If you've seen the musical Annie, you basically know the plot of this book. However, I like Annie, and I liked this book because of the heroine, Pamela Lockhart. She values her mind before her looks, and in order to obtain a governess position that will secure her future finances, she dresses and wears make-up to look like an old maid.

The banter between Pamela and Devon, the hero, was entertaining and interesting, actually, because for once the hero didn't have looks to distract him. In fact, he forgets the way she looks because she's so engaged his mind! Just my kind of romance. Read this for fun banter, but don't expect a lot from the reasons why these two have trouble coming together. That was the weakest part of the story for me. Still, an enjoyable read.

As always, an entertaining read from Mary Jo Putney. This book was so informative! I learned so much about Chinese culture from the 1830s that corresponded with what I knew already. I've never read a book that explained the core of tai chi so well, and I loved that the heroine, because of her dual upbringing in both Chinese tradition and Scottish, had no problem with pre-marital sex so I didn't have to slog through the usual "Oh no, I shouldn't be doing this, but it feels so good!" that we usually get in romance novels.

I felt the hero/heroine were a great match. I loved that they got to know each other via traveling together. Rather than falling for the typical hero and heroine hating each other and then growing to love each other, they were two people brought together by circumstance and finding a connection.

Read this book if you're looking for a story that is entertaining, informative, exciting, and yes, even a little thrilling in bed.

The second of Putney's Bride trilogy was shocking for me. The Wild Child was enchanting and entertaining. This book was surprisingly dark in subject matter and seemed to have lost some of the magic that was inherent to Wild Child. If you've read Deerskin by Robin McKinley, it's along the same lines.

Even though the hero is essentially forced to rape the heroine in order to win her from her captors, he is disgusted with himself and his action. He does it with her permission, and insists they marry once she is freed from her prison. It was fascinating to watch them get past this awful moment in their relationship, which had started so well due to their conversations. I want to read this book again so I can attempt to figure out how Putney was able to make me believe that the hero/heroine were able to get past the rape and have a healthy intellectual/emotional/sexual relationship.

This book started out great by giving me a clear idea of the h/h, their histories and goals. I enjoyed watching them grow fond of each other, or rather, of watching the hero thinking he was married to the heroine and the heroine giving in even though she was a single woman past her prime. I didn't like how she took advantage of him, given his lost memory, but he seemed to get over it quickly enough as he regained pieces of his previous life.

The story went downhill when the h/h return to London and it's revealed that they both have the same backstory. Both were taken from their parent and raised to think the parent had died. Both are reunited with families they didn't know they had, and luckily enough, their families are all kinds of awesome.

Adam, the hero, even mentions this in the book, as if the author knew some picky readers were going to scratch their heads. When it's brought up that the mirroring of their lives is very coincidental, he says that had they not met, it wouldn't have been a coincidence, because they wouldn't have known of each other as they went through the same experiences. Eh. A little weak for my liking. Didn't ruin the overall enjoyment of the book, though.

I really enjoyed this book because I saw it as a dig to Wuthering Heights. The premise is similar: a rich young woman falls in love with one of the family servants, and is ready to run away with him. Before they are able to, her family finds out and splits them apart. This is their story, fifteen years later.

I might be shot for this, but I can't stand Wuthering Heights. Everything that went wrong in that book is because the two main characters refused to, oh, I don't know, be adult and speak to one another about how they really felt. Camp's version, where the characters are forced together after years of a bitter separation, is realistic to true emotion. It is a satisfying read because the characters realize when they have their blinders on and fight the good fight to take them off. Of course, having a goal to work toward, such as trying to prevent death, is certain to make friends out of enemies. Angela's time apart from Cameron adds surprisingly dark depth to the story, one which gave me nightmares.

As always, I love Candace Camp's stories because she allows the hero/heroine to get to know one another, to feel confident that they have found a healthy match/complement in each other, before hopping into bed. It's just refreshing.