Entries Tagged '3 Stars' ↓

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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This one had a few twists and turns I didn’t see coming, and it was more believable. The background of the leading characters unfolds throughout the book, and some of it you don’t find out until mid-point.

Samantha van Bergen is in a disastrous marriage, mothering a step-daughter that she dearly loves. This little girl is bright and precocious, and knows more than anyone realizes she does. Her mother died, and Samantha had been her nanny.

The book begins with a bang. Samantha’s husband, Johann, is a compulsive gambler, who has gambled away a family fortune. He loses it all to Cristiano. And come to find out, he has tossed in Samantha to sweeten the pot, but only after he offers his daughter first (nice guy, right?!) but Cristiano rejects this.

Of course, Cristiano has fallen in love with Samantha at first sight. He knows that the little girl will come with her stepmother.

The question is why is he going to this trouble? And what other unfoldments might we find along the way that unlock the puzzle?

Sam takes Gabriella and goes to England from Monte Carlo. When she is there, we learn more about her early life. She is definitely worthy of the best.

Lucky for her, Cristiano agrees with this. He wants to settle a fortune on her in a pre-nup, but she isn’t interested in his money. They marry without a pre-nup, and when a divorce seems imminent, he wants her to use an attorney to guarantee her rights.

Instead, she decides to fight her fears, and she is successful.

She is a plucky heroine and you root for her when she comes out on top. There’s very little fighting or whining; there is a strong, wealthy and scarred hero.

I give it a 3. Have you read it?

If you’d like to submit a review on a novel you’ve read, check out LRP’s guidelines for submission.

Originally posted 2008-08-26 05:44:56. Republished by Old Post Promoter

• Review: The Greek's Royal Mistress by Jane Porter This is a book I really enjoyed. Chantal Thibaudet is a princess, but leading an unhappy life. Her marriage was loveless (and included physical abuse, so be warned) but she is now widowed with a four year old daughter. Her...
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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

• Review: Prince of Dreams by Lisa Kleypas This love story is one of the most endearing I have ever read. Lisa Kleypas spins a tale worthy of mystical magical world of fairy tales. Based on Russian superstition, a prince who is like the Beast in Beauty and...
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• Review: His Wicked Kiss by Gaelen Foley His Wicked Kiss is the seventh installment of Foley's Knight Miscellany series. The novel was quite exceptional from the steamy romance scenes, the tender moments, and the insecurities that flared between Eden and Jack. His Wicked Kiss flirts with the...

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Let Sleeping Rogues Lie is as scintillating as the title sounds rolling off the lips. Sabrina Jeffries weaves a tale of deception, half-truths, and omission. Sordid pasts litter throughout the story, many alongside the main characters, and a few directly related to the main characters. The only thing to watch out for is the mention of child abuse, which was inflicted on the male lead and drives him in ways he’s only beginning to discover.

Anthony Dalton, Viscount Norcourt, never thought to be titled. He was after all, the second son. His father must have bemoaned the facts of his heir and spare, a simpleton and rogue respectively, but no more than Anthony bemoans his dead brother’s idiocy. Dying and leaving his daughter without a guardian was quite possibly the worst move imaginable on Wallace’s part. Now poor Tess is being held by Anthony’s aunt and uncle, the Bickhams.

The Bickhams, Eunice and Randolph, are without a doubt the worst people in all of England. Becoming parents of one biological offspring did not make them kinder. Cruel to their own daughter, their offenses against Anthony as a young boy, still give him nightmares. Anthony can’t stand the darkness, the loneliness of the night. Perhaps, this is why Anthony is such a rakehell, filling his nights with the company of willing widows and whores. Only delving further into his character will tell.

Determined to win custody of his niece, Anthony fights for respectability. He quits his partying, and his lascivious behavior, even going so far as to curb his drinking of strong spirits. Now he must gain Tess a school, to prove the advantages of money and title against those of a seemingly stable home life. Unfortunately, it is coy Miss Madeline Prescott that gets in his way by helping him.

First he’s offered up as an expert in rakehells and rogues to the headmistress of Tess’ new school. He must show his responsibility by showing up promptly every day for two weeks and teaching the young misses about fortune and virtue hunters. And in offering her help, Madeline wants Anthony to do her a favor. She needs to clear her father of scandal with the testimony of one man, a man known to be in Anthony’s wild party circles. Anthony curses his rotten luck even as he yields to the temptation that is Madeline Prescott. On her part, Madeline is just as affected by Anthony as he is by her.

Can a love built on deception last? Would the truth break the fragile bonds growing between them or make them stronger? Only trust and faith will tell.

Rating: 3 Stars

Originally posted 2008-08-14 05:29:14. Republished by Old Post Promoter

• Book Review: Guilty Pleasures by Laura Lee Guhrke Guilty Pleasures by Laura Lee Guhrke is the tale of Lady Viola's brother and his duchess-to-be. Technically Guilty Pleasures is a prequel to The Marriage Bed where Viola and her husband John patch up their estranged marriage. On a whole...

The Marriage Game by Fern Michaels is a light summer read.

I figured by the description it would have some humor, and it does.

Samantha Rainford returns from her honeymoon to find she has been served divorce papers. She is both shocked and heart broken. She is going to be paid off with a check for $5000. When she visits the attorney, she learns there are three other wives before her who have all been treated the same way. She determines that she will not get mad, she will get even. She enlists the aid of the other wives to extract their revenge.

Meantime, she and a girlfriend attend an FBI training school — seriously, how remotely possible is that! where they both flunk out. But they’ve learned a thing or two.

Then they are recruited for a secret ops camp deep in the mountains of NC. How Samantha gets the better of her recruiter is one of the funnier portions of the book. The only way the two of them will join is if the other wives come along too.

The cast of characters in the mountain includes the head trainer who is endangered by his past if he comes off the mountain (Pappy), and the cook (who turns out to be his father), a dog that is part wolf (Alpha), and the other teams that are being trained.

This section of the book is interesting as the characters are developed. The better part of a year is spent on the mountain. Samantha passes with flying colors, but Pappy doesn’t want her to have the life that he has had. He is in love with her, though she doesn’t know it. And he doesn’t know she was ever Mrs. Rainford.

How she and the other women — they find he has a number of other ex-wives that they find out about, and that might not be all, who are also included in this — exact their revenge is a cute part of the story. And how it interweaves with Pappy’s story is believable.

I give it a 3.

I’ve never read any of her books before, but judging from this, I will see if I enjoy the others as much.

With all that FBI and special agent secret op going on The Marriage Game sounds like a cross with Miss Congeniality. What do you think?

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Originally posted 2008-08-11 05:26:24. Republished by Old Post Promoter

The story of Gawain and Aislyn is one told before in the Canterbury Tales (The Wife of Bath’s Tale) under different names. Gwen Rowley remakes it in Knights of the Round Table: Gawain. Where the original had the knight rape a lovely young maiden and sentenced before King Arthur and Guinevere into solving a riddle about what women really want or meet his death, this tale is more humorous and full circle. I laughed out loud several times while reading this novel.

It starts with King Arthur and Sir Gawain riding to the King’s certain death. Having been bested a year ago by a young knight from another court, Arthur was deeded the task to find out what women truly desire. A whole year and a book full of answers that contradicted each other later, there was no hope for King Arthur. Gawain is determined to see his uncle survive this second meeting with the knight.

An old crone comes across their path and offers the answer for a price… Gawain must marry her, if her answer is deemed correct. He accepts much to King Arthur’s dismay and her answer turns out valid. Gawain marries the hideous crone and endures ridicule, scorn, shame, and more at her hands and by his fellow courtiers. But the crone makes him laugh, something he’s not done in the five years since Aislyn’s death.

Aislyn is determined to teach Sir Gawain a lesson. He left her five years ago in anger after she’d bared her heart and soul to him. Sir Gawain knew nothing of love and his contempt of women was widely known. She would have given King Arthur the answer freely, but then the idea of punishing the feckless and faithless Gawain was too irresistible to pass up. She wasn’t marrying him because he still could make her heart leap at the sight of him… that would be unwise, after all he had turned on her, he would do so again.

Unfortunately for her, Aislyn is stuck in her crone form by Gawain’s aunt at court and she can not speak of her true identity. Only a kiss born of love and received in love would break the enchantment even partially. One kiss and she could be young and beautiful for half of the day, her punishment for the cruelty she subjected upon Gawain. But half a day could be enough to last a lifetime, if she could conjure up the courage to stay.

Rating: 3 Stars

• Review: Highland Hearts by Hannah Howell I had a hard time setting Highland Hearts aside to get some work done once I started it. I ended staying up late last night to finish it. This story is exciting and thrilling and you'll be sure to love...

Fire in His Eyes is the first book of the Dragon Elementals in Stella and Audra Price’s Eververse. A complicated web of Afterverse and the real world, Eververse will introduce you the paranormal.

Char is the last of the reigning fire dragons and he has found his mate. He can’t do anything about it because she is the enemy, a demon succubus, one of the race that destroyed the dragons. It is forbidden to interact with demons! The edict of Fuerety, the King of Fire Demons, put Char and his compatriots all on the run. Dragons were to be killed on sight, no matter their loyalty. They are forced to appear human in order to hide. A demon that could call a dragon had full power over the dragon and the dragon’s elements. His mate is just such a demon that could call him and he could not take a chance that she might betray him.

Char has a unique ability as a fire dragon compared to other dragons. He can use flame to see across the world. A single flame in front of him can illuminate other scenes, so long as they too are lit up by fire. Char can even slip through these tiny flames and emerge on the other end. This leads to some highly erotic moments.

Alcyone Sterling is a succubus, which means she thrives on sex. Her sexual preference is men, but this does not exclude women. She runs a strip club in Shadow Heights called Pinkys and feeds off the sexual atmosphere. The Queen Succubus is one of her friends and past paramours. She senses Char at a masquerade party where after some mind altering sex she’s hooked. Something about Char just calls to her.

When dragons mate, they mate for life, like naked mole rats and some penguins. In addition when they claim their mate fully, they create a lasting bond between themselves and their partner. When Char performs this (during sex!) Alcyone receives a red and yellow dragon around her waist like a vivid tattoo. This explains the cover!

The language is a little crude for me; lots of swearing and oh gods/goddess. It was a distraction while reading and pulled me out of the story more than once.

Rating: 2.5-3 Stars

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Janet Evanovich is one of my favorite writers. I really enjoy her Stephanie Plum series. So when I saw Wife for Hire, I figured I’d give one of her other books a whirl. It’s quite lightweight and fairly short (especially since the print is larger, which is a bit annoying to me.)

I give it a 2.5-3.

It was a fun and fast read, not nearly so complex in characters or plot as the Plum novels. But it was a good diversion.

Hank Malone, from Vermont, and Maggie Toone, from New Jersey, are made for each other. Both were trouble in their childhoods, neither wants a life that is particularly predictable.

Malone has advertised for a pretend wife in order to look stable enough to qualify for a bank loan to run his apple orchard. Malone is also hoping to avoid the women who are chasing him. What he advertises for and what Toone is are two different things.

Toone is in process of writing the memoirs of an aunt, who just happened to be a madam.

Throw in assorted characters, such as Elsie, the housekeeper, who is particularly funny, a bit like the grandma in the Plum novels, but different; both sets of parents, who in their own ways are characters themselves; long time friends and small town busybodies, and you have a recipe for a lot of fun along with some twists and turns.

Of course, they fall in love, getting involved very quickly, maybe a bit too quickly for me. Throw in some assorted (funny) kidnappings, due to a misunderstanding, and things get complicated, but are eventually sorted out.

All’s well that ends well. And it leaves you with a smile on your face.

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If you would like to write LRP a review, we would love to have you. It is our goal to review novels across the genre in an attempt to provide a pretty thorough archive of romance stories. Your participation would greatly help out LRP. Look here for submission guidelines.

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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 scrumptious and more than counter balanced the long wait to get to them. Also the scenes where Eloise’s brothers participate are quite hilarious from when they darken Phillip’s doorstep to when Eloise joins them in a shooting contest.

Sir Phillip was in desperate need of a wife. Since Marina’s death, Phillip had come to the conclusion that he wanted his wife to be happy, not melancholy like Marina. Plus his two children were out of control and he had no idea how to handle them. So what he really needed was a mother for them and who better than a desperate spinster?

Of course, poor Phillip had no idea that Eloise Bridgerton had turned down half a dozen proposals. By his letters, Sir Phillip seems the perfect man so when his daring invitation to visit him in the country arrived; Eloise made plans to escape her overprotective family.

Upon her arrival to Sir Philip’s home, Eloise is bitterly disappointed. Why Phillip could hardly speak to her! He was a grumpy moody sort, not at all the dashing charmer she’d pictured. He certainly never mentioned his two children in their letters! Reluctant to turn around and go home with her tail between her legs, Eloise decides to stay and stick it out to see if the two of them would suit.

Warning: This book contains mentioning of child abuse. While one can never call child abuse lightweight, it was not graphic. The nanny, Nurse Edwards, was caught beating the children with a book and action was taken.

Rating: 3 Stars

His world was shattered two summers ago when on a trading voyage his farmstead was ransacked by Danes. His wife and unborn child were slaughtered. When the news reached him Wulf’s heart vowed to make the Danish rue the day they ever dared to set foot on his soil. His quest was a tidy package of vengeance, justice, and revenge. He did not separate the murderers that wronged him from the rest of the Danish people. He became known as Wulf the Ruthless far and wide. It was said he was a cold, cruel man without a heart and that compassion was a word he did know.

She was stolen from her farmland in the last of Wulf the Ruthless’ raiding campaigns. The heartless Viking destroyed her life and sold her to a slave trader. By some twisted hand of fate she winds up being purchased two years later by his brother and gifted to Wulf to be his thrall and bed slave. Reyna was horrified to learn that the man who raped her and forgot her would become her master. But there was one thing the Norseman did not take into account; that Reyna had spirit. She would never submit and he would rue the day he ever stepped onto her father’s land!

Sounds amazing right? It was okay. There were a lot of turgid and quivering members and heaving bosoms. Instead of plowing there was spearing. Reyna was too good to be true as a heroine who had been raped and then sold into slavery to a harem in the Byzantine. She could fight, heal, make passionate love as a near virgin, and talk back to the scary Norse warrior that she thought raped her.

Reyna saved Wulf three times from the same situation. The only difference between each time was the place and the names of those fighting. She saved him once fighting the Finnish as one crept up behind him and then again from the Danish on her home turf and lastly on his home turf again but I can’t remember the country… probably Swedes. Honestly how does Wulf survive in battle to earn the name Wulf the Ruthless, if a girl is always saving his hinny from cowardly warriors who come from behind? He’d be Wulf the Dead and Doesn’t Appear in This Book that’s who.

The book flowed pretty well and overall it wasn’t so bad, but it certainly wasn’t one of my all time favorites.

Rating: 3 Stars

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The review for today is not one, but three novels.

The Raintree Trilogy is an weak, anemic effort by three different authors. The premise is that two hundred years ago there was a war between the Raintree clan, a family with paranormal abilities, and the Ansara wizards. The Ansara clan was nearly wiped out, but the Raintree clan stopped short of annihilating them entirely, a mistake that they are about to regret. The Ansara clan has been rebuilt and a rogue group is out for revenge.

Book One: Raintree: Inferno by Linda Howard

Dante Raintree is Dranir or king of the Raintree family and owns a hotel-casino in Reno. Like the other members of his family, he keeps a low profile and does not advertise his paranormal abilities, which in his case is the ability to control fire and enter the minds of others. He has no intention of ever getting married or having a family. His brother Gideon, who is heir apparent for the position of Dranir, sends him fertility charms on a regular basis. Gideon does not want to be Dranir.

Lorna Clay finds herself in Dante’s office because she is suspected of cheating. Lorna is empathic and can therefore ‘read’ the other players. She denies, even to herself, that she has this ability. Suddenly there is a fire in the casino and Dante must enter her mind to augment his own powers in an effort to control the fire. Controlling Lorna’s mind is something Dante does often in the story, albeit with good intentions. It is a wonder that Lorna can forgive him enough to fall in love with him.

Those familiar with Linda Howard’s work, may be disappointed with this book. She does not appear comfortable with this genre and has difficulty explaining the particulars of Dante’s paranormal abilities and the Raintree family. As a result, the plot seems disjointed and characters’ motivations are not easy to understand.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Book Two: Raintree: Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones

Gideon’s gift is controlling electricity and the ability to see and talk to ghosts. Talking to ghosts comes in handy with his job; Gideon is a homicide detective in Wilmington, NC. Lately, he has been dreaming of a tricky little girl ghost named Emma who insists on calling Gideon ‘Daddy’. He has carefully explained to her that he has no intention of marrying and having children, but she laughs and says that she will come to him in a moonbeam.

Hope Malory is a police detective who has asked to be transferred to Wilmington from Raleigh in an effort to be closer to her mother. In Raleigh, she worked in vice and has always wanted to work in homicide. She is Gideon’s new partner. She is immediately suspicious of him. He is too well dressed for a cop and he lives in a lovely, beachfront home. His success rate in closing cases is nearly perfect. Thinking that he is a dirty cop, Hope decides to check into him further.

Raintree: Haunted is a pleasant surprise after reading Inferno. Linda Winstead Jones is very comfortable with this genre. The plot is tightly woven with very likable characters and a good amount of humor. There were a couple of things that did not seem realistic: people have a kind of amnesia that keeps them from remembering what doesn’t make sense to them; and a heterosexual man who knows that it is not comfortable to sleep in a bra. All in all it is a satisfying book, the best of the three.

Rating: 3 Stars

Raintree: Sanctuary by Bevery Barton

Mercy Raintree is a single mother, empathic healer and keeper of the Raintree Sanctuary; the sacred, ancestral home of the Raintree Clan, located on a large area of land in the Smokey Mountains. It is here that all the previous characters meet up to defend it against a rogue group of Ansara warriors.

Judah Ansara is Dranir of the Ansara Clan. Cael, his illegitimate half brother and leader of the rogue group of warriors are challenging Judah’s position as Dranir. Judah is also the father of Eve, although he is at first unaware of her existence.

Eve is a bright, talented child with knowledge beyond her years. Since Eve is a ‘half-breed’ she should have been killed at birth and only her mother and nanny are aware of her parentage. Mercy and Judah are bitter enemies, despite the powerful lust they have for one another but they must learn to work together to save Eve and the Sanctuary.

As a finale, Sanctuary falls flat. The plot is thin and lacks cohesiveness, the characters are superficial and the ending is contrived. There is very little detail and plot elements are underdeveloped being briefly explained on the side. Most of the action during the big battle scene is focused on Dante and does not really involve the other characters. This is a disappointing book.

Rating: 2 Stars

If you would like to submit a review to LRP, we would love to have you. You can find submission guidelines here.

Thanks again Marcia! You’re a wonderful reviewer and RRN is lucky to have you!

• Review: Up Close and Dangerous by Linda Howard Bailey Wingate is living what many would believe to be a charmed life in Seattle, but she has problems. Not that she is complaining. She knows that she is fortunate. Having grown up impoverished, she became the personal assistant to...

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Quiet and obedient Emily Fairchild is not expecting an adventure. She is content to care for her father, a country vicar since her mother died after a long illness less than a year before. She is happy to have been invited to the masquerade ball being held by the Marquess of Dryden at his country estate. Her cousin Lawrence was kind enough to escort her.

Emily is unable to dance, still being in mourning, but she is looking forward to visiting with her best friend, Lady Sophia, daughter of her father’s patron, Lord Nesfield. Unfortunately, Lady Sophia is dancing with the notorious Earl of Blackmore. Lord Nesfield takes issue with this and there is an embarrassing confrontation.

When Emily is ready to leave she follows a man that she thinks is her cousin and gets into his carriage. In the dark, it takes little time for Emily to realize that the man in the carriage is not her cousin but the Earl of Blackmore. The Earl is happy to have what he thinks is a widow in his carriage. He has no use for virginal young ladies, as he is not ready for marriage.

Maneuvering herself away from the seductive Earl and back into the ball without anyone seeing her is the first of her adventures. Soon she finds herself accused of murdering her mother and blackmailed into posing as the spirited niece of Lord Nesfield in London and must find out who tried to elope with Lady Sophia.

Since the Earl of Blackmore and his friends are the suspects, Emily must spend time flirting and trying to encourage them to confide in her. In the meantime the Earl of Blackmore has not forgotten the lovely Emily Fairchild whom he recognizes in spite of the fact that the carriage, on that first night, was very dark.

This delightful romp entertains with twists and turns provided by the mystery of who tried to elope with Lady Sophia and the necessity of defeating Lord Nesfied. The personal growth that the characters find on the way to love adds interest and dimension.

Rating: 3 Stars

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• Review: Let Sleeping Rogues Lie by Sabrina Jeffries Let Sleeping Rogues Lie is as scintillating as the title sounds rolling off the lips. Sabrina Jeffries weaves a tale of deception, half-truths, and omission. Sordid pasts litter throughout the story, many alongside the main characters, and a few directly...
• Review: In the Prince's Bed by Sabrina Jeffries I loved In the Prince's Bed by Sabrina Jeffries. It was dazzling, sexy, full of wit and great dialog. The characters and their motives were well thought out and spun together to create a wonderfully fantastic tale. This is the...

Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer is loosely based on the premise of Pride and Prejudice. I would not go so far as to say it’s a retelling of the classic tale, but there are elements of this Regency romance that bring to mind the farce that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet went through before getting out of their own way to declare love for one another.

For instance, Lord Worth is the Mr. Darcy character of this little drama. While not despised to the extent of Mr. Darcy by his heroine, Lord Worth is on the brunt end of a lot of negative criticism from his ward Miss Judith Taverner. He can do nothing right and is as cold an aloof in presence as Mr. Darcy appeared to be. His manners and arrogance nettle Judith beyond the telling many times throughout the novel.

So how did Judith and Peregrine get to become Lord Worth’s wards?

Their father wrote in his will that they would be placed under the fifth earl of Worth until coming of age. Of course he meant to direct them into the hands of Julian Audley’s father, the fourth earl of Worth but confused the matter and bungled it entirely. Julian finds the matter tiresome and can’t wait to be rid of them fast enough though maybe not for the first reasons that come to mind. He tells them to stay in the country.

Of course Judith and Peregrine disregard this and the novel starts with them en route to London. They stop overnight in the village of Grantham, where a fight is about to occur. Peregrine is ecstatic and decides they must stay longer in order to see it. Of course the room they wrote ahead to let has been given away because of the crowd swarming the village. Distressed, Judith presses on the innkeeper to make amends. However it is not the innkeeper but a charming stranger that gives up his room for them.

Similarly later that day before the day of the match, Judith and Peregrine are wheeling about the country in search of ruins when they happen upon another carriage speedily racing down the lane in the opposite direction. A near accident occurs, nobody is hurt, but the horses are startled and the stranger driving is unaccountably rude. Both Judith and Peregrine take exception to the man’s behavior and write him off as a bad sort indeed.

Shortly thereafter, Judith and Peregrine recognize their estranged cousin as the kind stranger at the inn and formally establish the acquaintance.

Once in London, the siblings look up their guardian and are dismayed to find the nasty aristocrat from Grantham is their keeper.

Add a dash of mystery - who wants Peregrine dead?

Peregrine as heir to the Viscountcy is being attacked left and right. The attacks are not always obvious; they come in many forms upon his person. Sanguine and completely obtuse, Peregrine does not notice them for what they are. Even Judith, usually kept in the dark on some of her brothers less savory ongoings, sees a pattern and admits her qualms to Worth who prevails upon her to keep her suspicions to herself.

The question becomes who will profit most from Peregrine’s death. His sister will receive even more money for her dowry, making the current 80,000 pounds seem paltry. But Judith loves her brother enormously, it can’t be her. It must be the man who vies for her hand… Julian Audley, Lord Worth, their guardian or Mr. Taverner, their cousin. Each man lays the blame on the others feet, but Judith trusts them both. What’s a girl to do?

Locales: primarily London and Brighton.

Real famous people who appeared in the book: Beau Brummell, Prince Regent.

This novel has a sequel in An An Infamous Army.

Overall I found it focused less on the romance and more on the mystery. I almost wished Brummell was the lead male because he and Judith found teasing and comfortable conversation between themselves on many occasions.

Rating: 3 Stars.

• Book Review: Pemberley by the Sea by Abigail Reynolds Jane Austen fan or not you can not help but love Abigail Reynolds’ Pemberley by the Sea. I devoured this four hundred plus page book within days, it was so good. Based on the plot and characters of Pride and...
• Movie Review: Just Like Heaven with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo One of my favorite movies is Just Like Heaven with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. I first saw Mark in the romantic comedy of 13 Going On 30. He plays the slightly dorky but still hunky guy very well. His...
• Movie Review: 2005 Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly, Donald Sutherland, and Matthew Macfadyen I’m pretty certain a select group of individuals will think what I’m about to say is sacrilegious. I think that the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly, Donald Sutherland, and Matthew Macfadyen is the best version of...
• Review: Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer The second Georgette Heyer novel that I read was a lot easier to get through. It helped that there was few if any references to my lord or my lady in the narrative. The diction used is as exacting and...

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Lady Phoebe Fairchild is in a pickle. Mrs. Ramsey is blackmailing her. The awful woman has guessed her biggest secret– that she is Madame Dupree, the French modiste, whose fashion creations are the talk of the ton. In exchange for not exposing her secret and ruining her reputation Phoebe must go to Wentworth Hall. Immediately.

The fantastical experience she had imagined for herself was not living up to the reality. Ladies Alice and Jane are the most ill behaved women of quality Phoebe has ever met. They constantly bickered and goaded one another. Neither one of them listened to her and treated her as the very lowest of servants.

William Darby, was the one bright spot. Lord Summerfield intrigued her. This man who had traveled the world, bore a tattoo from India, and could tame wild horses thrilled her beyond imaginings. Here was a man that evoked fever in her blood, the very fever her mother had talked about, but Phoebe feared would never find her. The more she came to know him, the harder it was to tell the truth. Why he had said lies and those who purposefully deceived were the only things he could not abide or tolerate! She could not bear it if he hated her.

Will hated being home. If it was not one thing with his family, it was another; Alice fantasized herself in love with a smithy, his brother thieved and whored about, and his father was mute and parallelized from a seizure. He knew he had come home too late and despite the chafing of the polite society, Will was determined to do his father proud and uphold the family honor. He would do his duties as heir and older brother to the best of his abilities. That unfortunately included finding a bride.

The bummer crop of women that paraded by him day and night, he found not one woman that stirred his passion. Madame Phoebe Dupree, the seamstress he had hired on to outfit his sisters stirred his blood in a way no woman abroad or at home had ever done. He found utterly enchanting. His thought constantly pulled in her direction. The troubles of his family could not distract him for long, not even Joshua’s insolent ways and fierce determination to ruin the family name.

But how could he marry Phoebe, even if he loved her, when Caroline Fitzherbert was more the wife that he needed? It would all be so different if Phoebe were of quality. Why if she were, all of his problems would be solved.

In the end I found The Dangers of Deceiving a Viscount by Julia London was a sweet and engaging romance story. I found the love scenes lacking however. They were too short and not overly descriptive. Not the worse I’ve encountered by far, but in the middle of such a tender story it’s a little too lukewarm for the passion I was expecting… craving.

Rating: 3 Stars

• Review: The Perils of Pursuing a Prince by Julia London Marcia is the first person to respond to the $10 Gift Card Contest! Her review for us this week by Julia London and looks to be a devilishly wild ride across England. The story mixes modern language with historical settings...
• Highlander Contest Entry #1: The Highlander's Heir Today I have the pleasure of presenting the first of the Highlander Novel Cover Contest entries. Be sure to vote by leaving a comment on the entries that you enjoy! The winner is determined by the amount of vocal support...
• Review: Love is Blind by Lynsay Sands I just finished rereading Love is Blind by Lynsay Sands today. It combines two of my favorite things to read in a romance novel. The hero is scarred and she is practically blind. Plus the sex is steamy. What more...
• 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...

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Taking place in Victorian England, Beyond Innocence is about loyalty to family versus being true to one self.

Edward Burbrooke is horrified to learn that his brother, Freddie, has been discovered, in the bedroom, with a footman, at a house party. He loves his brother and feels responsible for his ‘fall from grace’. When they were both young, their father died and Edward, now being the Earl of Greystowe, sent his sensitive younger brother to Eton, thinking it would be good for him. He assumed that Freddie could protect himself from hazing by older bullies. Marriage to a good woman would cure him and protect him from horrible scandal.

Florence Farleigh is the daughter of a recently deceased country Vicar. She is very short of funds and has come to London to seek a husband. Florence appeals to her father’s attorney, whom she has been told is very clever, to help her; unaware that Mr. Mowbry is also the earl’s attorney.

Edward decides that Florence is perfect for Freddie and, with his Aunt Hyptia’s help, strives to place them in close proximity. He does not plan to fall in love with her himself.

Emma Holly is a skillful writer treating her characters with kindness and sensitivity, but what makes this story really unique, are comic situations and erotic imagery that have a distinctly male point of view.

Rating: 3 Stars

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The second book in the Twilight saga is entitled New Moon and if the first book was about finding true love, then this book is about losing true love. I am not particularly fond of this book. It is because it contains so little Edward. We are introduced to the other paranormal group just up the road however. We meet those that live La Push Reservation, home to the Quileute Tribe. Some we’ve been introduced to before, like Jacob Black. Others are new.

If you couldn’t wait for the library to hand you this next book in the series, you read the beginning chapter that was at the end of Twilight. A teaser that leaves you wondering what happens to Bella when she cuts herself at the Cullens house. Her blood makes them thirsty, none more so than Jasper who has the least control. Edward gets Bella to safety but the damage is done.

The next few days he becomes more and more distant to Bella. She’s desperate to break through to Edward when suddenly he starts to talk to her again. Only she wished he wouldn’t. I wished he hadn’t too. He breaks it off with her at the edge of the forest. It is better than the sewers Angel dumped Buffy in, but I was heartbroken and Bella more so. Here it is, I thought, the end of a good story (but just you wait… keep reading).

So deep is her grief over losing Edward she loses herself and becomes a walking shell. It isn’t until half a year later that she can even stick her head above the water. She does it only because Charlie is running scared and pulling ultimatums about going to Florida to live with her mother. Bella can’t do that. Doing that means leaving the magic of Forks behind and relegating Edward to a memory and not a reality. So she asks a friend to the movies… anything without romance. She couldn’t handle that. It’s after the movies that the story gains interest again. She hears Edwards voice… in her head. His voice is a beautiful hallucination warning her of the danger ahead.

What follows next is a series of stupid reckless moves as Bella fights to hear his voice. She turns to Jacob Black to help her fix motorcycles, thinking the danger in riding them would provide her with Edward’s voice. She becomes Jacob’s friend, and over the hundreds of pages left he becomes the sun to warm the desolation of her life. I don’t like Jacob. He keeps pushing the friend boundary, so certain of Bella turning to him and forgetting about Edward despite her repeated warnings that she’ll never love anyone but Edward.

But then the story changes again and it’s like sweet music playing in your mind because you just know Edward’s coming back into the picture. And like Bella, you fear you are going to miss him, lose him again. The book ends on the sweetest note imaginable and you close this sad book feeling ridiculously happy. The ending is four and a half stars.

Rating: 3 Stars

• Review: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer The first book in the Twilight saga as said by the author in the Amazon interview is about finding true love and is conveniently entitled Twilight. Stephenie Meyer was partial to calling it Forks, the name of the little town...
• Review: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer Book three in the Twilight saga is by far my favorite of those books published. (Breaking Dawn, book 4, is coming out in August) Eclipse is simply beautiful. It’s longer than the other two books but does not contain chapter...
• Review: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (with spoilers) I was very excited to get my Breaking Dawn in the mail from Amazon. They managed to get it to me one day before they told me that it would arrive on my doorstep and I devoured the novel, all...
• Breaking News: Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer Many might already be privy to this information, but it has come to my attention that the wonderful talents of Stephenie Meyer have been poached by another and posted on the internet. Worse still, Stephenie is fairly certain she knows...

• New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2) Twilight is the second book in Stephanie Meyer's saga about Edward, Bella and Jacob. One thing I like about finding this series when the last book is about to be published, is that I get to read the story quicker....

Dark Highland Fire is about two distinctly polar opposites getting together and overcoming obstacles that should under normal circumstances lay them low. Rowan is a fiery demi-goddess akin to the vampire as she needs blood to survive. However her blood-taking is about life not death so at most she is a cousin of the vampire. Her actual species is called Dyaad and they are descendants of the Goddess Morgaine.

Rowan is full of sass, sharp tongued, and has a streak of violence in her. Her version of her tribe’s magic is geared toward destruction. This is important to remember as for why this is the case is revealed at the end of the novel. There’s one thing that irritated me about Rowan, the heroine of Dark Highland Fire. She claims to not need anyone but the novel starts out with her brother, Bastian, saving her by transporting them to Earth’s dimension and then again, same method, to the Scottish Highlands.

Bastian is a perfect character that at the author’s will be applied like deus ex machina to any situation to get other characters to safety. He’s used this way more than the two times mentioned so far. Overall he’s a good brother to his sisters and I hope will be the focus of another book in this set of Highland novels even though he’s not a MacInnes Werewolf. (Speaking of the MacInnes werewolves cameo appearances of Carly and Gideon abound in this book!)

Gabriel is a lackadaisical werewolf. He’s third in line and happy to stay there – no plots to overthrow his brother or father. When Bastian spies him, the cool Dyaad Drakkyn decides to leave his injured sister in Gabriel’s hands. Gabriel questions this decision and is said to have a streak of stubbornness inside him to rival Rowan – which he was going to need. Successfully he manages to get Rowan to do the things he wishes for instance drink his blood to heal, stay put in his apartment for safety purposes. He hasn’t quite figured out that as the next Dyana of her people, Rowan is more than capable of holding her own (at least when she doesn’t let fear paralyze her and smother out her flame.)

Lucien is a Dragon, heir to the throne and has fallen in lust at first sight with Rowan. His father backs his decision to go after the little fire princess and claim her as his own. Dragons apparently don’t understand the words no and not interested. He’s the reason Rowan is on the run and afraid. Though honestly from the daemon creatures mentioned throughout the novel with powerful magic sound more scary. I guess their weak and overly ripe bodies are the reason they inspire more disgust than fear though that’s there too in most cases.

If you’re familiar with the first novel in the series then you know that werewolves mate for life and this ritualistic act is like a marriage. Rowan and Gabriel initiate and finalize this unwittingly during some steamy sex scenes. Once created it is impossible to break though Lucien is going to try his best to do so – Rowan is his and the wolf will pay. Find out if Rowan and Gabriel make it in this fast paced multidimensional novel!

Rating: 3 Stars.