Well, a half-year has rapidly finished; and, since I have been reading at lightning speed (92 BOOKS!!!!), it seems that it might be a good thing to bring my readers up-to-date now on what I've read and what I've thought of it.
ARCHEOLOGICAL THRILLERS
Adams, W.: The Eden Legacy(4)*** (N.B. has absolutely Nothing to do with Biblical archaeology)
Byrnes, M.: The Sacred Blood(2)**+
Byrnes, M.: The Sacred Bones(1)**+
AUSTENALIA: Sequels; Prequels; Variations
Adriani, S.: Affinity and Affection**++(N.B. fairly good variation; too erotic for a teen-ager)
Aidan, P.: An Assembly Such as This(1)***++
Aidan, P.: Duty and Desire(2)***++
Aidan, P.: These Three Remain(3)***++
Altman, M.: Mr. Darcy's Great Escape(3)***
Altman, M.: The Ballad of Gregoire Darcy(4)***+
Altman, M.: the Darcys and the Bingleys(1)***
Altman, M.: The Plight of the Darcy Brothers(2)***
Angell, L.: The Sheik of Araby**+
Aston, E.: Mr. Darcy's Dream** (N.B. a green-house!!!! Gah!)
Austen, J. & Nazarian, V.: Mansfield Park and Mummies***
Austen, J. & Nazarian, V.: Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons***++ (N.B. delightfully diverting!)
Bader, T. & Bader, M.: Desire and Duty*+ (N.B. the authors bring in a type of "are you saved" religiosity which is very painful, although I realize that Methodism was gaining at this time, Austen herself was not interested in this; other parts of the story are very nice)
Baxley, M.K.: The Cumberland Plateau(1)***?
Baxley, M.K.: The Mistress's Black Veil*** (N.B. erotica was very understated, which I liked; another what-if Mr. Bennet had died)
Bonavia-Hunt, DA: Pemberley Shades*** (N.B. first published in 1949; this was the 2nd Austen sequel ever written)
Brocklehurst, J.: Darcy and Anne***
Childers, C.: Twilight of the Abyss**+ (N.B. a long novella)
Cole, B.T.: White Lies & Other Half Truths**+ (NB: many copy editing errors, which is a usual problem with many self-published books; story actually is fun)
Cox, K.M.: 1932**++
Croft, J. Marie: Mr. Darcy Takes the Plunge** (N.B. I really was annoyed with the word play (alliterations and puns) that are on nearly every page of this novel.)
Elyot, A.: By a Lady***+ (N.B. time-travel & Bath in the Regency with our own JA as a character)
Ford, M.T.: Jane Goes Batty(2)***++
Granger, A.: Captain Wentworth's Diary**+
Hamilton, M.: Mr. Darcy and the Secret of Becoming a Gentleman***
Kaye, S.: For You Alone: Frederick Wentworth, Captain, Book 2*** (N.B. I would have done the ending differently)
Kaye, S.: None But You: Frederick Wentworth, Captain, Book 1***
Lilian, L.: Rainy Days***
Lilian, L.: Remembrance of the Past***
Louise, K.: Only Mr. Darcy Will Do***++
Nelson, KL: Pemberley Manor***
O'Brien, S.: Blame It On The Tea** (NB: copy editing was almost non-existent; author really needs help for her ending)
Oakland, R.P.: My BFF (a friendly romance)***
Odiwe, J.: Mr. Darcy's Secret***+
Reynolds, A.: A Pemberley Medley*** (NB: 5 short stories)
Reynolds, A.: From Lambton to Longbourn**++
Reynolds, A.: Morning Light**+ (N.B. I don't know why she makes her modern heroines so neurotic (grr); however, it does get on my nerves. I think this is actual a half-n-half book: half a continuation of Pemberley By the Sea and half a new story. I really cannot see Persuasion in the new story.)
Reynolds, A.: To Conquer Mr. Darcy**+(N.B. previous title Impulse & Initiative -- this was a re-read for me -- I don't know why the publisher changed the title, as the new one is not as good as the first in my opinion)
Sanchez, L.: A Noteworthy Courtship***
Saunders, K.: A Modern Day Persuasion**++ (N.B. I really really disliked the occasional (about 5 or 6) short sops to "conservative" Xians -- all could have been removed painlessly!)
Simonsen, M.: For All the Wrong Reasons**+ (novella)
Simonsen, M.L.: A Wife for Mr. Darcy***
Simonsen, M.L.: Mr. Darcy's Angel of Mercy: A Romance of The Great War**++(N.B. short novella -- I don't think I am a real fan of this genre as I felt there could have been a very interesting novel here)
Simonsen, ML: The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy***+
Ward, Eucharista, OSF: A Match for Mary Bennet***+
Wasylowski, KV: Darcy and Fitzwilliam***+
Webb, B.J.: Fitzwilliam Darcy, An Honourable Man***(N.B. a different variation)
Wegner, O.: Moonlighting**+(N.B. P&P and werewolves; Lizzy is NOT blonde!; author has Lizzy and Jane acting like blondes, though L does recover; so much more could have been done)
Wells, L.: Chance Encounters**+ (N.B. I believe that there is too much explicit erotica in this variation
Wells, L.: Fate & Consequences** (N.B. too erotic)
Wells, L.: Perfect Fit*** (N.B. modern with erotic elements; I did like some of the characterization changes for some of the minor characters)
Whelchel, L.: Rocks in the Stream***
MYSTERIES / NOVELS: Ancient Greece
Corby, G.: The Pericles Commission(1)***+
Pressfield, S.: Last of the Amazons***++
MYSTERIES / NOVELS: Ancient Rome
Downie, R.: Caveat Emptor(4)****
Downie, R.: Persona Non Grata(3)****
Downie, R.: Terra Incognita(2)****
Saylor, S.: Roman Blood(1)****(N.B. 1st volume of the Roma Sub Rosa series)
MYSTERIES / NOVELS: 18th Century
James, E.: When the Duke Returns***
Norman, D.: A Catch of Consequence***+(1) [N.B. author also writes under the name Ariana Franklin (Mistress of the Art of Death series); I think that the title here is quite ironic and the heroine (Makepeace Burke) is a very different kind of woman]
MYSTERIES / NOVELS: Regency Period
Jeffers, R.: The Scandal of Lady Eleanor(1)*** (N.B. the first in a new series by the author of many Austenesques)
Kelly, C.: The Admiral's Penniless Bride**+(N.B. this is the first Harlequin Historical that I've read, nice light read)
MYSTERIES / THRILLERS
Alpert M.:The Final Theory(1)***+
Alpert, M.: The Omega Theory(2)***+ (N.B. the what-if in these 2 novels concerns the possibility that Einstein actually DID complete the Unified Field Theory)
Berry, J.: The Jefferson Key***
Cussler, C.: The Kingdom(3)***(Fargo Adventure)
Gruber, M.: Night of the Jaguar(3)*****
Gruber, M.: The Book of Air and Shadows****
Gruber, M.: The Forgery of Venus****
Gruber, M.: The Good Son****+
Gruber, M.: Tropic of Night(1)*****(N.B. 1st volume of a trilogy of mysteries)
Gruber, M.: Valley of Bones(2)*****
Khoury, R.: The Sign***
Koontz, D.: Your Heart Belongs to Me**++ (N.B. better than many of his extreme black vs white novels and the psychopaths which haunt them)
Rollins, J.: The Devil Colony (Sigma Force)***
SCIENCE FICTION/ STEAMPUNK/ VAMPIRES/ FANTASY / ETC.
Carriger, G.: Blameless(3)***+
Carriger, G.: Changeless(2)***
Carriger, G.: Soulless(1)***++
Fahy, W.: Fragment*** (N.B. genre of lost continents)
Farnsworth, C.: The President's Vampire(2)**? (N.B not as good as the first; however, there were a few moments...)
Hallaway, T.: Dead If I Do(4)**+
Hallaway, T.: Dead Sexy(2)**+
Hallaway, T.: Honeymoon of the Dead(5)**+ (N.B. author states that this is the last for this series; however, I find that there can still be more stories "conjured:" still don't think Sebastian should use slang)
Hallaway, T.: Romancing the Dead(3)**+
Hallaway, T.: Tall, Dark & Dead**+(1) (N.B. a lot of fun; however, it is terribly flawed)
Harkness, D.: A Discovery of Witches(1)**** (NB: Wicca and the so-called Triple Goddess are MODERN -- this is the only quibble I have with the book)
Harris, C.: Dead Reckoning***(13)
Kowal, M.R.: Shades of Milk and Honey*** (N.B. how do you categorize a Regency from another universe which allows a person to reach into the strings and ribbons of the universe itself in order to bring "glamour" to the visible?)
Stoker, D. & Holt, I.: Dracula the Undead (The Sequel to the Original Classic)***
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