Loving a Landon by Ruth Cardello

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Out of heartache and ugliness, Cardello creates something beautiful. From the ashes of tragedy rises the healing power of love. Loving a Landon is about having the courage to face life when the heartbreak seems too much to bare. Benjamin and Caterina swept my soul off it's feet with their inspiring journey of hope.



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This book is intended for some people but I do not think I am one of them. I love regency historical romances so that is not the issue. The issue is in the worldbuilding and plenty of plot holes and loose ends that just leave me feeling slightly disappointed. If you can look past those issues then there is a good enough story there to at least finish the book.

I am not going to dwell too much upon this book because it didn't make me happy and it didn't make me angry, it was that middle mediocre feeling with which you know you are not going to remember this book for long and you really won't have any feelings about it few days later when it just evaporates from your mind.


The beginning is promising, there is a mystery there with the lady training some street girls to give them a chance at a better life, there is an assassination which then leads to a private investigation by the dead person's brother, there is an intrigue surrounding the household of the main female character and there is definitely enough to build the story upon. Those are all great points but from there onwards it somehow drags in certain places like the main male character's silly training in household chores and then it goes too fast skipping important details that we then just have to imagine have been explained like how her father was discovered because there was never an indication that that might happen, it happened just to propel the plot forwards and not because logic and reason were behind the event.

The writing is capable, the story is at least interesting enough for me to read to the end, the characters are just fine, nothing great but also nothing too bad. Everything feels like that honestly, everything is just fine enough to be read through but nothing stands out to make it memorable or entertaining enough to recommend to someone.

I have many issues with the plot and the missing pieces and the overall conspiracy is just too silly to be believable, also if the main villain was that easily triggered as we see in the end then there is no way he could have masterminded that ridiculous conspiracy. The characters also not fully developed. Main female lead starts off as different than other ladies because she cares about the common folk and helps the girls out but then that just disappears when it served the plot of getting the main male lead into the household in that way. There is no mention of the girls after that, it doesn't serve anything, it doesn't come back later... it's just there to give entrance to the main male lead. Speaking of him, it is also unreasonable that he as the new earl wouldn't have more people to help him with his investigation, that he would have that much time to spend playing house with the lady whilst all of his obligations are on hold and that no other woman would be interested in him and come to play as a misunderstanding or an obstacle at some point. Things seem to happen to serve the plot and are totally forgotten.

All of what I have mentioned just left me feeling meh, like shrugging my shoulders and saying ah, it was okayish enough to not consider it a waste of time. Which is not a compliment but also not the worst thing ever.

If you have the time and you just want to read a simple regency romance story then this can kill some time, but don't think too hard about the plot and the conspiracy and the female lead's father and his circumstances because the story will immediately crumble and you won't be able to immerse yourself into this world anymore.

It's good if you just don't think about it.

The point of these quick takes posts is to catch up on my "To Write About" stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.
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The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues by Ellen Raskin Paperback, 170 pg. Puffin Books, 1975 Read: January 7-8, 2020 Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

I've never claimed to have an exhaustive knowledge of Ellen Raskin novels, yet I was surprised to find a passing reference to this one last fall. So I grabbed it up and jumped into it with relish. It's been since I was in MG that I've read other works by her that aren't The Westing Game, so I can't say for certain if this is her usual kind of thing or not (I think this is closer to her norm than Westing, though). There's an over-reliance on funny names (frequently some sort of wordplay involving food) and outlandish eccentricities as a source of humor, but that's a minor thing.

This is really 3-4 short stories linked together with an overarching narrative to make a novel—which actually works pretty well. The pair have a few smaller mysteries to solve while a bigger one builds. This reads like a collaboration of Donald J. Sobol and Daniel M. Pinkwater—which absolutely would've been up my alley when I was the right age, and is still amusing enough right now for me to enjoy the quick read.

Is it my favorite thing ever? No. But it's a clever read that's entertaining enough.

This is a little more mature than usual for MG books (especially given its publish date, I'd think), but it's not mature enough for YA. Not that it matters, that's just me trying to categorize it. I think it's probably appropriate for MG readers, though (there's one scene that might push it over the edge, but...I'd risk it).

(the official blurb)
3-4 paragraphs

Bloody Acquisitions by Drew Hayes, Kirby Heyborne (Narrator) Series: Fred, The Vampire Accountant, #3 Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs., 52 mins. Tantor Audio, 2016 Read: January 31-February 4, 2020 Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
I continue to enjoy these lighter UF books about the world's dullest Vampire and his supernatural friends. Of course, the joke is that he's not really that boring at all, Fred just thinks of himself that way.

The core of this novel is Fred dealing with a group of vampires coming to town to set up shop. The big question is: can they share the city with him? Typically, the answer is no, and he'll either have to join with them or leave. The last thing that Fred wants to do is to leave his home and business==he'll just have to figure out a way.

I think this works better as a novel than the previous two installments and is overall just a touch more entertaining. I'm not sure that I have much else to say—these are fun reads/listens.

Dark Harvest Magic by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon (Narrator) Series: Ella Grey, #2 Unabridged Audiobook, 8 hrs., 32 mins. Tantor Audio, 2017 Read: February 22-25, 2020 Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
I have even less to say about this one. I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the previous one, maybe because just about all of it felt like Faith was setting things up for the next book or two in the series more than telling a story now. This does mean that the next book or two should be really good, because I liked most of what she was setting up.

Aside from that, Dark Harvest Magic really feels a lot like it could be the next several chapters in Stone Cold Magic. Which means that pretty much everything I said about it applies here. An entertaining read/listen, I still like the characters and really want to see where Faith is taking this all, even if I wasn't gaga over this sequel.

John Hessin Clarke ranks among the large body of obscure Supreme Court justices in America’s history, which is unfortunate when considering his particulars of his life.  Born and raised in Ohio, Clarke balanced a career in the law with part-ownership in a small-town newspaper and participation in Democratic party politics.  An enthusiastic Progressive, he twice sought election to the United States Senate before being appointed to the federal bench by Woodrow Wilson.  In 1916 he was named to the Supreme Court, where he served for six years before a combination of personal loss and frustration with his work led him to retire.  In retirement, he spearheaded a campaign to convince America to join the League of Nations, one that failed in its stated goals but helped paved the way for America’s participation in the United Nations after World War II.

Given all of this, it is unfortunate that Clarke has attracted so little attention from scholars; indeed Hoyt Landon Warner’s book is the only complete biography about him.  In some respects, this is a testament to the author’s thorough work.  He draws from numerous archival collections to piece together Clarke’s life, using Clarke’s personal letters and journalism as well as interviews with people who knew the justice to present a comprehensive portrait of his views and jurisprudence.  The result is a well-rounded portrait of Clarke, one in which his time on the Supreme Court is just one part of a long and varied life.  Yet the broader historical scholarship Warner draws from is notably dated, relying on a presentation of the era that is in need of updating.

More serious is the author’s bias towards Clarke.  Warner proves to be a sympathetic biographer – indeed, perhaps too sympathetic of one.  His interpretations of Clarke’s actions are invariably favorable or forgiving, with little critical assessment of the justice’s actions and decisions.  This is particularly apparent in his chapter on Clarke’s time as a railroad lawyer, in which Warner labors to demonstrate the compatibility of his subject’s legal advocacy with his Progressive beliefs.  Such efforts are sometimes so tortuous as to invite incredulity, and can engender doubt about Warner’s overall judgements regarding his subject.

These flaws detract from what is otherwise an informative and valuable work.  More than a half-century after its publication, Warner’s book remains an indispensable source for understanding Clarke’s life and career.  It succeeds in demonstrating that Clarke was more than a jurist, and in fact had a career marked by success in numerous areas.  Hopefully some other scholar will write soon a more up-to-date and balanced assessment of the justice; until then, this is the book to read for anyone seeking to learn about this remarkable figure.

Cast in Shadows - Laura Landon

Cast In Shadows is my first book by Laura Landon, but won't be my last.  Ms Landon has delivered a well-written book.  The characters are amazing.  I totally love these characters.  This historical romance has plenty of mystery, suspense, drama, action and sizzle to keep readers entertained from cover to cover.  I enjoyed reading Cast In Shadows and look forward to reading more from this new (to me) author very soon.  Cast In Shadows is book 1 of the Cast In Scandal Series but can be read as a standalone.  This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read a free copy of this book that I received from BookFunnel.