My Name is Clary Brown by Charlotte Keppel (nee Ursula Torday) was first published in 1976 under the title When I Say Goodbye, I’m Clary Brown. Diamond is an actress of little renown and loses her “protector’s” patronage. She returns to her home village where she finds many of her childhood friends have died. There are dark forces that seem directed at her. Could she be the next victim in a long string of murders? 5 stars
The Golden Sovereigns is unlike any bodice ripper I’ve ever read. It’s very difficult to rate or categorize as it defies genre conventions. Jocelyn Carew is an absolutely skillful writer to make me enjoy a book where the heroine, Carmody, doesn’t meet her hero until page 270 of this 404-page epic. This is the kind of bodice ripper where the heroine’s journey is the real tale, however, the hero is not a mere prize she wins at the end; he’s a balm to heal her damaged soul. 4 1/2 stars
