Masque of the Black Tulip (edition 2010)

My thoughts:

I read this just after I had read book one in the series. Book two turned out to be just as good if not better... I really fell for Miles and Henrietta as friends and as a romantic couple. There's something about two people who fall in love that have known each other most of their lives... They were so adorable....

There were many moments I loved, but one of them was when Henrietta told her two girlfriends, in a shop, that she had fallen for Miles; it was both hilarious and cute at the same time.

I want to see more of Sir Vaughn in future books - I want to see him fall in love with a woman and the right woman too. I loved how mysterious his character was throughout the book, to good effect, I thought.

Like in the first book, I loved the chapters focusing on Jane Wooliston - I adore her female intelligence... I can't wait till she gets her own book, though I'm not ready for her to fall in love, as I love her independence! BUT, who says she won't meet her male equal who will let her be who she is?

I enjoyed this book a lot, but I was quite anxious throughout because you really come to care for the characters. It doesn't help that a chapter may end in a cliffhanger and then you have to read the whole next chapter before you can know what happened - though each book does end with a happy end for the given couple in the historical setting (it's a different couple with each book). I thought the idea behind The Black Tulip, which I won't spoil, was wonderfully thought of and I loved the climax.

With each book you learn more about the people who are with and around the Pink Carnation which makes the world of the books even more interesting and thorough in the world-building. In needs to be said that though the historical setting in Revolutionary France is the most interesting because of all the intrigue and mystery, the contemporary setting also manages to be really fascinating; I, for one, am rooting for Eloise Kelly to end up with Colin Selwick at some point at the end of the series, or if not sooner.

These books are, first and foremost, romantic feel good books which means that the historical research is allowed to take different leaps in the imagination of the author. To Lauren Willig's credit, she truly cares about historical accuracy and only changes a few things to her advantage. I really think she does wonders with her historical research, leaving the reader wanting for more. So, if you want to read a romantic feel good book which promises a happy conclusion for the given couple, with plenty of mystery and espionage (in the swashbuckling tradition of things), then these books will deliver. AND if you're thinking that 400 kindle pages are too much, then let me assure you that these books are quick and easy reads, even considering the jumps between the historical setting and the contemporary setting - the books truly are escape reads of the best kind! ( )

[b:The Masque of the Black Tulip|397844|The Masque of the Black Tulip (Pink Carnation, Book 2)|Lauren Willig|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174425686s/397844.jpg|2584] continues the story of spies and lovers begun with The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. Henrietta Selwick (sister to Richard Selwick, who was the spy known as The Purple Gentian) is corresponding with her cousin Jane (who is living in Paris and spying on Napoleon's government in the guise of the Pink Carnation). Got that? Through their coded correspondence, Jane sends messages of intrigue to the War Office in Britain. One such message notifies the War Office that the French have deployed their best and most dangerous spy, The Black Tulip, to London. A search for the spy follows.

Okay, without giving away anything, that is the bare bones of the plot. But that makes it sound a lot more serious than it is. Sure, the spying and disguises and coded messages do happen, but this book is pure, unadulterated, fun chick-lit. I raced through it, waiting to see if the Black Tulp is caught in time, but really, I just wanted to see who ends up in love with whom. The plot is fun, the characters are maybe not too well-developed, but they're fun too, and the pace is just right. If you don't take yourself or your books too seriously, this is an amusing, easy read. It would be great to read on the beach. ( )

In my defence, after claiming I was only going to read the first novel in Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series as an experiment, I did buy my copy of The Masque of the Black Tulip (the second sequel) at a bargain price. I couldn't borrow a copy, because my local library is wisely understocked with Willig's books, but at least I didn't pay full whack to download the Kindle version. Which I was very tempted to do.

What I cannot defend is how much I like these novels! They are written very much in the style of Georgette Heyer's 1930s Regency romances - my literary bugbear - with a very modern take on early nineteenth century England, and the author plays fast and loose with historical accuracy, but each story is so easy and enjoyable to read that there is little point in nitpicking the small stuff (although I could - matches were invented in the 1820s, the term 'burgle' was coined in the Victorian era, and 'rutabaga' is an American word, but hey, other than that!) Willig usually holds up her hands to any larger, deliberate anachronisms in the notes at the back of each novel - like switching the spy HQ from the Alien Office to the War Office, and rearranging the careers of historical personages to fit with the plot - so I don't mind applying the same rule to occasional minor inaccuracies, too.

What I love about the Pink Carnation novels is that they are fast and fun - part Heyer-esque romance, and part historical adventure, paying homage to the Baroness Orczy's Scarlet Pimpernel series. The reader doesn't have to strain their brain to work out who will end up with who, or even which secondary character is the flowery spy of the title, but the devil is in the details. Not content with relocating Blakeney Manor to Kent in the first novel, Willig has very cheekily borrowed Austen's Donwell Abbey, home of Mr Knightley in Emma, and moved the gothic pile from Surrey to Sussex. The relationship between Henrietta Selwick, Richard's sister, and Miles Dorrington also reminded me somewhat of Austen's novel - 'There could be worse things than falling in love with one's oldest friend', thinks the hazel-eyed Henrietta. Or I could be reading far too much into the connection.

The Black Tulip is definitely my favourite so far - Henrietta might say "bleargh" and 'scrunch' her nose a lot, but at least she isn't Tigger in a frock like Amy, and Miles is a thoroughly blokey sweetheart. I'm starting to notice a formula already - even down to the 'love scenes' - but oh look at that, the next book in the series is available at the library ... ( )

This is the second of the Pink Carnation books, a series that is well-known to anyone who might be interested in them, so I won’t go into much detail. They are silly, fluffy books that don’t work on every level but are good fun. I liked this one better than the first, mostly because I found the two primary characters more enjoyable to spend time with. The plot is ridiculous, of course, but that’s what I like best. Willig is unabashed in her ridiculousness but delivers some genuinely funny moments.

A good light, summer read but nothing more than that. ( )

I've been reading the latest installments in Willig's Pink series, and decided to skim and review the earlier books that I read before I joined Library Thing. I've been enjoying her books since my sister first alerted my attention to them, but as I read the current ones and reread the earlier ones, I noticed that Willig poured a lot of love in her first three novels. As much as I like Penelope and Charlotte and Mary, I love Lettie and Amy and Henrietta. I also was more interested in the Eloise and Colin structural plot in the first few books. This book featured Henrietta and her potential beau, Miles. I was smiling from ear to ear while I read their story. Both of those characters are just so much fun.

Henrietta is the sister of the famed Purple Gentian, and good friends with Amy, her sister-in-law, who created the Pink Carnation. As such, she is deeply interested, and frequently involved, in the espionage business. Yet something, or rather someone, is distracting her from this engrossing business. She grew up with Miles, who was best friends with her brother, but her feelings are less than sisterly lately. Miles is feeling a similar change of heart, but since Henrietta's brother Richard entrusted Miles with his sister's protection while he was away, Miles is conflicted. He can't admit to himself that he is in love with Henrietta, and whenever his imagination and body betray his firmly resolved convictions, he chastises himself and tries to convince himself that it's just a fancy. This is hard to do, since he spends so much time with Henrietta, and they can practically read each other's mind.

What I loved most about them was their sarcastic banter and innocent bumbling. They both mean well, but are naive in matters of the spy world. What they lack in expertise, though, they make up in earnestness. They are like puppies, stumbling in to all sorts of trouble in their genuine desire to help England, but somehow everything comes right in the end. And when they interact it's pure joy to observe. They know each other so well that they can communicate without words, and when they do talk, their friendly sparring is highly entertaining. These two characters simply belong together.

Oh yes, there is also a plot about the nefarious Black Tulip, a spy from France known for his nasty ways of torture and deception. Miles and Hen are trying to find the Tulip, unaware that the Tulip is also trying to watch them, because they are known associates of the Purple Gentian. The espionage plot accompanies the romantic plot in a nice balance of action and love, and both parts are equally interesting, As an added bonus, I enjoyed the Eloise and Colin love story much more than I have been liking them in the later novels, where they have become simply an annoying distraction from the main story. Reading this book reminded me of why I became so intrigued with the series in the first place, and I do hope that some of Willig's newer books that I haven't yet read will resonate with the same energy that this book had in abundance. ( )