Masters of Seduction | Rebeccabookreview

Title: Waiting For An Earl Like You
Author: Alexandra Hawkins
Date finished: 1/4/17
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: January 3, 2017
Pages in book: 352
Stand alone or series: #3 in Masters of Seduction series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

LOVE ISN T ALWAYS WHAT IT SEEMS.
Get lost in Waiting for an Earl Like You, the next lush, sensual Regency romance in the Masters of Seduction series by USA Today bestselling author Alexandra Hawkins.
Justin Reeve Netherwood, Earl of Kempthorn a.k.a. Thorn has never cared much for his neighbor’s daughter. But his twin brother, Gideon, befriended the wild, reckless, and wholly inappropriate Miss Olivia Lydall in youth, and two have been close ever since. So when Olivia finds herself in a state of romantic conflict and seeks out Gideon for advice, he is only too pleased to oblige. Only problem: The man Olivia is speaking to is Thorn. And now it is too late for him to tell Olivia the truth.
Thorn always believed that Olivia was too smitten with Gideon for her own good. So what s the harm in steering her away from him? But Thorn s charade turns out to be anything but harmless once he begins to see Olivia for who she really is: A woman full of spirit and passion and someone he can t live without. But how can Thorn claim Olivia s heart when their deepening connection and burning desire is built on lies and deceit?

My rating: 2.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.This book tells the story of Olivia Lydall, who has been neighbors and friends with Lord Kempthorn (Thorn) and his twin brother (Gideon) since they were children. Being the heir, Thorn was forced to devote more time to his studies and less time on enjoying his youth, plus his arrogance always made Olivia wary of him, so it was Gideon that she was close with. After Gideon returns home after spending time at sea, Thorn sees Olivia for the first time in years at Gideon’s welcome home party. And during the evening of the party, when Thorn comes across Olivia in a secluded setting and she mistakes him for Gideon, he dances with her under the stars and kisses her. But can Thorn convince Olivia to kiss her while he’s himself? Or is she in love with his brother?
Overall I liked some parts of this book. There were a couple twists at the end that I didn’t see coming and were good surprises in the plot. I have to admit, though, that this wasn’t my favorite book by this author, the plot line just wasn’t appealing to me. I didn’t like that no one in the book, not even the heroine, could tell the twins apart. And there was a piece at the beginning about an old lover of Thorn and Gideon’s, and I thought it was pretty gross that they were sleeping with the same person at the same time. And what the hell was Gideon’s problem? Jeez that guy was cranky through like the whole book and we never really find out what was wrong with him. And Olivia’s father was a neglectful jerk who never has to apologize for that fact for some reason. Just in general, the men in this book all seemed like they were being led around with their penises and I thought they could’ve used more time thinking with their brains instead. I think this book would’ve appealed more to readers who like a bossy hero in their historical romances.

The bottom line: This was an ok book. Not my favorite in the series, the plot line was just a little weird/unappealing for me. I think its good to try if you’re reading the series or if you as a reader enjoy a hero that has a lot of arrogance and likes being in control.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

Title: You Can’t Always Get the Marquess You Want
Author: Alexandra Hawkins
Date finished: 4/10/16
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: April 5, 2016
Pages in book: 353
Stand alone or series: #2 in Masters of Seduction series
Where I got the book from: NetGalley NOTE:I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

A MOST FORBIDDEN LOVE
They call him Chance, though in truth the Marquess of Fairlamb feels bitterly cursed: A long-ago family feud is standing in the way of his heart’s desire. Lady Tempest is the daughter of his father’s sworn enemy, the Marquess of Norgrave. She is beautiful, innocent, and utterly untouchable. But some seductions are just too good to resist…
Tempest is a woman of her own mind-and a true romantic who will overcome every obstacle to be with the man of her dreams. But the odds are against the handsome, wickedly charming Chance if he intends to win Tempest as his bride. Will he choose loyalty to his family-or risk everything he has for the woman he yearns for?

My rating: 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I read Hawkins’ Lords of Vice series during 2014 and really enjoyed it so when I saw that she had a book from her new series available on NetGalley I was excited! This book tells the story of Tempest Brant and Mathias (Chance) Rooke. A chance (ha) encounter brings these two together, not knowing yet that the other is their sworn enemy. For unknown reasons, the Rooke and Brant families have been feuding since before all the children (including Mathias and Tempest) were born. Well, I guess the reader might already have known if they read Book #1 in the series, it seems like this topic may have been discussed in that book. Norgrave and Blackbern’s families grew up learning of their family’s hatred for the other family and yet after Chance and Tempest meet they are drawn to each other again and again.
Overall I really liked this book. Tempest and Chance’s romance is honest, easy for the reader to connect to and the magnetism between the two characters is almost tangible. I loved Chance’s character, he was romantic and charming and everything you could want in a hero. One interesting thing I noted was the challenge that the couple must overcome is slightly similar to the one I recently encountered in The Winemakers, and the reason I thought this was interesting is because before that I hadn’t really ever seen this obstacle at all but now I’ve seen it twice in like two weeks. Just found that to be oddly coincidental, maybe it is becoming more commonly used? It isn’t my favorite obstacle so I hope it doesn’t start being used more often. I thought the author did a good job with creating tension and the pace of the book was great. I couldn’t put it down and I got hooked in the story easily. The only thing that put me off a tiny bit was that I thought Tempest’s brother should’ve been more contrite for being such a cad to his sisters and constantly abandoning them. And I thought someone should’ve punched the Marquess of Norgrave in the face (at the very least) for literally everything he does in the book. There were no redeeming qualities to him at all. Stories have to have a villain though! I do wish I had read the first book because (based on the description) I think it might have added some background information to the family feud between the Brants and the Rookes. This was an entertaining and romantic read though, great book!

The bottom line: Really liked this book! I haven’t read it but I think having read book 1 before I read book 2 would have added some context, just as a tip. Looking forward to reading more in this series though, I would definitely recommend!

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page