet. Cue descriptions of her burnished red hair.
However, as his memory returns, Logan realises that he has to leave his new-found home and make the perilous journey onward to hand over his vital document.
Luckily Linnet won't be dissuaded from helping him out; ensuring their romance continues spiced by discoveries, attacks and declarations of intent.
What makes Laurens' books a cut above the usual run of the mill Regency romance, is that she manages to add some action to her stories. The thread of the Black Cobra attacks and the reason behind the men's journeys allows the reader to suspend disbelief and enjoy the story.
The last officer is still on his way, and Laurens' next book The Reckless Bride will tie all the stories together and catch the baddies for good – I can't wait.

The Brazen Bride by Stephanie Laurens is published by Avon Books, an imprint of HarperCollins and is available from good book stores and online.

the historical romance of the elusive bride by stephanie laurens; a regency romp

Stephanie Laurens is one of Australia's most popular romance fiction authors, in fact, she's been voted the country's favourite romance author at least once.
In The Elusive Bride, Laurens continues the intrigue and romance begun in The Untamed Bride, the first book in her new The Black Cobra Quartet.
Just about all Laurens' books are set in Regency England – lots of dashing heroes, feisty maidens and talk about a 'well-turned leg', highwaymen and inheritances. Exactly the right ingredients for fabulous historical novels.
Now, while the general details of history and dress may be correct in Laurens' books, there is a touch of unreality in the actions of many of the women she describes. It seems that what is generally believed, historically, to have been the social mores and niceties of Regency England, things like no sex before marriage and a complete lack of knowledge about such sex, don't exist in these tales of romance.
While the swashbuckling gentlemen of Laurens' books appear mostly true to historical records, her heroines are much more modern – why, they even seem to go about having affairs and seducing said swashbuckling heroes.
This is great for the story, but perhaps not so historical.If this sort of thing bothers you, then Laurens' romances may not be for you. Still, Laurens' books are fiction and in every good romance there should be a bit of fantasy, right?
So, The Elusive Bride opens with Miss Emily Ensworth racing down a dusty hill in India clasping an important document to her heaving bosom, while blood-thirsty natives chase her. Oh yes, these books tend to be more than a little 'politically incorrect”.
By the way, Emily is in India to find herself a suitable husband. Apparently she's managed to go through all the eligible gentlemen in England and so is reduce to tracking one down in the colonies.
Emily escapes the natives, thanks to the self-sacrifice of a swashbuckling hero, and finds herself meeting up with a group of surly British officers; one of which makes a definite impact on our Emily.
The book proceeds with a feisty Emily deciding that she may have met her 'one' and her attempts to track him down and find out if he's the man she will marry. The poor bloke, of course, knows nothing about this. He's just got to put up with Emily adding herself to his very dangerous mission and trying to defend her from all sorts of other nasty natives – as well as trying not to give in and ravish her on the spot.
The Elusive Bride may not make historical sense, Emily may be a brazen little hussy who needs a good slap and a stiff talking to, but this is an enjoyable read. It isn't serious literature, but nor is it unreadable rubbish.
Laurens has a lovely way with dialogue, her characters are well-fleshed out and the plot mostly makes sense. The fact that no real man of Regency England would allow a woman to interfere with his dangerous mission for the crown, nor would he take her up on a night of hot sex without marrying her or dumping her afterwards, doesn't matter. Who cares about reality when you can just sit back with a nice box of chocolates and indulge yourself in an afternoon of light reading?

The Elusive Bride by Stephanie Laurens is published by Avon Books, an imprint of HarperCollins and is available from good book stores and online.

heap of reviews coming soon... including robin hobb's dragon haven, horns by joe hill, carrie vaughan's kitty series & reviews of giant robot, yen & surface magazines + more

I've been so busy with actual work lately - the kind that pays the bills - that I haven't had a chance to get to review all the books I've read over the last week or so. I've also got a couple of great magazine reviews to do as well.
On my list are:
Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb - this is the second book in the Rain Wilds Chronicles and it's every bit as good, if not better, than the first book of the series. I actually read it entirely in one sitting, until about 6am in the morning - on a work night!
Kitty's House of Horrors by Carrie Vaughan - the next book in the 'Kitty the werewolf radio host' series of stories. Yep, a werewolf called Kitty, ironic, right? This is typical Vaughan; great urban fantasy easy-read.
The Elusive Bride by Stephanie Laurens - completely gooey historical romance; although you could say there's a touch of fantasy to it as well since the very posh bride gets a bit more raunchy than you'd think during the British Raj! Lots of fun to read, though. It's part of Laurens' Black Cobra Quartet.
Horns by Joe Hill - oh, the magnificent Joe Hill! This is a great urban horror story with a touch of grunge, a bit of sex, the devil, snakes and family relationships... Awesome!
As for the magazines ... have just discovered Giant Robot, a Japanese pop culture, art, music, fashion mag from the US, in ENGLISH! I so wish I could read Japanese. Still... this mag is great. Unfortunately though, like a lot of print publications at the moment, it's being threatened with closure if they can't get some cash through the door. So, they've very cleverly asked their supporters and readers for donations. Go to http://giantrobot.com/donate and leave them something. We've got to support all the magazines we can! You can buy Giant Robot at Borders in Singapore; there are six issues a year and you can subscribe via the website.
Also in my magazines to read pile is the latest issue of Yen. This is another funky mag with a Japan / Asia edge to it. Great photo spreads and interesting, quirky left of field content. It's also available from Borders and is published in Australia.
And... got a copy of Surface; the "new version". I have to say, I preferred this mag back in the day when it had a bit more meat to it. I appreciate that times are difficult now, but what used to be a substantial read has been reduced - both in content pages and paper thickness - to a mere shadow of it's original self. Still, great photography and quirky content.
On top of the magazines, I've got a couple of books on the go as well ...
The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan - this is the second book from Ryan set in a world that's been invaded by zombies and reduced to subsistence living. The best-seller, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, was beautifully evocative of a rural idyll with an unseen menace. These aren't typical zombie stories; it's not about the science and the slobber but more about the emotions of seeing your loved ones dead, but walking around. Have just started it, and am already hooked.
Heresy by SJ Parris - got my hands of an uncorrected proof of this one. It's a historical thriller with a touch of the mystical as a former monk in the 1500s gets involved in a series of murders that may have a link to black magic. Again, just started... but so far it's good. Historical detail is great but not so overwhelming to take away from the characters.
So... there you have it. I owe about nine reviews. Will hopefully get them done in the next week; I promise!