2014 – Book #50

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance, Lords of Vice series by rebeccabook17

The fiftieth book I read in 2014 was Dusk with a Dangerous Duke by Alexandra Hawkins. This is the sixth book in the Lords of Vice series by this author. I finished this book on 6/8/14. I rated this book 3 stars out of a scale of 5. This book was about the Duke of Huntsley, known to his friends as Hunter, and Lady Grace Kearly. Lady Grace and Hunter were betrothed to each other when Hunter was only twelve years old and Lady Grace a mere two. Hunter’s grandfather did it to protect her from her devilish uncle and Hunter’s grandmother did it to protect Hunter from the financial destitution that his grandfather and father had left the dukedom in.

Nineteen years later, Hunter still resents the burden that was placed on him at so young an age. He has studiously ignored Lady Grace’s existence for the last nineteen years, even though she has been in his charge and his to take care of for most of her life. Lady Grace has waited in the country for the last nineteen years and with her twenty-first birthday now only weeks away (the deadline in the marriage contract for Lady Grace and Hunter to wed) Grace has decided to take matters into her own hands. She needs to marry to escape the evil clutches of her uncle, but that does not necessarily mean that she need marry Hunter. Grace decides to travel to London to find her own husband.

To be honest I found it impossible to like the hero starring in this book. He was an ass from beginning to almost end (for like the last 20 pages he apparently did a complete 180 and was nice I guess but still). How is it just ok that he literally tricked, drugged, and then finally forced Grace to marry him. I mean I realize from the story line that time was of the essence but still, there had to be another way. He was nothing but a high-handed arrogant asshole through the whole story. He didn’t listen to Grace once or even really try to make up for the nineteen years he had ignored her even though he and every single other person he talked to about it realized that he was absolutely in the wrong.

Overall, this was obviously not my favorite book. I think I liked it a little better than the fifth book in the series (All Afternoon with a Scandalous Marquess) but I don’t think I like it all that much more. There’s only one more book in the series so I am going to see it through to the end. I’m hoping the next one is better than these last two. Stay tuned.

Link to author website: http://www.alexandrahawkins.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dusk-Dangerous-Duke-Lords-Vice/dp/1250001382/ref=pd_rhf_gw_s_cp_3_F0MV?ie=UTF8&refRID=0CDCTZMZQCTMNGZTQ0Y9

Link to rest of reviews in Lords of Vice series: https://rebeccabookreview.wordpress.com/category/book-reviews/book-series-book-reviews/lords-of-vice-series/

7Jun2014

2014 – Book #49

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance, Lords of Vice series by rebeccabook17

The forty-ninth book I read in 2014 was All Afternoon with a Scandalous Marquess by Alexandra Hawkins. This is the fifth book in the Lords of Vice series by this author. I finished this book on 6/6/14. I rated this book 2.75 stars out of a scale of 5. This book was about Simon Jefferes, the Marquess of Sainthill (known to his friends as “Saint”), and Madame Venna, the proprietress of the Golden Pearl. The Golden Pearl is London’s most infamous and well-established brother, and Saint has been drawn to her from the first day they met. And when after a year of chasing Saint finally manages to get Madame Venna into bed with him, she immediately distances herself from him.

Six years later, Saint still can’t seem to get Madame off his mind. He’s slept with many other women employed by Madame Venna and he still only seems to want the proprietress herself. Meanwhile Madame Venna is living a double life both as the proprietress of the Golden Pearl and also as mild-mannered philanthropist Catherine Deverall. Saint encounters Catherine on the streets of London and he begins courting her, not realizing that Catherine and Madame Venna are one in the same.

Overall I was not a fan of this book. I didn’t like that both the hero and the heroine had sex with the best friend of the other and they kept throwing it in each other’s face and it just bothered me a lot. I didn’t like the end very much either. The story kind of jumped all over the place to try and fit an ending into place and it ended up just being choppy and hard to follow. Also why was there never any confrontation between Catherine and her father. She has a deep hatred of him throughout the book (and rightly so) but then all of a sudden at the end everything is ok? I felt like I was missing something there.

While I was not a fan of this book, I always feel like a series should be read in full so as not to miss any of the parts. The series is one that I overall like so far but this book was definitely not my favorite in the series.

Link to author website: http://www.alexandrahawkins.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Afternoon-Scandalous-Marquess-Lords-Vice/dp/1250001374/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

Link to rest of reviews in Lords of Vice series: https://rebeccabookreview.wordpress.com/category/book-reviews/book-series-book-reviews/lords-of-vice-series/

3Jun2014

2014 – Book #48

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance, Lords of Vice series by rebeccabook17

The forty-eighth book I read in 2014 was Sunrise with a Notorious Lord by Alexandra Hawkins. This is the fourth book in the Lords of Vice series by this author. I finished this book on 6/3/14. I rated this book 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Christopher, Earl of Vanewright, commonly known to his friends as Vane, and Miss Isabel Thorne. Isabel happens to meet Vane’s mother when she is visiting a friend in Isabel’s hometown. Vane’s mother thinks that Isabel would be the perfect match for Vane, and she has long past decided that it is time for Vane to settle down and get married. So Vane’s mother comes up with a plan to draw them together. Unfortunately that plan almost ends up tearing them apart.

Isabel’s sister Delia is always the sister that men seem to be drawn to. So when Vane devotes his attention to Isabel, she can hardly believe it. Isabel thinks that Delia and Vane are the ones who are meant to be together and believes that this is the match Vane’s mother is encouraging. Her attraction to him is so strong, but she feels extremely guilty to feel this way about someone who could be her future brother-in-law. Isabel’s character is very strong but she tends to let her sister get away with a lot. I felt through the whole book that somebody needed to teach Delia a lesson. I mean there was only one guy Isabel felt even vaguely fond of from where she lived and Isabel catches Delia making out with him. And Delia wasn’t even sorry, she had some stupid smug grin on her face like she was happy that she was hurting Isabel. What a jerk.

One of the other things I didn’t like about this book is that I wish I had seen some form of outcome with Lord Botly. He is Isabel’s grandfather, and years ago he had shunned his daughter (Isabel’s mother) when she ran away and married a commoner (Isabel’s father). There is mention of Lord Botly in the book and Isabel even runs into him at a masquerade ball but we never really find out if he really doesn’t like Isabel as she was led to believe her whole life. I also wish I could’ve found out what happened with Isabel’s sister. She runs off in the end but what ends up happening to her? Do they find her? Does she get what’s coming to her? I have trouble when I have this many unanswered questions, it leaves me feeling unsettled even after I’ve finished the book.

Overall I thought this was a good book. I found the plot interesting and I could feel the characters and their emotions jumping from the pages. I thought this was an excellent addition to the series. I liked Isabel’s character except for the fact that she could have stood up for herself a little more. I would recommend reading it if you’re reading the series.

Link to author website: http://www.alexandrahawkins.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sunrise-Notorious-Lord-Lords-Vice/dp/1250001366/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1401818615&sr=1-1

Link to rest of reviews in Lords of Vice series: https://rebeccabookreview.wordpress.com/category/book-reviews/book-series-book-reviews/lords-of-vice-series/

2Jun2014

2014 – Book #47

Posted in Book reviews, Romantic suspense by rebeccabook17

The forty-seventh book I read in 2014 was Low Pressure by Sandra Brown. I finished this book on 6/1/14. I rated this book 4.75 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Bellamy Lyston Price and how 18 years after the fact, she is still trying to recover from the murder of her older sister. Her family has never quite been able to move past her sister being found dead after a tornado, only to find out that Susan (the sister) was killed by another person instead of the twister. Dent Carter was Susan’s girlfriend when she was murdered and they had a fight the morning she died, making him the police’s first suspect. He had an alibi though, and once the police found out Susan was screwing around they arrested the other guy she was sleeping with and he was convicted and sentenced for Susan’s murder.

Fast forward to 18 years later, Bellamy has written a published a book about her family’s tragedy, labeling it a fiction book and writing it under a pen-name. A reporter discovers her true identity however, and it doesn’t take long for Bellamy to become the most famous author in America. Soon after that she receives a threatening package. Thinking it might be Dent showing he’s unhappy with her book, she gets in contact with him only to find out that he hasn’t even heard of her book. Now that he has though, he’s furious.

Dent’s airplane is soon after vandalized, and it seems to be the same person who vandalizes Bellamy’s house. Bellamy and Dent decide to team up to try and figure out who is attacking them. Since Susan’s killer was convicted only on circumstantial evidence, it would seem that Susan’s actual killer is the one attacking them.

Be forewarned, the amount of twists and turns in this book was just astounding. Overall, this was just an awesome book. It was riveting and thrilling. I couldn’t tear myself away from the book, I was glued to the story for the whole story. I felt like I was trapped within the story. I loved this book and I would highly recommend it to other readers!

Link to author website: http://sandrabrown.net/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Low-Pressure-Sandra-Brown/dp/1455525189/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1401667603&sr=8-1

31May2014

2014 – Book #46

Posted in Book reviews, Literary Greats by rebeccabook17

The forty-sixth book I read in 2014 was Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. I finished this book on 5/31/14. I rated this book (really a play) 4.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This was actually a re-read for me since I read this in high school for my AP English class. This is one of my favorite works by Shakespeare, a comedy in which Countess Olivia falls in love with Viola, who is disguised as a young boy (Cesario). Viola falls in love with Orsino, the Duke of Illyria, but Orsino is in love with Olivia. And when Viola’s twin brother Sebastian shows up (looking exactly like the disguised Viola) and marries Olivia, all hell breaks lose.

To be honest one of the things I have always really liked about this play is a modern-day adaptation of it, She’s The Man starring Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum. The characters names are even the same as in the Shakespeare play. The movie is set in a school named Illyria, where Amanda Bynes (Viola) disguises herself as a boy to be able to play on the soccer team. This has been one of my favorite all time movies and is a funny adaptation of Twelfth Night.

There is something really beautiful about the way Shakespeare rights, even though sometimes it can be a little hard to follow. There are a lot of words, phrases, and references that readers today might not understand. That’s why I found the “Pelican Shakespeare” vision so easy to use, there were footnotes that explained various words, phrases, and references. Shakespeare’s plays can sometimes be difficult to work your way through but I would definitely recommend giving Twelfth Night a read. Its funny and interesting and full of plot twists. Great read!

Link to Wikipedia article on Twelfth Night play: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night

Link to website about William Shakespeare: http://www.william-shakespeare.info/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Twelfth-night-What-you-will/dp/B007EQG6N8/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401572457&sr=1-2-fkmr1&keywords=twelfth+night+edited+by+jonathan+crewe

31May2014

2014 – Book #45

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Cynster family series, Cynster Sisters trilogy, Historical Romance by rebeccabook17

The forty-fifth book I read in 2014 was Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue by Stephanie Laurens. I finished this book on 5/30/14. This is the 16th book in the Cynster family series and the 1st book in the Cynster Sisters trilogy. The Cynster Sisters trilogy is actually a sub-series within the Cynster family series. I have read other books in the series and have many other blog posts on them. This book was actually a re-read for me since I’ve read it before. This time I rated it 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Heather Cynster any Viscount Breckenridge. Very early in the novel, Heather is kidnapped and Breckenridge just happens to witness it. He follows the carriage that kidnapped Heather and attempts to save her. Heather has learned from her kidnappers though that they were abduct “one of the Cynster sisters” and therefore she wants to learn Moe about the reason for her abduction before she’ll allow Breckenridge to save her. Her sisters could potentially be in danger too and Heather will do anything to protect them.

When her abductors arrive with her in Gretna Green, however, Heather realizes that she can’t postpone being rescued any longer. She and Breckenridge then decide to walk to the Vale, which is apparently a three day journey. At the Vale they then spend 50-100 pages miscommunicating with one another. Which while probably realistic is incredibly drawn out for readers. The heroine in this book was the epitome of stubborn and it was very frustrating. The plot line of the beginning of this book was very interesting as we are trying to figure out why Heather was kidnapped and where they’re going and what not. But I found that I really had to push myself through the 100pages of the book whether Heather and Breckenridge are basically circling around each other, each loving the other but not wanting to be the first to admit it and not even wanting to show it first.

I love the Cynster family series, don’t get me wrong, but after the 16th one I am starting to get tired of the pattern. Each book has a very similar pattern, we have a hero and heroine each with a strong and stubborn personality, they have sex and fall on love and struggle to admit to each other that they are in love. I think that her books are great and I would highly recommend them to readers but I don’t know if I would recommend reading all 20 in the series. Maybe that’s why there aren’t many authors who write series’ with 20 books.

One thing I do want to talk a little about is the mention of Gretna Green. This comes up in a lot of historical romance novels. It is a place just over the border of Scotland (from England) where couples in love could run away to get married. This is swell known by the heroine in the book and what leads her to allowing Breckenridge to rescue her so she can avoid being married to the mysterious laird who had her abducted. This apparently was because of a law that was enacted in England in 1754 allowing the guardian of a person under the age of 21 to prevent marriages simply by rejecting the match. According to Wikipedia, in Scotland the age of consent for boys was only 14 and for girls only 12.

Link to Wikipedia website on Gretna Green: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretna_Green

Link to author website: http://www.stephanielaurens.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Viscount-Breckenridge-Rescue-Cynster-Sisters/dp/0062068601/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1401501271&sr=1-1

29May2014

2014 – Book #44

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Highland Pleasures (Mackenzie family) series, Historical Romance by rebeccabook17

The forty-fourth book(s) I read in 2014 were Mackenzie Family Christmas: The Perfect Gift and The Untamed Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley. These were both short stories connected to the Highland Pleasures (Mackenzie family) series by this author so I counted the 2 short stories as 1 book. Together the 2 short stories were 396 pages, which is about the size of a normal novel.

Mackenzie Family Christmas: The Perfect Gift is book 4.5 in the Highland Pleasures (Mackenzie family) series by Jennifer Ashley. This short story therefore takes place between books 4 (The Duke’s Perfect Wife) and 5 (The Seduction of Elliott McBride). I finished this book on 5/27/14. I rated this story 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5. This story was fun because it was about all the Mackenzies! The family has gathered for Christmas and all 4 brothers and their wives and children and relatives, plus the Mackenzies’ half brother Inspector Fellows. It was interesting to revisit many of the characters from the previous books. You hardly ever get to read about how well your favorite characters are doing in their marriages after you read their books. They might show up in books on their relatives but usually they play only a small part in those books. This book featured each of the couples from the previous 4 books in different scenes. It was great! What a lovely addition to the series.

The Untamed Mackenzie is book 5.5 in the Highland Pleasures (Mackenzie family) series by Jennifer Ashley. This short story therefore takes place between books 5 ( The Seduction of Elliott McBride) and 6 (The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie). I finished this book on 5/28/14. Unfortunately, this book was only available in e-book format. I rated this book 4 stars out of a scale of 5. This tells the story of the Mackenzies’ half brother Lloyd Fellows, Chief Inspector for Scotland Yard. He has run into Isabella’s sister Louisa Scranton at a few family functions and each time he is drawn to her. They have kissed twice and neither can deny the sparks that fly between them. Louisa has been hurt by her scandalous family though and wants to find a respectable man to marry so that her family’s name might be drawn from the mud. When a respectable man proposes to her and promptly perishes however, Inspector Fellows is called to investigate the crime. Everyone seems to think Louisa killed the man (which if you ask me is a little ridiculous) but Lloyd knows she’s innocent. I thought this short story was great because it didn’t even feel like a short story. It felt like a regular novel with its plot and story line. And I have been wanting to hear Lloyd’s story so overall I thought this was great!

Link to author website: http://www.jennifersromances.com/

Link to Mackenzie family series website: http://www.jennifersromances.com/NewSite/Mackenzies/mackenzie_main.html

Link to Amazon – Mackenzie Family Christmas: http://www.amazon.com/Mackenzie-Family-Christmas-Highland-Pleasures/dp/1481268007/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1401372840&sr=8-1

Link to Amazon – The Untamed Mackenzie: http://www.amazon.com/The-Untamed-Mackenzie-Mackenzies-Series-ebook/dp/B00AEDDSMA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401372873&sr=8-1&keywords=the+untamed+mackenzie

27May2014

2014 – Book #43

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Highland Pleasures (Mackenzie family) series, Historical Romance by rebeccabook17

The forty-third book I read in 2014 was The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie. I finished this book on 5/26/14. This is the sixth book in the Highland Pleasures (Mackenzie) series by this author. I have read the previous five books but all previously to 2014 so none are featured in this blog. I rated this book 3.75 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Daniel Mackenzie, the son of Cameron Mackenzie from the third book in the series, and Violet Bastien, one of the most famous spiritual mediums in England.

Daniel ends up at one of Violet’s reading performances and finds himself enchanted by this strong woman, even if she is fooling all her “clients.” And when Daniel finds all the mechanics inside the walls that Violet uses to make her clients believe in her spiritual abilities, he knows that she is just the person to help him finish his motor car. Violet’s wind machine could be just what Daniel needs to cool down the motor as it runs.

Violet has a traumatic past though and, unaware of Violet’s issues, Daniel pursues her in a romantic way and promptly gets smashed over the head with a vase for his troubles. Thinking him dead, Violet runs to France to start over and hopefully outrun the law when Daniel presses charges. When Daniel wakes up though, he has no interest in pressing charges and every interest in finding the person who engineered the wind machine. Using the help of his uncle Ian, Daniel tracks Violet down to Marseilles where he finds her up to her old tricks.

After Daniel learns of Violet’s past though he realizes that there are a lot of obstacles to overcome, the biggest being Violet’s damaged psyche. With the help of his family though he is able to make Violet see how special she is to him. Overall I thought this was a very nice story, I loved seeing Daniel in his own story as a grown up after first being introduced to him during his Father’s story.

Link to author website: http://www.jennifersromances.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Daniel-Mackenzie-Mackenzies-Series/dp/0425253953/ref=tmm_mmp_title_0

24May2014

2014 – Book #42

Posted in Book reviews, Contemporary romance by rebeccabook17

The forty-second book I read in 2014 was Starry Night by Debbie Macomber. I finished this book on 5/24/14. I rated this book 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Carrie Slayton, a reporter from Chicago, and Finn Dalton, a recent bestselling author who is trying his best to stay out of the limelight. Carrie is currently writing the Society page in the Chicago Herald. Tired of writing articles without substance, her boss finally gives her a chance to write articles about more than just the comings and goings of the city’s elite. If she can get an interview with the reclusive Finn Dalton she can write anything she wants.

And so Carrie sets off on her journey to find Finn Dalton. Through a couple of lucky breaks she ends up finding out where he lives. Unfortunately she finds his house only to be dumped there at the beginning of a snowstorm, with no promise of being rescued until the following morning at the earliest, if not later. Finn is less than pleased to find a frozen woman reporter on his doorstep, and he makes his unhappiness with the situation very clear. A couple of days in a secluded cabin together though brought them closer together than they ever imagined, so much so that they can’t help but continue their relationship after Carrie goes back to Chicago.

Overall I thought this was a very cute book. It was a quick read at only about 230 pages. I liked the characters in the story and I found myself being able to relate to the hero and heroine’s long distance relationship. Beyond that though I had trouble connecting with the main characters in the book. Was a good story though.

Link to author website: http://www.debbiemacomber.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Starry-Night-A-Christmas-Novel/dp/0345528891/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1400953204&sr=8-2&keywords=starry+night

24May2014

2014 – Book #41

Posted in Book reviews, Book series, Historical Romance, Lords of Vice series by rebeccabook17

The forty-first book I read in 2014 was After Dark with a Scoundrel by Alexandra Hawkins. I finished this book on 5/23/14. This is the third book in the Lords of Vice series by this author. I rated this book 4 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Regan, sister of the Earl of Chillingworth who is one of the Lords of Vice, and Lord Hugh Mordare, also one of the Lords of Vice. When Chillingworth (“Frost”) catches Dare kissing his sister when she’s just 15, Frost immediately sends Regan away to a school for girls (which if you ask me seems a little extreme). Regan is devastated at being ripped away from her family, and five years later there is still a distinct strain on her relationship with her brother.

Regan’s parents were both gone by the time she was a little girl, so she was basically raised by the Lords of Vice. I thought that brought an interesting dynamic to her character, as she was raised by very rough men so she knows how to fence and fight. I thought Frost was a bit rough in how he treated her though. He would talk very crudely in front of her and I was surprised that as her brother she wouldn’t try to shield her a little more. I think I said this in a previous post but I’m not sure how I’m going to feel when I get to Frost’s book. I don’t especially like him. Anyway, Regan comes back to London after 5 years at her girl’s finishing school. Frost tries to forbid her from returning but she is determined to seduce Dare since she’s been in love with him her whole life.

Dare doesn’t think he can risk opening up his heart again after what happened the last time, when the woman he loved had an affair with his brother behind his back. Dare can’t seem to help but let Regan into his heart though, especially since he’s known her almost all her life. Overall I thought this was a very sweet, touching story. I couldn’t help but love the hero and heroine and found myself rooting for them through the story. I’m looking forward to the next Lords of Vice book!

Link to author website: http://www.alexandrahawkins.com

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/After-Dark-Scoundrel-Lords-Vice/dp/0312381263/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400853559&sr=8-1&keywords=after+dark+with+a+scoundrel

Link to review on book row in the Lords of Vice series: https://rebeccabookreview.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/2014-book-32/

Link to review on book one in the Lords of Vice series: https://rebeccabookreview.wordpress.com/2014/03/26/2014-book-19/