mandymarie20's Rummaging in her Root Cellar

Trying for another 50 Roots

1. Brisbin, Terri - Stolen by the Highlander
2. Fuller, Meriel - Commanded by the French Duke
3. Martin, Laura - Governess to the Sheikh
4. Kernan, Jenna - Warrior's Captive Bride
5. Kaye, Marguerite - Sheikh's Mail-Order Bride
6. Christie, Agatha - And Then There Were None
7. Scott, Bronwyn - Rake Most Likely to Sin
8. Scott, Bronwyn - Awakening the Shy Miss
9. Wright, Lawrence - Going Clear
10. Craig, Joan - Theda Bara, My Mentor
11. Locke, Nicole - In Debt to the Enemy Lord
12. Houston, Rick - Nascar's Greatest Race
13. Schellinger, Andretta - Aircraft Nose Art
14.

Welcome back and good luck!

Happy rooting n 2017!

Good luck with your ROOting

Good luck!

Welcome back & Happy 2017 ROOTing!

Good luck with your 2017 ROOTs!

Welcome back and Happy ROOTing, Mandymarie.

Finally got my ROOTs planted. Trashy romances as ROOTs. Not sure that makes a strong tree, but I needed some fluff.

1. Brisbin, Terri - Stolen by the Highlander - 3 Stars



Arabella is set to marry to join the Cameron and Mackintosh clans. She doesn't want to. Lucky for her, Brodie steals her away.

Heroine was a little too spicy for me.

2. Fuller, Meriel - Commanded by the French Duke - 3 Stars



A web of intrigue. Guilhem and Alinor fall in love. Neither thinks the other is worthy. Guilhem has a massive cry-fest because he thinks he killed everyone in a city even though only 1 person died in a fire. I'm not exaggerating. He felt responsible for hundreds of deaths even though only 1 person died.

Tons of pining. Confusing political intrigue. Way too much guilt and crying from the hero.

Alas, disappointed in my ROOTs.

Good luck, from another ROOTer also going for 50.

Welcome back! Better luck with your next ROOTs.

Is titling books VERB+prepositional phrase a "thing" now? Hope it ends soon, there's no imagination in that kind of formulaic titling, IMO.

Your mileage may differ.

Alas, it is the current romance novel trend. I'm hoping it's just a phase.

Thanks Lora and BookDoc16

Nothin' wrong with some fluff, here and there! We all need it from time to time!
Congrats on your first 2 ROOTs pulled!

3. Martin, Laura - Governess to the Sheikh - 3 Stars



Rachel Talbot becomes governess to the children of the Shekh of Huria, Malik. Lacking a mother, the children are raised by their father in the ways of becoming royalty. Predictably, he won't let them have any fun and Rachel is there to teach them how to have fun and predictably the Sheikh doesn't like it. It's a romance theme as old as they've been written. And naturally the predictable Sheikh falling in love with Rachel, loosening up, and finding his true self happens. It's the traditional premise but cozy in the sense of it's predictability. Dictionary definition of a historical Sheikh romance.

4. Kernan, Jenna - Warrior's Captive Bride - 3 Stars



Crow warrior Night Storm thinks he's cursed and Skylark is the only one who can remove that curse. He loves her, but wants her as one of his two wives since he is already promised to another. Not only does Skylark not want to be wife number 2, but she doesn't want to share at all. So for some reason in order to cure his curse, Skylark pretends to be his wife. Naturally conflict ensues between Skylark and Night Storm's supposed to be wife, but of course, we can all guess how these things end.

5. Kaye, Marguerite - Sheikh's Mail-Order Bride - 1 Star



Now this is one of the worst romances I've read. Not because it wasn't decently written, it was just written with such disregard to historical reality, I had to force myself to read it. There are just so many things wrong with this. Don't read this rest if this if you don't want the book ruined.

The story begins with Constance Montgomery, a Lady of wealth, on a ship to India to meet her arranged marriage husband. Since she is 25, her parents are thinking she's getting old, so of course, it's marriage time. Constance agreed to it, even though by halfway through the book, she hates her family and sees them as evil for arranging it. Apparently the family needed a dowry because of financial problems, and like many of the time, needed their daughter to marry. This was reality. This has happened for thousands of years. This still happens. It's only very recent in human history that most prominent people are marrying solely for love. Constance seems to think her family is the fruit of the devil, but this was a very common practice - especially for wealthy people at that time.

So poor Constance is on the boat, and wouldn't you know it, there's a storm. Constance is on the deck at that time and is hurt. The boat sinks. Constance for some reason washes up in a different location than everyone else. She winds up in in the Arabian country Murimon. Enter the erroneous title, "Sheikh's Mail-Order Bride". Constance was not a mail-order bride, nor did the Sheikh, ruler of Murimon, order her. So a completely misleading title right of the bat.

Back to Constance, she ends up in some random town and the Sheikh of Murimon, Kadar, figures out she's there. There's no explanation of how he knows, but logic doesn't seem relevant in this book. Kadar finds her and brings her to his kingdom. Constance, who apparently is the only wealthy woman during the era who didn't have a maid or companion traveling with them, is brought to Kadar's palace, And of course Constance can't continue on her trip to India or go back to England because only 1 ship a month comes there and of course she missed it. So she has to stay at the palace.

Now here's where the next "I can't believe the author did this" moment came. Constance apparently is an astronomy expert. Just by telling Kadar she's an astronomy expert he made her the official Court Cosmologist. Are you kidding me? Some random woman who you know nothing about says she's an expert on something so you make her basically third in line for the throne? Totally incompatible with the culture - especially since it was the Regency era. Women couldn't even work in Murimon and yet you appoint a visitor solely on her word that she's an expert to your cabinet? Insanity! The reader could not possibly buy these events unless they know nothing about history, culture, humanity, politics, etc. He didn't even give her an interview for Pete's sake!

As court cosmologist, Constance charts the night sky and she and Kadar fall in love. Even though both have arranged marriages and say they will never do anything to jeopardize them, they make out and more with apparently no guilt. Both Constance and Kadar decide on their own to give up on their arranged marriages because of love. Neither of them seem at all concerned about the people they are supposed to marry. Maybe the arranged spouses wanted to get married. That doesn't matter though. Constance's parents clearly need the money, but she apparently could care less. Kadar has an obligation to his country and there are alliances that were made through this, but I guess international affairs be damned. Not to mention the poor girl who was going to be a princess and gets dumped after years of knowing what would happen in her life. I'm sure she's thrilled that she'll probably have to be married off to some random old guy just like Constance was supposed to. The irony.

Murimon is a traditional country, so of course Constance wants to change the entire country to meet modern morals. Not Regency modern morals since the book was allegedly set in the Regency era, but 21st century modern morals. Constance changes every view Kadar has about education, employment, etc and no one seems to have a problem. I find it incredibly difficult to believe that not one person in the entire country has a problem. Constance tells Kadar to sell the Crown Jewels, no one cares. She tells him to change the education system from scholarly to job training, no one cares. A major premise of the story was that Murimon was a country that did not change - ever, and no one had a problem with drastic changes? Inconceivable!

You know they figure it out, ditch their arranged marriages, fall in love, and get married. And because this is a modern romance, we are supposed to pretend Kadar would marry Constance, a woman he just met, from a different culture, who brings no money, to be his only wife, when in actuality he would have several and she wouldn't be his 'first wife', is just too much. I read historical romances to read about love in a different time. I want accuracy, especially about things that are obvious. My concerns with this book require no research. They just require logic and honesty.

On a side note, what the hell were the odds Kadar bought a book Constance's father had to sell for money when they did not know each other.? Come on!

>18 mandymarie20:

You really care -- I think you should send your post to the author. Who knows, maybe she's new at this and will appreciate feedback?

I get way too into books. Unfortunately some of the major problems I have are common now in the genre. Perhaps the author would appreciate the feedback, but she's a well established author with dozens of books to her credit so I don't think my critique would be helpful. I have a major problem reading historical stories that are not true to the historical time period. While I know that not everyone believed or acted the same way, I find it troubling that the heroine in literally every book in the genre was that exception. It seems illogical. Perhaps I should bust out my books from 20 years ago. They were much more balanced in this matter.

It's almost as if everyone writing in that genre was given a list of talking points for heroines and behavior, largely stemming from modern morals, and all books much follow those rules. I haven't read a book in this genre in years which was accurate about morals of the time without self imposing those of today. If today's morals are supposed to be imposed in today's historical literature, don't call it historical fiction. Say that the characters are performing in a play or time traveled or larping or having a flashback or some situation. Anything would be much more believable and understandable. And if authors want to write fiction with modern morals, write a modern story. Don't ruin historical fiction.

6. Christie, Agatha - And Then There Were None - 4 Stars



So I finally read this Agatha Christie book. I adore film adaptations of Christie's work, and this is no exception. I decided to read this after watching the recent television adaptation. I have had a version of this for what seems like forever, but never picked it up. Since I've seen so many films of this work, I felt like I had the book memorized. What's interesting is that the ending changes for each adaptation depending on the film code, studio perceptions of what audiences want, and the vision of directors. I think the ending in this book is the best of them all, mainly because the ending seems the most reasonable and a happy ending seems most unlikely, even though that is how most of the film adaptations end.

I won't spoil the ending for those who haven't read it, but the book is a classic mystery. 10 people show up on an island thinking they are meeting friends for a holiday or for a new job. Strange things start happening and the bodies start piling up. Turns out no one really knows anyone and the true purpose of their call to the island is to exact justice which the law can't touch. Fascinating and suspenseful. I was a bit surprised that the language wasn't more formal, but this book seems to get edited so much, it's difficult to say. How much of the book is actually as the author wished? I would have to look at an original.

>21 mandymarie20: And Then There Were None was my first Christie book. I thought it rather anti-climatical. I guess I just thought Christie would be amazing--and this book wasn't. I will probably give her another whirl at sometime, though.

I was not as impressed with the language as I thought I would be. I understand now why she was considered low-brow to some at the time. It's so difficult to properly judge a title after so many years when the plot has basically permiated the culture. It was very difficult to read And Then There Were None with the mindset of what it was like to read the story fresh, when it was new. I try to read the book with that in mind. I try to envision what it would be like having never been exposed to the concepts of the mystery. It's nearly impossible to do, but I try to read the book as if I knew nothing about it. If I didn't try to do this, the book would be terrible because of the end. At the time, that ending had never been done.

7. Scott, Bronwyn - Rake Most Likely to Sin - 1 Star



Brennan Carr is a rich wastrel who goes country to country doing chicks and taking off in the middle of the night before marriage is requested. AKA he's basically booty call thief. He basically has an angry chick in every country in western Europe and ends up in Greece. Patra Tspiras is a poor widow who is basically ostracized from society and lives in a shabby hut at the edge of town. For some reason, even though there is a shortage of men and an abundance of single hot women, Brennan picks the frumpy, decade plus older Patra, And we are already derailed with the premise of the book. So, out of a bunch of marriageable, young, hot women, Patra, who is older, unkempt and living in squalor, is the only person in the entire town that meets his fancy even though he had previously only been about young, hot things.

This book crystallizes in innumerable ways why I dislike reading romance books with widows as the heroine. I don't have anything against widows, but the books with that premise seem to invariably be about some dowdy, lonely women who has some hot, young stud fall for her and she 'comes alive' and nothing about the past matters and she's just like a 20-year-old lovesick girl. The number of problems I have with this scenario are immense. 1. Act your age. It's pathetic otherwise. 2. The widow's first husband is invariably either evil or boring and not memorable. Have a little respect. 3. With dozens of girls, he picks the oldest, ugliest girl available. I appreciate a Cinderella story, but what guy on the lookout for a hookup is going to go to all the work of beautifying Patra's house and person, when they just want a good time? I'm tempted to think this is more about the readers of the novel feeling like their loneliness will be satiated as opposed to being consistent with the actions and motivations of the characters.

I was really intrigued by the concept of a romance novel set in Greece. Unfortunately it falls short on multiple levels. Greece deserves better.

8. Scott, Bronwyn - Awakening the Shy Miss - 3 Stars



Dmitri Petrovich is the Prince of Kuban. He loves history and archaeology and is in Britain doing a bit of archaeology in a little country borough. Evie things he's hot, but wants Adam, her neighbor, whom she has loved for what seems like forever. She decides to finally make a move to get Adam to pay attention to her by making a spectacle of herself at a talk by Dmitri. Of course, she catches Dmitri's eye. He can't marry her because as a prince, there is a marriage already arranged for him. But loving Evie, she naturally gets a job from him - even though as a minor aristocrat spending hours a day in a tent with a man apparently isn't an issue - although it would have been a massive issue for multiple reasons - specifically propriety. They fall in love, he wants to give up his title, bet you can guess the end result. Only wealthy people, by the way, can give up everything. He still has all his money- even though he gives up his title to be Mr. Petrovich. And since he hates being a prince, this doesn't seem like much of a hardship - masked as a hardship. Dmitri has the money and the girl and gets to do whatever he wants. How can the reader possibly think that there is some kind of sacrifice? Unless you consider the different view of Evie's first love, Adam, this is a win all the way around with no hardship. This book was interesting because it involved Russian people ala Doctor Zhivago, a premise you don't see a lot in romance novels. This book was decent, but lacked real conflict and real hardship necessary. Almost pointless.

9. Wright, Lawrence - Going Clear - 5 Stars



Amazing basic history of Scientology. Covers a lot of the basics. I have been obsessed with Scientology lately, especially since the Leah Remini 'Scientology and the Aftermath' series. I had been interested in it as a kid, because I remember the whole Time magazine controversy, but have kicked it up a notch lately. There is a lot of amazing work being done by Tony Ortega at the Underground Bunker http://tonyortega.org/ and Mike Rinder's site http://www.mikerindersblog.org/ is fantastic as well. This is a great premise to a fascinating bit of Americana. The only thing that surprised me was that Leah Remini, a current firebrand of the anti-Scientology movement, does not seem to appear at all. The book is amazing. Even if you are not interested because of the Scientology current press, or are anti-Scientologist, this is a fascinating book. Very well written and easy to read, well worthy of a National Book nom.

Hi Mandymarie. I love reading your reviews. I can feel your frustration with historical incorrect stories. And you are so right to feel that way.

Thanks Connie53. I think perhaps I complain about it a bit too much :)

10. Craig, Joan - Theda Bara: My Mentor - 5 Stars - Early Reviewers



Theda Bara is one of the most iconic stars of all time. If you bring up the famous stars of the Silent Era, she is certainly one of the very first names that comes up. Unfortunately, while her image may be familiar to many, her acting and the lightning impact she made on society is not. Time has not been kind to her nitrate films, most are lost. Mysterious and intriguing, she became the Vamp, THE sex symbol of the era. Even though she was active a mere decade, she has an amazing 44 credits to her name.

Theda Bara, My Mentor follows Theda Bara and her relationship with a little girl, her neighbor, Joan Craig, during the 1940's and 1950's. Joan was born to wealthy parents and lived across the street from Theda Bara and her husband, director Charles Brabin. Bara and her husband Brabin had long since retired from films and were living a quiet life in Beverly Hills. One day, Joan noticed Brabin, or Uncle Charlie, and her life changed forever. After visiting the Brabin's home, the infamous Theda Bara decided that Joan was special and began a relationship and friendship that would last until Bara's death.

The mentor relationship between Bara and Joan was quite interesting. Joan seemed to spend most of her free time at the Brabins's house. She learned about Theda Bara's career, was coached on how to be an actress, explored the occult, such as telling fortunes, using a Ouija Board and seeing into a crystal ball, and basically, life. I have this romanticized notion in my head of a Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard view of the aging star passing on her wisdom to the sole young person willing to walk into their cavernous abode. It sounds like and enchanting childhood, but in a modern view, I imagine it could be misinterpreted. People with no children taking interest a local child would be thought of in a very different light today. It wouldn't be seen as eccentric, but nefarious. I wish this wasn't the way, but I can unfortunately see people viewing the story in that light. I hate that this thought crept into my mind while reading this book, because I don't think that was the situation.

The book is divided basically into three parts: Joan's memories of Theda, a filmography of Theda's work, and a short biography of Charles Brabin. The first section of Joan's memories are somewhat in order chronologically. It begins with a brief biography of Theda and then breaks into random memories. There are mostly in order, but do jump back and forth a bit, occasionally repeating, which may be confusing. For example, there is a memory about the Ingrid Bergman film, Joan of Arc, which Theda and Charles consulted on, something else happens, then we are again talking about Joan of Arc 50 pages later. The second part chronologically lists every Theda Bara film with a short summary of the film, with tidbit memories thrown in. Part three is a short biography about Charles Brabin. This was one of my favorite parts, because I knew so little about him.

A short biography of Theda is easy enough to find elsewhere so I won't cover that, but I was fascinated by what memories Joan Craig chose to talk about. I'm curious if the book includes all of her memories of Theda or if this is just a smattering of the highlights. First and foremost, the Brabin's lives seemed amazing. Everything they wanted to do, they could do. It is the definition of what a fun, adult life would be - garden parties, dinner parties, vacations, etc. I initially imagined that Theda was a bit of a recluse, but she seemed to have quite the social life, just not the Hollywood party life that would be covered in the Hollywood magazines, especially since neither Theda nor Charles were especially active in pictures. I was fascinated by the parties they had and who attended them. When reading other reviews, many found these details boring and unnecessary, but I love this kind of thing.

Theda seemed to have a distinct sense of how Joan should live her life. First and foremost, she was to be an actress. I'm not sure what made her decide that Joan would be a good actress, but Theda seemed hellbent on making her a star. One could think it's cute or creepy, depending on your view of the situation. Joan would perform for the Brabins at their home. She would participate in school plays and Theda would attend, mysterious in a dark veil. Theda would even advocate for Joan to have better parts in the school plays, insisting that she was the best actress in the school. This is probably one of the best examples in the book of how eccentric actions could be misinterpreted in a modern world. A middle aged woman, taking a special interest in a child who is not related, calling teachers advocating for them, and spending a ton of time with them by choice when they not babysitting them. At one point in the book, Joan convinced Theda her home life was miserable (even though it wasn't) so Theda proposed adopting Joan. This is where Joan's parents drew the line. Joan came from a wealthy parents, a huge home, so there was no reason. This is definitely red flag territory to me.

Joan was also exposed to what I find most intriguing - the vamp side of Theda Bara. While Theda would say she was just a normal girl, she had an occult side. We all know Theda Bara as the Vamp onscreen, and while she is an actress, I was really excited to know that she was in fact, partially like that in real life. Juxtaposed between stories of garden parties and scripts, we hear about Theda's predilection for karma and the more magical sides of life. She read tarot cards, would use a Ouija board, and looked into her crystal ball. She had a skeleton in her home. The famous one in pictures. She believed in fate, yet explored the occult; believed in providence, yet actively made things happen to her liking.

Some of the more provocative memories pertained to Theda Bara's possible involvement with the HUAC House Un-American Activities Committee and Hollywood Blacklist. She did not appear to name names, but seems to have tacitly supported it and even went to the hearings with Joan in tow. Joan was particularly moved by Katherine Hepburn's speeches about HUAC.

Joan is fairly clear that the Brabins were wrong for supporting it, but also seemed to imply that the Brabins were just supporting their friend, Adolphe Menjou, who was actively pro-HUAC. There was so much euphemism, so it was difficult to figure out exactly how involved the Brabins really were in the movement. This seemed to be the only semi-bad memory of the Brabins that the author had. Joan was so close to the Brabins, I imagine she feels some obligation to protect and promote their legacy. And she was just a child, so how much would she have been told? Would those around her have felt some obligation to protect her from what was viewed as a great and immediate threat? While Joan didn't seem to know exactly what was happening as a child, she definitely feels horrible upon reflection as an adult. When you think about HUAC, the Brabins aren't the first people the come to mind - if at all. I would be curious about how much the Brabins were actually involved. Aside from being good friends with Adolphe Menjou and Republican, I wasn't able to ascertain any active participation by the Brabins other than attending events their friends held. I'm not sure we will ever know if they did more than that, because aside from Joan, who is left who can speak to the issue?

I had just as many questions about the life of Theda Bara after reading this book as I did before. She was mysterious and iconic, but the memories of her neighborhood friend brought Theda's everyday activities to life. Through memories of what might seem mundane to others but incredibly valuable to those who enjoy social history, gave a more well-rounded view of the enigmatic star.

A few thoughts after reading this wonderful memoir:
1. Charles Brabin is an overlooked director who needs a biography and renaissance
2. Theda Bara was every bit the mysterious sphinx we always thought her to be
3. How do I find such a cool mentor?
4. What happened to her cool decor such as her crystal ball and skeleton?
5. Why did Joan sell so much of her Theda Bara inheritance? Did it become more of a burden? Was it more about getting older and getting rid of possessions? Need for money? Wanting to "share with fans', even though the items usually fall into the hands of wealthy collectors, stuck in storage lockers?

This was a fantastic insight into the enigmatic life of one of the world's first film stars, Theda Bara. The rich photographs that filled book brought a new dimension to her. We may not have many of Bara's films, time saw to that, but by reading Theda Bara, My Mentor, we can discover her magic again.

11. Locke, Nicole - In Debt to the Enemy Lord - 3 Stars



Anwen is captured by Teague, Lord of Brnmor, after falling from a tree. She thinks he's evil, but is attracted to him. Teague is super attracted to her. There is a suspected murderer, so they are trying to figure it out. Love happens. O.K. romance.

12. Houston, Rick - Nascar's Greatest Race - 5 Stars



The 1992 Hooters 500 was a pinnacle race in NASCAR history. The end of an era and the beginning of another. The retirement of Richard Petty, and the first race of Jeff Gordon. Also one of the most exciting races for the championship implications. Who would win? Beloved Bill Elliott, legacy loved Davey Allison, journeyman Mark Martin, and the independent Alan Kulwicki. No one would realize just how iconic and life changing this race really was and that half the championship contenders would be dead within the year.

Told through Rick Houston's memories and anecdotes, this book is a gem for any true NASCAR fans. So many fascinating characters and goings on. Having seen and read much about the event, I thought I knew everything. Boy was I wrong! Houston brings to light so many tidbits known only to those on the inside, I learned something new on nearly every page. He was also able to bring to light fascinating characters like Rick Mast and Tim Brewer whose stories and personalities are not celebrated enough. Fascinating, exciting, funny, entertaining. The only thing I wish as a librarian is that there was index and bibliography, but I'm nitpicky about sourcing. There is something for every NASCAR, sports, memoir, history, or current events fan. Amazing read!

13. Schellinger, Andretta - Aircraft Nose Art - 2 Stars



Very disappointed in this. I was expecting the book would explore nose art ie. pictures and identifying the unit of the service that used that plane or perhaps the stories of the service people who used the planes or just fantastic photographs. This is not that book. This is more of a social history explaining the fashion, music, and current events that may have influenced plane designs from WWI to current conflicts. While I appreciate that what generally may have influenced them, I was expecting to hear what specifically influenced each plane design.

II was also disturbed by the particular bent of the artist. The book seemed to be written by someone coming from the modern feminist perspective. One of the most irritating things about reading history and historical fiction today is placing modern morals on a historical time period. We need to view what was done with the morals of the time in mind. The author seemed to particularly hate the pinups. For many nose art lovers, that is the best art. When reading this book, I got the distinct impression of anti-Americanism as well. The author often implied the French and British were civil, while the Americans were the barbarians with their art. It really seemed like the author hated aircraft nose art which is why I was so confused why they were writing about a subject allegedly from the point of view of loving it - yet the text made it seemed like they hated it.

What was also incredibly frustrating was there were several major mistakes that appeared in the book. Spellcheck issues. Much repetition. The most glaring being not understanding that Disney does NOT make Warner Brothers cartoons like Bugs Bunny. Bugs was NOT a Disney property. They specifically were opposites and there has been a feud of sorts for nearly a century. That seems like something that should be easy enough to fact check.

I usually adore McFarland books. They have fascinating subjects and cover topics I usually love like history, Hollywood, etc. I can't believe how this book was the opposite of what I anticipated it would be. Such high hopes. It could have been such a good book. If you want a summary of 20th century social popular culture or nose art through a feminist "Men only objectify women and think of them as nothing but bodies" point of view, this is the only value I can find.

Wow. Not even close. I have never read this little since I learned how to read. So disappointed with myself. Can not believe how not myself I have felt these days. Wish I could become me again.

I am so sorry to hear that you're not feeling like yourself. I hope this passes soon and that you will be able to read more soon - at least a few pages at a time.

I have been having a difficult few years with reading and have had to make myself focus on making a little time for it rather than focusing on number of books/pages read as it was making me too anxious.

I hope you come back to yourself soon - we *are* here for you, even if you just need to vent a bit.