Minx by Julia Quinn is the third book in the Blydon Series, following Splendid and Dancing at Midnight.

William Dunford inherits a barony out in Cornwall. He also inherits an unexpected ward, not that he knows this when he arrives. Henry, his ward, is a spunky hoydenish tomboy with a plan. She’s going to convince London bred Dunford, the new Lord Stannage, that country living is not for him. While putting into place a series of cockamamie schemes to get rid of Dunford, Henry finds herself falling for his sweetness and kindness. Midway through the first act, they call a truce and form a friendship.

We learn as the novel progresses that Henry is embarrassed by her boyish behavior and dress off the farm. She frequently refers to herself as a freak. This rightly so, displeases Dunford immensely. In fact he’s so enraged by her self-deprecating nonsense that he forbids her to call herself that again. The midpoint of the book is where Dunford finds out that Henry is his ward and that all his lusty thoughts and behavior are completely out of the question.

The story takes a turn for the worst when he brings Henry to London for an Eliza Doolittle makeover. He plans to turn her into a lady, give her a dowry, and help her find a husband. The process makes him cranky, makes her feel even more insecure. Coupled with the unnecessary plot twist at the end with Dunford’s former mistress, the book fairly tanks. It held such promise too. The former mistress twist drags the book out beyond bearing and proves that Henry is the biggest obstacle to her happiness and that of Dunford’s. The poor man has had to put up with a lot.

Best thing about this book hands down is the pet name, Minx, given by the hero to the heroine. Minx is by far one of the most original pet names I’ve seen in literature or heard in real life. Very cute and fits the story perfectly.

The worst thing about the book was this phrase and its variations: “I’m Henrietta Barrett, but call me Henry; everybody else does.” Completely overused. Yuck. On top of that Henry is so boyish it’s hard to get behind. I much preferred Dunford’s further shortening of her name to Hen, sadly he only uses it a few times.

Rating: 4 Stars before the midpoint and 3 Stars by the end.

• Review: To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn was a fairly decent story. There were times in the story when I wondered if the main characters would ever fall in love before the pages ran out. The sex scenes were...

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Beauty and the Beast by Hannah Howell is not a spectacular read. It is however a pretty solid read. I found several segments to be unnecessary and jumpy and predictable in others. This Highlander romance contains all the elements of the sub-genre including bride stealing, thwarted love, revenge plotting, and battle.

Thayer Saiturn is known as the Red Devil, a knight so fierce and courageous that his name inspires fear in the enemies. The second cousin in line for inheriting a title and land, Thayer knows his place in life is on the battlefield waging war to earn his bread and keep. He wishes for the finer things in life, namely a woman to warm his bed, but he knows his limitations. While men express awe and fear over him, women see nothing but an ugly, very hairy, very red brute covered with many scars (none on his face). He pays for the women in his bed, and does not seek one outside of this arrangement. Betrayed once by a beautiful woman, Thayer vows never to be so weak before another highborn beauty.

Gytha is promised by betrothal contract to the heir of Saiturn Manor. At first it was William, beautiful and strong bodied, but word came that he was dead. So too came word that the second cousin, Thayer was dead. Learning that she is to marry Robert, Gytha expresses disappointment. Robert is weak and his soft looks do nothing for her. She would prefer the knight coming in to witness the wedding – the tall one with flaming red hair, a lithe graceful body, and sweet soft brown eyes.

When she discovers that the red knight is Thayer, the true heir to Saiturn Manor, Gytha is relieved. Robert and his uncle are not but cannot fight the contract. Thayer is dismayed, having thought this to be William’s wedding he was attending, he finds no comfort in learning it is his own. The thought of the inheritance does not soothe him for his bride is the prettiest beauty he has ever seen. He was sure to be cuckold, made a fool of by his marriage to her. Men everywhere were vying for her attentions even as she walked down the aisle. He was doomed, for Gytha could not possibly want him.

Rating: 3 Stars

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When reading romance novels about English gentry and nobility I always wonder about the rankings. I know diddlysquat about this subject, mostly because I am American. I decided to do some digging to see if I could sort the matter out. Luckily there are a lot of resources on the matter.

The first thing I was determined to find out was the order of the rankings. I always thought an Earl was as noble as a Duke or fairly similar. An Earl is far less substantial than you might think. In fact they seem to be quite plentiful; perhaps that is why so many romance novels include an Earl. A Marquis, on the other hand was more substantial than I gave credit. For some reason, I always assumed it was on similar footing as a Viscount. Whoops– social faux pas, anyone?

The order of rank is as follows:

1. Duke/Duchess
2. Marquis (alternative spelling: Marquess)/Marchioness
3. Earl/Countess
4. Viscount/Viscountess
5. Baron/Baroness

Baronets and Knights are not peers. A baronet is a hereditary knight. The title of Sir goes down through the generations. His wife is referred to as Lady.

The rarest rank of nobility is the Duke with his dukedom, making Barons by their rank far more abundant.

About the only thing I got right was the order of the Viscounts and Barons.

Did you know there were several peerages?

The isles of Britain and Ireland had in total five different peerages. Those of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom! No wonder the country has so many names in history! Also, a noble man could belong to more than one peerage!

Labels of Address (loosely):

This doesn’t include salutations of correspondence. The first bit is how to do the introduction on the different levels of nobility followed by how to address them in formal speech.

• Duke/Duchess: His Grace/Her Grace (insert title); His Grace/Her Grace
• Marquis/Marchioness: Most Honorable (insert title); Lord/Lady
• Earl/Countess: Right Honorable (insert title); Lord/Lady
• Viscount/Viscountess: Right Honorable (insert title); Lord/Lady
• Baron/Baroness: Right Honorable (insert title); Lord/Lady

Originally posted 2008-08-07 05:39:59. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Most Regency Romances portray life in this period as opulent and sensual.  And it was, but it was also very hard. Wealthy children were valued not so much as individuals but for what they could contribute to the family in the way of money or power.  Each member of the family was bound by duty to do their part, but could not hold a paying job or engage in industry or business.  They were not encouraged to marry for love.  In fact, most people of this class did not think such a thing was possible.  Debt was a worry for all classes of people.  There was no welfare system and many people died of starvation and exposure.  Even those from good families could suffer the effects of malnutrition since keeping up appearances was more important was maintaining one’s health.  Women and children were legal chattel (personal property) and did not have the right to self-determination or to manage their own money or affairs.  With money and power a man could easily get away with murdering members of his family; abuse and neglect were not crimes.

Today we think of the Caribbean as a luxurious place to vacation with warm tropical breezes and beautiful scenery.  During the 19^th century the Caribbean was a backwater place without culture or conveniences of any kind.  There was no air-conditioning, running water, window screens, paved roads or hurricane warning system.  Insects thrived in the swamps and hot, humid weather.  Many of the resident landowners had been exiled from polite society.  The slave population far outnumbered white landowners.  The slaves were angry, desperate people with nothing to lose and access to fire and machetes.  Slave uprisings were not uncommon and greatly feared.  As a result, the methods used to keep the slave population cowed and in check are too horrible to mention.  A hard life makes people hard.

Mademoiselle Camille Marchand has come to London with her natural father, Comte de Valigny, a devious and dissolute man intent on using Camille for his own ends.  Camille has her own plans.  She has learned to trust no one and is intent on not making the same mistakes as her mother, who was foolish enough sacrifice all for love.  Camille has recently learned that her maternal grandfather has left her an inheritance with the caveat that she marries an English nobleman before the age twenty-eight and give birth to a child within two years.  Camille’s twenty-eighth birthday is in six weeks.  Her parents’ reputations are so bad that she has no hope of finding an honorable husband so in desperation she has agreed to allow her father to offer her in a card game.  A small group of men have gathered at Valigny’s home.  It is very late and the men are drunk.  Valigny has lost a great deal of money. For his final bid he offers Camille, providing the winner marries her and splits her dowry of 50,000 pounds with him.  Her beauty mesmerizes the men at the table including Lord Enders, whose depraved proclivities are well known and Kieran, Baron Rothewell.

Kieran and his brother and sister were orphaned and a young age and sent to live with their paternal uncle in Barbados.  The uncle, exiled for killing a footman, is a violent drunk who abuses the children.  Kieran tormented by his past and slowly killing himself with hard living, is suffering from alarming symptoms that suggest that his death will be sooner rather than later.  Despite that fact that he has no use for a wife, Kieran cannot stomach the idea of Enders winning Camille and he cheats to win the hand. Kieran and Camille agree that theirs will be a marriage of convenience but, of course, that is not to be.

This novel is written in beautiful, sumptuous prose with realistically structured scenes that showcase the torment and vulnerabilities of the characters.  The bedroom scenes are elegantly erotic.  Ms. Carlyle skillfully immerses us in the intense emotional struggle of Camille and Kieran to relinquish their fear of intimacy and trust themselves and each other enough to fall in love. Never Romance a Rake is a stupendous finale to the Rothewell trilogy.

4 ½ Stars

Readers are warmly invited to submit reviews of novels they have read. We would love to have you as part of our growing forum here at Love Romance Passion. Any novel in any sub-genre of romance, from erotica and romantica to paranormal, will find its home here. So what are you waiting for?

• Review: To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn was a fairly decent story. There were times in the story when I wondered if the main characters would ever fall in love before the pages ran out. The sex scenes were...

I’ve recently started and stopped a few novels. I just couldn’t get into them past a few chapters and it wasn’t because the story itself wasn’t good it just wasn’t the storyline I was in the mood for at the time. Luckily I came across Julia Quinn’s It’s in His Kiss, a delightful tale that was just what I was in the mood for. It’s in His Kiss is a Bridgerton Family novel. I would assume since all the Bridgerton children were named A-H and that one child is mentioned to still be unmarried, that Hyacinth’s story is number seven in the set. Just don’t quote me on it! Grin.

Hyacinth is delightfully outspoken young miss of age twenty-two. She is good friends with the Countess Danbury, an elderly lady known for her sharp tongue and exuberant use of her walking stick on unsuspecting shins. Hyacinth meets Lady D, as she is known, every Tuesday to read the racy and seriously over the top shenanigans of the Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron and other works by the same author.

Mr. Mozart would die in disgust all over again if he had to hear the latest in the annual Smythe-Smith Musical. Four girls, tone-deaf with sausages for fingers attempt to play classical music. In truth they mutilate it beyond words which provide Hyacinth and Gareth St. Clair much amusement as they discuss their bleeding ears. Gareth is Lady D’s grandson and it is no surprise that he runs into Hyacinth again and again – or is it?

Gareth has been avoiding his grandmother’s home every Tuesday since Hyacinth began making her appearance. He knows his grandmother wants to make Hyacinth her new granddaughter and that’s precisely why he stayed away. He only consorted with women of a certain reputation and not wholesome girls with marriage-minded mamas. And now that he’s conversed with her, Gareth can’t seem to stay away from Hyacinth.

Add in awful poetry meetings, a search for lost diamonds, and Gareth’s secret and it’s a party in the making! Hot, steamy, and full of titillating midnight adventures It’s in His Kiss will entertain you to the very end; a fabulous tale that can’t be missed!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

• Review: Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer is one scrumptious romp of trouble after the next. It all begins when Miss Charity Steane was found wandering the hillside, luggage in one hand and very sore feet. She is picked up by Viscount...
• The Peerage of England When reading romance novels about English gentry and nobility I always wonder about the rankings. I know diddlysquat about this subject, mostly because I am American. I decided to do some digging to see if I could sort the matter...

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Alexandra Benedict’s novel Too Scandalous to Wed flirts with disaster and happily ever after at every turn. A strong wind could not tumble the stack of fantasies Henrietta has built around Sebastian, Viscount Ravenswood, or could it? Sebastian does not want to be the hero of Henrietta’s dreams, he doesn’t want the little hoyden at all, but he can’t seem to get rid of her. Of course, he hasn’t been really trying – running away simply doesn’t count when the girl is determined to have him.

Henrietta has fancied herself in love with Sebastian for years and has been trying to catch his eye. She is certain that he loves her, even if he does not know it. At every turn the brute chooses to ignore her attempts of flirtation or reprimand her for the silliest things. If only she could get him to kiss her! When Sebastian runs off to hide on the continent to keep the lovely Henrietta at bay she turns a desperate idea of hers to keep him into action and visits England’s highest ranking courtesan for help.

Sebastian doesn’t know what hit him, but he is certainly feeling its affects as his eye and his thoughts are drawn more and more toward the bewitching vixen that’s replaced the girl who always adored him. The more she treats him with reverence the more he wants to hear her say his name. The changes in her are disconcerting and enchanting at the same time to Sebastian. He knows even as he tries to figure her out, that he should not get close to her as he is not a good man. The quickening in his heart and loins won’t let him rest either until Henrietta’s every mystery is solved.

Henrietta struggles to keep the lessons of seduction in place, pretending aloofness even while lightning sizzles through her at a single smoldering blue-eyed glance. Sebastian was finally finding her irresistible, becoming the man of her dreams before her eyes. Remaining coy and composed she flirts dangerously with disaster, because if Sebastian ever found out what she’d done to snare him, he’d never forgive her.

There are elements of intrigue and flights of fancy throughout the novel, from a revenge seeking enemy to Henrietta’s father calling her his ‘darling boy,’ you’ll be sure to gasp and giggle your way through the book.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

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