2017 Book #41 – The Bad Luck Bride by Janna MacGregor

51Fo7+8vc8L._SY346_Title: The Bad Luck Bride
Author: Janna MacGregor
Date finished: 5/6/17
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: May 2, 2017
Pages in book: 349
Stand alone or series: #1 in the Cavensham Heiresses 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:

No one is left breathless at the imperious pronouncement of her engagement to Lord Pembrooke more than Claire. She hardly knows the dangerously outrageous man! But after three engagements gone awry and a fourth going up in glorious flames, she isn’t in a position to refuse…Alexander requires the hand of his enemy’s fiancée in marriage in order to complete his plans for revenge. It’s his good fortune that the “cursed” woman is desperate. However, what begins as a sham turns into something scandalously deeper…

My rating:  3.25 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 also participated in the Blog Tour for this book, you can see the post here. This book tells the story of Alex and Claire, who become Lord and Lady Pembrooke. Alex is looking for revenge against a friend who betrayed him, and an unfortunate victim in his plot is Lady Claire. In order to keep her from being scorned by society, he marries her by the end of the week. Fortunately for him, Alex and Claire seem to be a good match. Claire comes with her own set of issues too. Her parents died tragically when she was young and its left her deeply traumatized even after all these years.
Overall I liked this book. I thought it was a nice story and I liked the characters ok. I wasn’t crazy about the hero in the book, I just felt like he was kind of robotic and detached from the story. I couldn’t connect with him, though towards the end he did seem a little more romantic. I liked Claire’s family a lot, and to be honest I think some of my favorite characters in the book were the servants. Claire and Alex have a lot of ups and downs in their marriage but I liked that they were able to work things out and listen to each other. This was a sweet story with a romantic ending and I’d recommend it.

The bottom line: I liked this book, it was a sweet story. There were some pieces of the story that I didn’t love and the hero really didn’t appeal to me but I still liked this book. I would recommend giving it a try!

Link to author website

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

2017 Book #38 – I Dared the Duke by Anna Bennett

51QomAefeLLTitle: I Dared the Duke
Author: Anna Bennett
Date finished: 4/25/17
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: April 4, 2017
Pages in book: 365
Stand alone or series: #2 in the Wayward Wallflowers 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:

DARE TO FALL IN LOVE
Alexander Savage, the Duke of Blackshire, is known throughout the ton for three things: the burn scars on his neck, his ornery disposition, and the trail of broken hearts behind him. None of which would concern Miss Elizabeth Lacey in the least—if she weren’t living under his roof. As his grandmother’s companion, Beth is all too concerned with the moody and compelling duke. Incensed by his plans to banish the sweet dowager duchess to the country, Beth refuses to do his bidding. If Alex wants her help, he’s going to have to take her dare…and grant her three wishes.
Alex adores his grandmother, which is precisely why she must leave. A string of unfortunate incidents has him worried for the safety of everyone around him—including the dowager’s loyal and lovely companion, Beth. But the notorious wallflower isn’t as meek as she appears, and as their battle of wills heats up, so does Alex’s desire. He’s dangerously close to falling in love with her…and revealing secrets he’d rather keep hidden. How can he convince her that his darkest days are behind him—and that, for the first time in forever, his heart is true?

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. This book tells the story of Elizabeth Lacey, the middle sister of the Wiltmore Wallflowers. Elizabeth has recently become a lady’s companion to the dowager duchess Blackshire in an effort to make herself feel useful. Having been a wallflower for three years and with one of her sisters recently married, Elizabeth has been looking for something to do with herself, and she has found the dowager duchess to be an engaging friend and conversationalist. When she meets the Duke though, she doesn’t find him as charming as the rumors claim him to be. Alex has recently found himself the target of a couple accidents that seem too odd to be coincidental. He has determined that his grandmother must retire to the country for her own safety until the whole situation gets sorted out. But he didn’t expect to find her being guarded by the fearsome Miss Lacey. Elizabeth is determined that Alex should not send his grandmother away, as it would surely break her heart, but in doing so Miss Lacey is walking right into the crossfires of whatever is threatening Alex.
Overall I really liked this book. Alex was just the right amount of surly and endearing. Beth was charming and kind-hearted. I especially liked how, when describing what Alex liked most about Beth, he admired her for her kindness towards his grandmother. There were numerous times in the book that Alex compliments Beth on things beside just her physical appearance and I really liked that, for a rogue, he wasn’t all that shallow. And I love Beth’s sisters, I especially can’t wait to hear brash Julie’s story. I liked this book a lot and I like the series overall too.

The bottom line: I liked this book a lot, the story line was interesting and the cast of characters was engaging. If you like historical romances especially, this is a good pick! It is a quick read with a romantic story, just what we all need.

Link to author website

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

2017 Book #34 – The Lady and the Highlander by Lecia Cornwall

51Xw01CMWjLTitle: The Lady and the Highlander
Author: Lecia Cornwall
Date finished: 4/18/17
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Swerve
Publication Date: April 4, 2017
Pages in book: 277
Stand alone or series: Highland Fairy Tales series #3
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:

Laire MacLeod’s father has married a mysterious widow who is a vain beauty that deals with potions and spells. Laire does not drink them with the rest of her family and is the only one who could see through her stepmother’s games. When Laire flees to find help from her Uncle, the Lady’s huntsman follows her with orders to kill. Laire must survive in a dangerous new city and find the antidote to a poisonous potion before it is too late.
Iain Lindsay is cursed. He is bound for seven years to be the hunter of a Lady who uses him to bring back birds to use in her potions. When Laire MacLeod escapes the Lady’s nets, Iain tracks her to Edinburgh, where she’s found shelter with an unusual band of thieves, but he cannot bring himself to harm her. Instead, he finds himself falling in love with the MacLeod beauty.
But a Highlander’s oath is his bond, and the price for helping her is death, both his own, and of those he loves.

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. This book tells the story of Laire MacLeod, sister to the other MacLeod girls from the first two books in the series. Laire is one of twelve sisters, and one of the ten that still live at home. It is this plethora of innocence and beauty that draws in an evil witch disguised as a stepmother, Bibiana. Bibiana puts everyone in the castle under a spell by dosing their wine. Laire is the only one who is able to keep her wits about her, solely because of a traumatic experience in her youth that left her with a fear of drinking anything but water. And after a dangerous encounter with Bibiana, Laire flees for her life with the unexpected help of Bibiana’s hunter, Iain. Iain has his own scars from the past and serving Bibiana in her evil endeavors has not helped in the least. But when he meets Laire he knows he can’t turn a blind eye to this young woman’s fate as he has done so often already. He knows he must do everything in his power to save her or be lost in the process.
Overall I really liked this book! It was interesting and intriguing and scary. It was a great take on the classic Snow White tale. There were pieces that did get a bit repetitive, it seemed like every one and their mothers were out to do harm to Laire, but that was probably realistic for a beautiful young woman traveling entirely alone. Iain’s character was pretty dark, but as his character develops you can see the softer sides to him. And the relationship between Iain and Laire, while complicated, was touching and heart-felt. I felt so bad for Laire through the story, to be so powerless against this daunting evil force. It made her character seem even more strong and resilient though which was an important piece of the story. I especially liked the ending of this one, I thought that it was a creative/neat way to resolve the last issue of the plot line.

The bottom line: I liked this book a lot, it was a good story and I liked the Snow White based story line. A couple frustrating parts but overall I liked it. I like this series as a whole so far and I’m interested to learn more about the other sisters. I would love to have a documented list though so I could keep track of which ones share which mothers and the order they were born in!

Link to author website

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

2017 Book #28 – Stormswept by Sabrina Jeffries

51r+upTVeTLTitle: Stormswept
Author: Sabrina Jeffries (Originally published under pen name Deborah Martin)
Date finished: 3/30/17
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publication Date: June 28, 2016 (Reprint, originally published July 1995)
Pages in book: 401
Stand alone or series: #1 in (Reworked) Wales 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:

New York Times bestseller Sabrina Jeffries reignites a daring love affair in this intriguing tale of desire and deception—originally written as Deborah Martin and newly revised for today’s audience.
The first wedding night that Lady Juliana St. Albans spent with the dark and daring Rhys Vaughan was intoxicating, the heady culmination of her new husband’s driving hunger and her own awakened sensuality. When he mysteriously disappeared the next morning, she waited for him in hope and desperation. And when he was finally proclaimed dead in a shipwreck, she bitterly mourned the loss of her love.
The second wedding night that Juliana spent with Rhys Vaughan was six years later, after he returned to claim her just as she was about to wed another. This Rhys was different—bolder, harder, and convinced that she’d betrayed him. Only their blazing passion remains from their years apart. But is it enough to light their way through the maze of mystery, menace, and mistrust—to the love they once shared and would have to find again?

My rating:  3.25 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 Juliana St. Albans, who falls in love with Rhys Vaughan. Juliana is the daughter of an earl and Rhys is the son of a squire, and their match is an unusual one. It is made even more unusual due to the fact that Juliana’s father recently took ownership of Rhys’s father’s estate after winning it in a game of cards. Nothing can keep these two apart though, so despite the evidence that they should be enemies they decide to run away together and get married. Only on the night of their wedding (after it though) Juliana’s brothers kidnap Rhys and force him (through impressment which apparently was an actual thing) to join the Navy. After 7 long years, Juliana decides that its time to give up hope and re-marry, and that’s when Rhys comes waltzing back in. Not to save the day though! To punish Juliana for “her part” in his impressment. But still despite the odds, neither Juliana nor Rhys can deny the attraction between them. Can they resolve the issues of their past in order to move forward though?
Overall I liked this book ok. Juliana was such a lovable character and I really admired how patient and forgiving she was. At the same time I thought Rhys was pretty pig-headed and not as appealing as I’d hoped. And the plot line, while riveting, was slightly horrifying. I can’t believe that impressment was something that was actually allowed to happen. And while they are still her brothers, I can’t believe that after her brother had her husband literally banished and then lied to her about it that she could even say that a relationship could attempt to be repaired. I would’ve just been like “Bye have a nice life you suck.” If you can get past those couple pieces though and overlook the glaring awfulness that happened to Rhys, this book was pretty good.

The bottom line: I liked this book, Juliana was an immensely sweet, patient, and generous heroine. I wasn’t a huge fan of Rhys or the plot for the most part (impressment sounds barbaric) but I still found the book to be engaging and heartfelt. I would recommend it but with a caution that you will be frustrated/saddened by certain points in the book.

Link to author website

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

2017 Book # 15 – Last Night with the Duke by Amelia Grey

51kTVBj0gSLTitle: Last Night with the Duke
Author: Amelia Grey
Date finished: 3/5/17
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Publication Date: March 7, 2017
Pages in book: 304
Stand alone or series: #1 in the Rakes of St. James 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:

Could finding love be his greatest scandal of all?
The Duke of Griffin has never lived down his reputation as one of the Rakes of St. James. Now rumors are swirling around London that his twin sisters may bear the brunt of his past follies. Hiring a competent chaperone is the only thing Griffin has on his mind–until he meets the lovely and intriguing Miss Esmeralda Swift. In ways he could never have expected, she arouses more than just his curiosity.
Esmeralda Swift considered herself too sensible to ever fall for a scoundrel, but that was before she met the irresistibly seductive Duke of Griffin. His employment offer proves too tempting for her to resist. She can’t afford to be distracted by his devilish charms because the stakes are so high for his sisters’ debut Season. . .unless one of London’s most notorious rakes has had a change of heart and is ready to make Esmeralda his bride in Last Night with the Duke, the first novel in the brand-new Regency Rakes of St. James series by New York Times bestselling author Amelia Grey.

My rating:  3.5 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. And make sure to check out my BLOG TOUR post on this book here! This book tells the story of Esmeralda Swift, the grand daughter of a viscount who was cut off from their family after he mother eloped with an Irish poet. After her mother dies, Esmeralda becomes a governess to support herself and her younger sister, Josephine. And then she takes over the administration of Miss Fortescue’s agency, struggling to make ends meet after being taken advantage of by Miss Fortescue’s son. So when the Duke of Griffin walks through her door looking for a chaperone for his twin sisters, the last thing Esmeralda expects is that she’ll be the one chaperoning them. Especially given how attractive she finds the Duke, she knows she should stay far away from this particular Rake. But as circumstances throw these two together again and again, Esmeralda sees beyond the Duke’s title to the compassionate man beneath. And when Griffin finds out that Esmeralda is not in fact a commoner but the grand daughter of a viscount, he can’t stop himself from wanting to make her a more permanent fixture in his life.
Overall I liked this book ok. The story line was interesting and had all the makings of a great historical romance novel. There was a good amount of tension between the main characters, and I liked all the supporting characters.But while there was a lot of potential, there were some pieces of the story that I didn’t love. Griffin was a little flat as a character for me. I didn’t feel like the reader learned enough of his real thoughts and feelings to get into his head and connect to him as a character. And the ending for me didn’t make a ton of sense. The Duke acts like an ass and then he shows up, they do it, and then Esmeralda decides she wants to talk about the fight after. And then after that they were just married and that was it. There were a lot of pieces of the ending I thought were missing, like a confrontation with Miss Fortescue’s nephew and her cousin the current Viscount and anyone else who was a jerk to Esmeralda. And I didn’t think the person responsible for the intrigue with Griffin’s sister made sense, why did he even get involved? What was the motivation there? Anyways other than those things it was a quick and easy read and I enjoyed it but not a lot to the plot I guess.

The bottom line: I liked this book ok. It was a quick and light read and was a perfect read timing wise for me right now. Some pieces of the story line fell a little flat for me but I’m interested to see where this series will go in the future. I would recommend it.

Link to author website

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

2015 Book #76 – Dearest Rogue by Elizabeth Hoyt

51rR-WRXZHL

Title: Dearest Rogue
Author: Elizabeth Hoyt
Date finished: 7/21/15
Genre:  Historical romance
Publisher: Vision
Publication Date: May 26, 2015
Pages in book: 326
Stand alone or series: #8 in the Maiden Lane series
Where I got the book from: Terryville Public Library

Blurb from Amazon:

HE CAN GUARD HER
Lady Phoebe Batten is pretty, vivacious, and yearning for a social life befitting the sister of a powerful duke. But because she is almost completely blind, her overprotective brother insists that she have an armed bodyguard by her side at all times-the very irritating Captain Trevillion.
FROM EVERY DANGER
Captain James Trevillion is proud, brooding, and cursed with a leg injury from his service in the King’s dragoons. Yet he can still shoot and ride like the devil, so watching over the distracting Lady Phoebe should be no problem at all-until she’s targeted by kidnappers.
BUT PASSION ITSELF
Caught in a deadly web of deceit, James must risk life and limb to save his charge from the lowest of cads-one who would force Lady Phoebe into a loveless marriage. But while they’re confined to close quarters for her safekeeping, Phoebe begins to see the tender man beneath the soldier’s hard exterior . . . and the possibility of a life-and love-she never imagined possible.

My rating: 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I am a big fan of the books in the Maiden Lane series, one of which are already reviewed on my blog here. I hope to re-read the others in the series sometime soon and get review up for all those as well. There are many different families involved in the Maiden Lane series, so keeping everyone straight can get a little cumbersome especially with the time between book releases. The family tree I think is most relevant for this book can be found here, on the author’s website. At the bottom of this page there are also links for the other family trees involved in the Maiden Lane series should you be interested.
So this novel is about Phoebe Batten, whose eyesight has been steadily deteriorating for the past five years, and her guard Captain James Trevillion. James was injured while chasing a bad guy and his leg was basically crushed so now he isn’t fit to be a Captain anymore. Maximum (Phoebe’s brother and the hero of Duke of Midnight) hires him to guard his blind sister Phoebe. But when someone starts trying to kidnap Phoebe, James realizes that his injury is preventing him from protecting her effectively and he resigns as her guard. Then she gets kidnapped and James decides to take her somewhere that no one else knows about to protect her. And yes, they fall in love (duh).
I really enjoyed this book and I thought it was a great addition to the series. Phoebe was a great character and I just absolutely loved her. The tension between the hero and the heroine felt very real. I couldn’t put this one down, I ended up reading it in just about 24 hours. Great book and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!!
The bottom line: I would definitely recommend not only this book but the whole series. Loved Phoebe, this was a great addition to the series. Can’t wait to read Sweetest Scoundrel (comes out later this year!)
Link to author website
Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2014 – Book #76

fatal fortune

Well this past weekend was certainly a busy weekend. The Terryville Fair was this past weekend and as I am a member of the Terryville Lions Club, who puts on the Fair, it was go, go, go from sun-up to sun-down. For some of the weekend I was helping my Mom in the quilting section, you can see her post on the Fair here: http://joanne94w.wordpress.com/2014/08/23/fair-weekend/

The seventy-sixth book I read in 2014 was The Fatal Fortune by Jayne Castle (one of Jayne Ann Krentz’s many pseudonyms). This is the fourth book in the Guinevere Jones series by this author. I finished this book on 8/22/14. I rated this book 4 stars out of a scale of 5. This book continues the story of small-business owner Guinevere Jones and her boyfriend Zac Justis. Zac also owns his own business, a security consulting firm. He is hoping to stay away from investigating crimes, but with Gwen as his gal he can’t seem to avoid getting wrapped up in all kinds of trouble.

When Gwen discovers that one of her employees has become the victim of a “protection scam” she decides to figure out the problem herself. Thinking she can complete this investigation on her own, she at first is reticent to involve Zac. She wants to prove to him that she can do this on her own. When people start disappearing and her employee starts being blackmailed though, she knows that its time to call in the big guns.

While trying to go through this investigation, Gwen encounters an old boyfriend, Rick. Rick decides that he wants Gwen back in his life, and he’ll do anything to get her there. Rick’s character was very creepy and unsettling. Zac’s character in this story was shown at a different angle, since most of the time we see his jealous side but in this story we saw how much he trusts Gwen and trusts in their relationship.

Overall this was a good story. I really liked the plot and I thought it was well-paced. I liked that all the stories in the series didn’t really get too deep into things. They were all around 150 pages so they were easy to read and at the same time interesting. I wish there were more in this series. I really like Gwen and Zac!

Link to other posts in the Guinevere Jones series: https://rebeccabookreview.wordpress.com/category/book-reviews/book-series-book-reviews/guinevere-jones-series/

Link to author website: http://www.krentz-quick.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Fortune-Guinevere-Jones-Book-ebook/dp/B007P7HQQ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408989907&sr=8-1&keywords=the+fatal+fortune

2014 – Book #49

8564af_016461f03c8e6ec72c2876f6a94cce19.jpg_srz_p_238_373_75_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srz

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/

2014 – Book #41

8564af_60ff4af603f6c6b007491da05aaa487a.jpg_srz_238_373_75_22_0.50_1.20_0

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/