I was thrilled to receive [Desire Becomes Her} through the LT ER program. I've read Shirlee Busbee in the past but not recently. When I found this was the 6th in a series, I attempted to locate the previous 5 books so I could get started and read in order. I managed to find the first two in used bookstores and bought the 4th new. I was unable to find the 3rd and 5th so proceeded without them. I've since ordered them online. One of the reasons I mention all this is that although the stories can stand on their own, I found that secondary characters in each book follow through to the next, providing at least the primary romantic interest or having a cameo appearance with update later on. This was especially true between the first and second books. This is why I chose to order 3 & 5. I felt in reading 4 that I had missed something and ditto on 6. I believe the stories will follow-thru much better once I receive and read the missing two.

That being said, I found the pace of this particular story to be somewhat sedate. The reader isn't rushed through the story from one love scene to fight scene to investigative scene and has time to absorb the atmosphere and character development. I enjoyed the descriptions of the surroundings and settings.

If you have read Shirlee Busbee before, I'm sure you would enjoy this series. If you haven't, but enjoy the historical romance genre, give it a try...but do start with the first one if at all possible. ( )

I’ve read a book or two of hers in the past but she isn’t an author I’ve always read. I enjoyed the book.

It’s a nice romance about a gambler ready for a change and a woman who’s lost her reputation through no fault of her own. There’s nice interaction between the characters and the story kept my attention. If you like the regency/historical romances and haven’t read her I’d recommend her as an author to try. ( )

Hmm. Desire Becomes Her has been a difficult book for me to "review."
When I ask myself "Why?" - my first answer is "It's so long! (376 pgs)," But that's not fair, as I've read longer books without that thought.
How about "Timing of receipt (of book)". Okay - partly true. July has been VERY busy, so there were a lot of stops-n-starts. But, I've been in that situation before.

AND... I can't say things like: too similar to other stories the author has written (this the first Busbee book I've read); the storyline wasn't interesting (not true, I did find it interesting), the story wasn't realistic (also not true. In fact, 'kudo's' to Ms. Busbee for writing a heroine who admits her 1st husband was very good in bed, even if later he is found to be a despicable cad).

Okay, so my recommendation is...? Read it over a short period of time (5 or less days). Know that there is lots of characters with relative importance to the storyline, from beginning to end (may need to thumb back to refresh your memory). Enjoy the lush descriptions of furniture, clothing, rooms,... - they may be superfluous, but do help trigger memory of prior scenes.

Bottom line? It's a tug-a-war between 3-1/2 and 4 stars - I'm giving it a "solid" 3.75. ( )

I received this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Club and like a few other reviewers, this was the first Shirlee Busbee book I had read. It wasn't a bad read, but I found myself putting it down and picking it up a few days later, etc. I definitely would like to read the first book in the series, since I believe it would shed more light on this book, although Busbee doesn't do too bad of a job bringing everyone up to speed with the plot and characters in this book. Basically it got easier to read the farther along I read, but the beginning was slow, because there was the underlying plot from the first novel that I didn't understand. The characters were likeable. An author I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for in the future. ( )

Great read, cannot wait to get this author's other books! ( )