Mary Kate’s “Need to Reads”

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Author: admin
Published: Apr 14th, 2008

I’ve been reading romance for over 25 years. Does this make me an expert in the genre? Absolutely not. But, I have read hundreds of romances, and since I started reading them in the early 80s, I’ve read a wide variety of romance. I thought it might be fun to offer some reviews of my favorite romances. If I’m going to do this, I think I have to start with what is, in my opinion, the very best romance ever written. Now, of course, everyone’s mileage will vary, this is just my opinion, but I certainly welcome lots of discussion about the topic of what romances are “need to reads” for you.

Review:

“Merry Patricia Wilding was sitting on a cobblestone wall, sketching three rutabagas and daydreaming about the unicorn.”

Thus begins what is, in my opinion, the best romance ever written.

For those who know me, they know that I read romance. A lot of romance. Thus, I consider myself to be quite an aficionado. I read almost all types of romance: contemporary, historical, paranormal, almost everything, except inspirational. If I had to guess, I would say that I’ve read well over 1000 romances in my life.

A few years ago, while visiting the Avon Authors board, one of my favorite romance authors, Teresa Medeiros, mentioned that The Windflower by Tom and Sharon Curtis was her favorite romance. She said that it was one of the most beautifully written books she’d ever read. I immediately decided to track down a copy. It’s out of print, and the Curtises don’t write romance any more. I ended up contacting Mostly Romance, which is a terrific online UBS (used book store) and Sandy, the owner, found my a copy. A week later, I had my very own copy of the book.

One weekend, I sunk in. What do I love about The Windflower? Every single thing. It’s a pirate story, it’s a loss of innocence story, it’s a the hero is a spy for the British story, it’s a war story. The prose is exquisite. I mean, really exquisite. The authors describe each character and setting in such loving detail that the book could almost be a screenplay. The heroine starts the story as an innocent girl, living with her maiden aunt in Virginia. She quickly gets caught up in an adventure that takes over her life. She’s abducted by pirates, almost drowns, tries to shoot someone with a crossbow, and contracts malaria and nearly dies. Throughout, she grows and changes into this wonderful, headstrong character and falls in love with Devon, our hero. Devon is (of course) an English peer who is acting as a spy for the British government. He spends quite a bit of time on his half brother’s pirate ship, The Black Joke. Of course, once Devon takes Merry as his prisoner, her life is in his hands. And she’s having none of it. It makes their interactions fascinating and emotionally charged.

But what really makes the story is the secondary characters. It features Devon’s half brother Rand Morgan, easily the best secondary romance character ever written. He’s the heartless captain of the Black Joke who has taken a special interest in Merry. He’s bitingly sarcastic, mean and what we call in romance a VERY. BAD. MAN. I’ve never wished harder for a character to get his happily ever after. Among my favorite scenes in the book is when Merry is saved from drowning after stealing a leaky rowboat that Rand purposely had tied to the side of the Black Joke where she’d see it. When he’s accused of nearly killing her, his blase reponse is, “One must suffer a little adversity in life to be truly interesting.” There’s Cat, a sexually ambiguous young man who serves on the ship. He was bought out of slavery by Rand and now is kind of a “pet.” He takes Merry under his wing, and at turns protects and castigates her. There’s also a host of fun pirates on the ship, including Raven a scamp who gets into trouble as often as Merry, and Sails who teaches Merry to tie knots and Tom Valentine the seemingly heartless second in command.

It’s a brilliantly executed, fully formed romance. The romance world lost giants when the Curtises decided to stop writing. But thankfully for me, I can revisit the Black Joke anytime I want. It’s a ride I love every single time.

32 Responses to “Mary Kate’s “Need to Reads””

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Buffie
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 5:12 am:

Gee MK, maybe I should track down a copy of that book too!
Marisa
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 5:37 am:

MK, thanks for sharing this – I’m on my way to find a copy. Having books you love and can re-visit when ever you want is a great joy.
Buffie
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 5:41 am:

Opps! Didn’t mean to hit the sumit button so quick!

Anyway, it sounds like a great book. And I do love a pirate story. I mean, who doesn’t love a story when a strapping hunky man takes a young woman captive only to have her steal his heart!
AndreaW
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 6:06 am:

Great review, MK! (Man, you’re good at this!) I’ve never read this one, but it sounds as if I need to!
MaryKate
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 6:59 am:

I hope each of you can find a copy. It truly is my very favorite romance of all time. What other books do you all consider to be Need to Reads?

I’m going to try to do one of these a week (along with the other reviews I do). I’m such an old school romance reader, I want to get as much of the “good stuff” out there as possible.
Buffie
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 7:54 am:

My Need To Read suggestion is The Wedding by Julie Garwood. What’s not to love about a Highlander taking his bride!! I read it every single year. Love that Connor!
MaryKate
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 8:11 am:

Thanks Buffie! Julie Garwood is definitely on my list of Need to Reads that I’ll be reviewing. I’ll get to her soon.
LeeAnn
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 9:18 am:

MK I love this book and I owe it all to you LOL. For anyone looking for this book the prices may seem a little high but let me tell you it’s way worth it!!

Uh Oh I haven’t heard of Julie Garwood. I have come so far in my Romance reading education but still have much to learn )
Buffie
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 10:26 am:

You haven’t HEARD of Julie Garwood??!!! OMG, LeeAnn, she is like the queen of highland romances. Definitely check her out. Her heros are hot and her heroines are kick a$$. The Bride and The Wedding are two great ones to start with.
Maria
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 11:06 am:

Wow MK – sounds like I definetly have to track this book down.

One I would suggest as an all time favorite is Diana Gabaldon – The Outlander. What’s not to love – an epic love story, highlanders, and time travel. I couldn’t ask for more!
MaryKate
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 11:29 am:

Great suggestion Maria, and a terrific excuse to re-read it. Although I probably would need to start now to get it read by next June! LOL!
Kim
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 11:42 am:

Maria–you stole my Outlander! *g* I think everyone should read a Julia Quinn. Preferable Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, gotta love the Pall Mall scene.
MaryKate
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 11:51 am:

Hmm, Kim, my favorite is The Viscount Who Loved Me. But I agree, I should definitely highlight the Bridgerton’s.

Other authors I know I’m going to feature are: Lisa Kleypas, Judith McNaught, Julie Garwood, Kathleen Woodiwiss, JR Ward, Nalini Singh, Elizabeth Vaughan, Colleen Gleason, Laura Kinsale.

Who else would y’all like to see?
keoweegirl
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 2:30 pm:

Great blog, MK! Over the past couple years I’ve heard so much about The Windflower from my fav authors and other readers but I have yet to lay my hands on a copy of it. One of these days…

That’s a terrific lineup of authors. A “must read” family series for me is Johanna Lindsey’s Malorys. I simply adore this family. I started reading Lindsey back in the 70’s so I guess you could say I cut my grown-up romance teeth on her writing.
MaryKate
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 2:37 pm:

Me too, PJ! I was thinking I’d add in something like Love Only Once which was one of my faves by her. I also forgot to put in Mary Balogh, but for sure I’ll be featuring her too.
Anna Campbell
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 6:12 pm:

MK, we only meet under the CLASSIEST circumstances! Great review! You will just die when I say this – the Windflower is on my TBR pile and is yet to make it to the top. Yes, I can hear you gasping with horror from here! I promise to mend my ways before you set me adrift on a leaky boat (must say I laughed at the bad guy’s response to the almost-drowning). Clearly, I am a BAD person too Looking forward to what else you pick. I think we have similar tastes in books – I remember your best romance of last year was LLG’s And Then He Kissed Her which I think would probably be mine, and definitely best historical.
MaryKate
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 7:15 pm:

Well Anna, classy women only ever hang in the classiest joints!

You really must read The Windflower! I can’t believe it’s in your stack and you haven’t read it yet. You just gotta! No really! Get on it!

Can’t wait to hear what you think of it when you do. My guess is you’ll be blown away.
Stacy ~
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 7:36 pm:

I loved The Windflower. I wasn’t sure if I would, since it was written in the 80’s I thought maybe it had a dated feel to it, but it absolutely captivated me right from the start. It’s definitely worth having your own copy for the keeper shelf.
katiebabs
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 8:28 pm:

Awesome review!
You Needs To read every Julie Garwood historical, almost every Lisa Kleypas historical and the majority of Sandra Brown categories.
And speaking of the Curtis’, every romance enthusiast must read Lightning That Lingers!

And don’t forget Julia Quinn, Elizabeth Elliott…
MK you have created a monster! LOL
Kimberly Van Meter
on Apr 15th, 2008
@ 10:10 pm:

This is on my favorite books. It’s been on my keeper shelf for years. Thanks for reviewing it and introducing it to a whole new batch of readers!
Carolyn Jean
on Apr 16th, 2008
@ 7:16 am:

Great review. I’ve had this on my wish list, but I didn’t realize it involved PIRATES which just makes me want to read it more. As a relative newcomer to the genre, I definitely appreciate your look down memory lane at the greats.
Carolyn Jean
on Apr 16th, 2008
@ 7:19 am:

Kim –
I just now added Romancing Mr. Bridgerton to the list on your rec. I love when a scene really stands out.
MaryKate
on Apr 16th, 2008
@ 7:49 am:

Thanks, CJ. Hopefully I’ll be able to crank these out more easily, since I’ve already read them. Or at least, that’s what I keep telling myself…and Marisa. SNORT.
Gannon
on Apr 16th, 2008
@ 11:40 am:

MK, I finally tracked down a copy of The Windflower online. I received it recently, and plan on reading it when I finish the book I’m on now. After your high praise, I know it will be worth the price!

BTW, great blog!
MaryKate
on Apr 16th, 2008
@ 1:19 pm:

Thanks Gannon. I can’t wait to hear from you what you thought! Please let me know when you’ve finished The Windflower.
Pam P
on Apr 16th, 2008
@ 6:54 pm:

I’ve never read it, MK, will have to add it to my list. The Viscount Who Loved Me is one of my favorites, also. Another author with books up top of my favorites is Connie Brockway, particularly All Through the Night and As You Desire.
MaryKate
on Apr 16th, 2008
@ 7:07 pm:

Oh Pam, All Through the Night falls in my Top 10 romances of all time too. Believe me, sooner or later that will be one I review. The Jack in the chair scene is one of the hottest ever!
GloriaL
on Apr 16th, 2008
@ 7:16 pm:

Sharon and Tom Curtis were made for each other and for us. Two of the greatest writers of romance of all time. [i]Windflower[/i] is grade A. Please review [i]Lightning That Lingers[/i]–a unique take on the stripper {take it all off} and the librarian. I’m in love with the Curtis writing team and pray for a renewal of interest in writing for their fans.
Kristie(J)
on Apr 17th, 2008
@ 9:29 pm:

I’m so glad that I’ve read this book. I’m even more glad that I have a copy of my own to read whenever I want to. When I did read it, I had to read it in little pieces because it was just so very rich.
MaryKate
on Apr 18th, 2008
@ 11:02 am:

It is kind of like chocolate cake, isn’t it, Kristie? Best savored slowly.
Jackie
on Apr 19th, 2008
@ 5:27 pm:

One of my favorite books is Kathleen Woodiwiss “Ashes in the Wind” it is an epic love story similar to “Gone with the Wind”. Tragedy and struggles during war and forbidden love. This was one of the first romances I read many, many years ago and it started my obsession with romance books.

http://www.kathleenewoodiwiss.com/books/ashes_wind.asp

I wish there were better Native American romances….has anyone heard of a good author who writes in this area?
MaryKate
on Apr 20th, 2008
@ 7:24 pm:

Jackie – It goes without saying that I’ll be including a Kathleen Woodiwiss. I don’t think you can talk about old school romance and not include her. As it happens, Ashes in the Wind is one of my favorite Woodiwisses, I also adore A Rose In Winter.

Thanks so much for the suggestions!