Monday, May 26, 2014

Abducted by a Prince by Olivia Drake

Damien Burke is the owner of the Demon's Den, the most fashionable gaming site in London.  He has finally cornered his childhood advisory, Walt Stratham, Viscount Greaves and has demanded the return of a key that Walt stole from him.  When Walt claims he doesn't have the key, Damien plots to kidnap Walt's sister, Lady Beatrice.  He ends up taking their penniless cousin, Ellie Stratham, as hostage instead.

The story is very predictable.  The innocent young woman is the only one that can see the good in the tortured hero.  The girl's evil family gets their just desserts in the end.  And the tortured hero is truly the son of the prince.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Scandalous Adventures of the Sister of the Bride by Victoria Alexander

Delilah, Lady Hargate has accompanied her older sister, Camille and Camille's fiance, Grayson Elliott to New York.  Delilah meets Samuel Russell at a masquerade ball and has a one night stand with him.  Fast-forward four months and to England, eighteen days before Camille and Grayson's wedding.  Sam Russell has come to England to promote the automobile and arrives at Millworth Manor.  There, he discovers that Delilah isn't a "Mrs." but a "Lady" and starts to fall in love with her.

This book is part of the "What Happens at Millworth Manor Series"  While Victoria Alexander is one of my favorite authors, I was sadly left like I walked in during the end of a house party and all of the good stuff had already taken place.  This book just didn't stand alone. There were things in the book that I felt like were being explained rather than part of the story because they took place in other books.  The epilogue wasn't truly part of this story, but the introduction to the next book.  I guess when an author has written as many books as Victoria Alexander, sometimes they will read like an outline has been handed to someone else to flush out.

Just not thrilled with this one.  I just wish Delilah hadn't been such a snob and had pulled her head out before the day of her sister's wedding.  She didn't deserve Sam.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Scoundrel's Seduction (House of Trent Series) by Jennifer Haymore

Samson Hawkins is an agent for the Crown sworn to protect King and Country.  His mission is to assassinate a traitor.  Unfortunately, the traitor's wife, Elise, Lady Dunthorpe, is hiding under a table.  Sam kidnaps her as she is a witness.  Sam discovers that Elise is not a traitor like her husband and his brother and starts to fall in love with her.  As they attempt to stay one step ahead of their pursuers, Sam is also tracking his mother, the missing Duchess of Trent.

Again, Jennifer Haymore has given us a well written story on one of the "brothers" of the House of Trent.  The characters are well developed and readers will be rooting on Sam and Elise.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

One Night With An Earl by Jennifer Haymore

One Night With An Earl is sort of a spin-off of Jennifer Haymore's "House of Trent Series".  One of the characters, Lady Esme Hawkins, is a writer but she can't publish under her own name because it would be too scandalous.  Lady Esme approached Jennifer Haymore to share her novellas.

Beatrice Reece, Lady Fenwicke, had a disastrous marriage. Her husband was killed in a duel and society had cut her.  To make matters worse, her own parents didn't support her.  It is two years later and now she is attempting to re-enter society at a masked ball.  Andrew Sinclair, Earl of Weston is attending the masked ball when he sees a woman with the exact hue of hair as the woman he has loved for several years.  Drew zones in on the masked woman and the seduction is on.

This is the first book written by Jennifer Haymore I have read.  It was such a wonderful read that I went in search of the other books in the House of Trent Series.  I can't wait to read the other novellas that Lady Esme gives to Jennifer.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Just a Kiss (an It's in His Kiss novella) by Ally Broadfield

Simon Wilkinson, the Earl of Marley, has promised his ailing Grandmother that he was going to find his bride this season.  Charlotte Lightwood lives with her older half brother.  Her sister-in-law uses her as an unpaid governess and now that it is time for the season her brother promised her, the sister-in-law has arranged for her nasty cousin Horace to marry Charlotte.  Charlotte appeals to her brother and she gets her season.  Simon and Charlotte meet at a ball where Charlotte also meets Simon's Grandmother and her dog).  He makes Charlotte an offer to pretend to court her so she gains the attention of the Ton and Simon gets her help in courting a Princess.  As Simon helps her, he falls in love with her.

This was a fast paced sweet novella.  The characters gave it a wonderful depth that I find rare in novellas.  Readers will cheer Charlotte on while wanting her brother to tell his wife to back off.  Simon's relationship with his grandmother is sweet.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  I will be purchasing this book!

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Never Tempt A Duke by Virginia Brown

When I started reading this book, it felt like I had read the book before.  The more I read, the more I kept feeling like that.  It is listed as being published in 2014 on GoodReads.  When I found the copyright page, this book is clearly a reprint.  It was published in 1992.  The one thing I HATE is when publishers attempt to pass off an old (20+ years old) book as new.

This book just plods along.  It opens in America with 17 year old twins Nicholas and Alyssa Trenton discovering their father had been the heir to the (and for a short time) Earl of Eastland.  Their shady lawyer has told Nicholas that he must go to England.  Nicholas wants to set sail as a member of a ship's crew so Alyssa travels to England masquerading as a boy.

It took FOREVER for their guardian, the Duke of Devernel to realize that Alyssa was a girl!  Then the book plods along to get to the point where Devernel has to marry Alyssa.   Next, it plods along to the resolution. Which, I admit, I didn't make it to.  I gave it my best effort and gave up in chapter 18.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Never Entice an Earl by Lily Dalton

The book opens with a prologue which introduces our hero Cormack Northmore arriving home after being in Bengal for several years.  He arrives just in time for his sister to die after giving birth.  She leaves a clue to the father of her child.  Due to the scandal, their neighbor renigs on the agreement to sell back the land Cormack's father sold due to debts.  Fast forward two years - Cormack and his father now have titles.  Cormack is going to use it to find the man who dishonored his sister.  He follows a lead and ends up at the Blue Swan.  Daphne Bevington is attempting to help her maid Kate.  Kate's father has borrowed money from the owner of the Black Swan.  Kate has made arrangements to pay it off.  When she gets sick, Daphne goes in her place.  Daphne meets Cormack.

Overall, I liked the book.  However, I had some issues with the two main characters.  Daphne has declaired that she isn't going to get married because she feels guilty over her father's death.  Yet, she jumps into bed with Cormack saying that if she is going to be the unmarried aunt, she will have a secret.  And Cormack is hunting for the man that dishonored his sister yet as soon as he meets Daphne he pushes it to the back burner.  The ending was a little thrown together.  Daphne is abducted by a man that was obcessed with her.  After Cormack rescues her (with her brother-in-law), they go to his family's house.  And, shocker, discover that Daphne's deceased brother had married Cormack's sister.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.


The Affair (A Sisters of Scandal Novell) by Lily Maxton

Elizabeth Grey is the widow of the Earl of Thornhill. She was forced to move back to her parents house due to his mismanagement of the estate.  She literally runs into Cale Cameron, book store owner and rake.

I liked this novella because there was a beginning, middle and end.  At the end, I felt that the book was resolved and I wasn't left hanging. It was a very well written book and I will be looking for the others in this series.

Five out of Five stars!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.