Hello, and welcome back! I hope you're all staying cool--the weather map I saw this morning showed this same hot, miserable weather over most of the country. I'm hoping Mother Nature will give us a break soon and get back to spring; what we had of it was much too short.

While I've been trying to stay inside and cool, I've done so much reading I only have a few books left on my to-be-read stack, so I suppose I'll have to go get some more. I can hardly wait!

If you haven't checked it out yet, our June Book Club Selection is up now, and we're busy reading this month so we can chat in the forum next month about it. Also in the forums, each week is a new "Pick of the Week," a new romance novel worth checking out. And, of course, all the discussions with other readers and the occasional author as well. I hope you'll stop over and join us.

This week, I have two historical romances to share with you, hot off the presses. First up is Mary Jo Putney's
Dearly Beloved (Signet), which is a re-release of her very first full-length historical romance. Diana Lindsay comes to London on a mission; she's been whiling away in the country for years, and, with the arrival of an ill stranger at her small cottage, she decides to begin the life of a courtesan. Too bad the only man she's attracted to is Gervase Brandelin, Viscount St. Aubyn, who's rumored to be a spy and to have a mad wife locked away. Diana is a remarkably strong woman, given her past, which is quite admirable. There are some disturbing sub-plots and histories in this tale, though, one of which I couldn't quite come to terms with, no matter how hard I've tried, as well as Gervase's treatment of Diana once he learns her secret, which I couldn't excuse, no matter what his past. This is a pair with some very dark pasts, so they have much to overcome to reach their happy ending. This one is intriguing, but not a keeper for me. I'm borrowing three and a half of Cupid's five arrows for this one.

The other book I have for you this week is Cassie Edwards's
Wind Walker (Signet), with Maggie Tolan stolen from her wagon train by the nasty Archy Parrish, and rescued by Wind Walker. As usual, the settings and historical detail are quite good. I'm just not a big fan of Indian romances, and, with her heroines seeming to fall into similar situations and needing regular rescuing, this one just isn't a keeper for me either. It gets two and a half arrows.

Until next time, happy reading!