Sunday, August 30, 2015

Bearing It All by Vonnie Davis

Ronan Matheson has escaped to his remote Highland retreat.  He has let his inner bear out when Anisa Brosseau parachutes onto the bear.  When he is back in human form, Ronan is intrigued by Anisa, whom he knew in Paris years ago.  Ronan has to figure out if Anisa is telling the truth about being framed for treason.  When her enemies find her, Ronan does everything to protect his woman.

I will admit that I was hooked at "A Highlander's Obsession".  I hadn't read any shifter romance novels before and I was in love with Creighton.  (He is on my top 10 list of book boyfriends.)  I received the ARC for "Bearing It All" and I gave a happy squeeee.  Ronan is the quiet brother.  His father's death hit him hard and he is reluctant to find his mate.  I liked how Anisa reached out to Ronan's inner bear.  This novel had hot sex, intrigue and humor.  Nothing like Effie and her pink baffies to liven up a novel!   And Effie reading to Anisa had me laughing so hard my kids thought I was crazy.  I have the publish date marked on my calendar so I can buy it and I am waiting for Hot Cop Kendric to get his own novel! This series has been wonderful.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you very much!!




What To Do With a Duke by Sally MacKenzie

Isabelle Catherine Hutting is the eldest daughter of the vicar of Loves Bridge.  All she wants is quiet so she can write her novel in peace.  She thinks she finds the answer to her problem when Marcus, the Duke of Heart arrives in Loves Bridge.  Marcus has to find a new Spinster for Spinster House and Cat wants to be the Spinster. He lives under a curse that has affected his family since the 3rd Duke got Isabelle Dorring pregnant then married another.  No Duke shall live to see his heir's birth.  Now, Marcus is stuck in Loves Bridge.  Cat's independent spirit and wit captivate him to the point where he wants to forget about the curse and love Cat.  Can true love end a centuries old curse?

Sally MacKenzie has written another wonderful novel.  On one side it is engaging and humorous and the other side is a sensual romance building between Cat and Marcus. I hated having to stop reading when I had to go to work and would find myself wondering what was going to happen next.  I loved the characters in the novel from Cat and Marcus to Nate and Alex (Marcus's cousin and friend) to Cat's siblings.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

Deeper in Sin by Sharon Page

Sophie Ashley is doing the best she can to provide for her son she bore out of wedlock by attempting to become a courtesan.  She sneaks into a Cyprian Ball to find a protector and meets Fitzwilliam Montcleif better known as the Duke of Caradon or Cary to his friends.

Cary has been reclusive since he returned from the war in Ceylon where he was held as a prisoner of war.  Before he left for Ceylon, Cary was a rake, sewing his wild oats throughout London and his past buried.  The war has triggered memories of what happened when he was five.  He knows he needs to find a wife and get an heir so he lets his friends take him to the Cyprian Ball.  While Cary desires Sophie, he is unable to complete the act due to his tragic past.  They must battle a ghost from his past to find true love.

I was hooked from the first chapter.  The characters were different.  Sophie wasn't a London debutant looking for the Duke and Cary wasn't the perfect Duke.  Both had flaws.  I truly enjoyed reading this novel.  It was the perfect balance between sensual and erotic.  The resolution of Cary's nightmare from when he was kidnapped at age five was quite a surprise.  And the final resolution was perfect.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Lady Emily's Exotic Journey by Lillian Marke

Lady Emily Tremaine and her parents along with her friend Lady Julia are traveling to Constantinople to see if the area can support a railroad. At the British Embassy they meet David Oliphant and Lucien Chamberton.  There is chemistry between David and Julia and Lucien and Julia.  David realizes that there are people that won't despise him because of his heritage. As they journey, Lucien and Julia fall in love and she has to trust him.

This is the second book in this unique series.  I liked this book because like the first it doesn't take place among the drawing rooms and balls of the Season.  There is adventure in the novel and the heroine isn't a simpering miss.  While Emily and Lucien are the main characters, the secondary characters play an important part in the novel, a story within a story.  It makes the novel an enjoyable read.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!



A Radical Arrangement by Jane Ashford

I received this book as an ARC.  I liked the cover and the description looked promising.  However, I found the characters so obnoxiously too over the top that I wanted to jump in the book and slap the heroine.  For a moment, I thought I had gone back to the 1980's and the squeaky clean Regencies that I avoided then!  I wasn't too far off because this novel was originally published in 1983.  This novel proves that even Regencies have evolved.  Sorry, after I fell asleep reading, I just could not complete it.

I received this novel as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

The Brigadier's Runaway Bride by Erica Ridley

Sarah Fairfax had joined the man she loved in Bruges during a short leave before he went to battle.  Sarah ended up pregnant and Edmund died during the battle.  She is almost nine months pregnant and marrying the Duke of Ravenwood when Edmund crashes the wedding.  Edmund Blackpool was left for dead on the battlefield.  He only survived by thinking of Sarah.  Now, he has returned to England and finds his fiancee pregnant and marrying one of his best friends.  After Sarah disappears, can he find her and salvage their relationship?  Can Sarah get past her deepest fears to build a live with Edmund?

When I got this ARC, I "put down" the novel I was reading and immediately started reading "The Brigadier's Runaway Bride."  I was thrilled to get the ARC because I have anxiously been waiting for it.  I even have it on pre-order.

I have loved this series since the beginning and have been waiting for Sarah to get her own HEA.  Her anguish at loosing her fiancee and ending up pregnant has been felt throughout the previous novels.  Finally, sweet Sarah gets her man!  The characters are well drawn and very likeable.  Even though Edmund has been through battle and carries both the physical and emotional scars, he comforts Sarah through her anxiety about their finances.

Again, this was another wonderful novel by Erica Ridley.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Tremaine's True Love by Grace Burrowes

Grace Burrowes new series revolves around the Haddonfield family and the sisters of the Earl.  The eldest sister, Nita, is the calm voice of the family seeing to the ills of the estate and village.  When Tremaine St. Michael visits her brother, the Earl of Bellefonte, to buy some Murano sheep, he is encouraged to stay two weeks because he is an eligible bachelor.  Tremaine who is all business falls for Nita and slowly starts to win her heart.

I loved the characters in this book from Nita and Tremaine to Nita's family.  It was a lively book that engaged your heart.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you.






Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Undercover with the Earl by Robyn DeHart

Evelyn Marington is a simple country girl that just wants to write, she doesn't want to get married.  All of the men that are interested are as old as her father or are sixteen years older than her and have eleven children.  She is at a dance when her cousin, Ellis arrives with Bennett Haile, Earl of Somersby.  Both are members of the Brotherhood of the Sword and sworn to guard the Queen.  They are on a mission to find a stand-in for the Queen while she recuperates from a sprained ankle.  Evie looks enough like the Queen to be her fill in.  Once they recruit her, she has to spend time with Bennett.   When Bennett sees Evie, he thinks she is captivating and the comeliest of all of the ladies present at the ball.  However, because of his rather large size and lack of social skills, he fights his attraction to her.  When her life is threatened, Bennett realizes that he does love her.

Robyn DeHart started her "Brotherhood of the Sword" series off with a great novel.  The characters were wonderful.  Evie was the kind of character that you would want to be friends with.   She absolutely made this novel.  She was a strong and determined heroine that feels that she isn't as beautiful as her sisters.  (I love at the end where her sisters tell her that they are envious of her hair and figure.)  Poor Bennett has self esteem issues because he is "very large".  He found his former fiancee in HIS bed with another man.  Bennett is such a brooding sexy hero.  And, for minor characters, Evie's mother was a hoot.

As much as I loved this novel, I was rather disappointed with the rather abrupt ending.  It ends with Bennett proposing.  No epilogue, just proposal, her accepting and them kissing.  Bam, just done and fancy swishie clipart thing to end the book.  I know this is the first in a series, so I am hoping that the next book takes up where this abruptly ended because the whole thing with Lord Morton and the plot against the Queen wasn't resolved.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!







Monday, August 10, 2015

A Lady's Guide to Skirting Scandal by Kelly Bowen

Viola Hextall's brother is sending her to America after she attempted to compromise his best friend at a ball.  He says she need some "life experience".  She is bored with her chaperones that won't let her do anything fun on the ship when she sees the ship's doctor Mr. Nathaniel Shaw.  

This was a quick read, under 50 pages.  I enjoyed knowing what happened to Viola after her failed attempt to snag Will Somerhall.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.