Love Romance Passion » Regency http://www.loveromancepassion.com Because Books Don't Fall Asleep Afterwards! Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Review: Pretty Persuasion by Olivia Kingsley http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-pretty-persuasion-by-olivia-kingsley/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-pretty-persuasion-by-olivia-kingsley/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:47:17 +0000 Carla F. http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=13717

Reviewed by Carla F.

At the age of 10, Lady Georgiana Montford is introduced to her betrothed, Robert Balfour, who will one day be the Earl of Sheffield. Robert is already a young adult, but he treats Georgie with kindness. A friendship develops, and Georgie falls in love with Robert. She is then devastated to discover Robert in the arms of another woman. Robert is unaware that Georgie saw him, and can’t understand why she is being so cold to him. However, he soon goes off to his father’s Caribbean plantation. Georgie tells no one what she saw, but she is determined to not marry the “Rat” when he returns, and she will take control of her life and destiny.

Things I liked: The story of Robert’s time on the plantation is sad, but shows why he had changed from the happy, more carefree man that Georgie once knew.

It is very sweet that Robert wants to regain Georgie’s friendship even if they will never be married.

The May Day scenes where Georgie washes her face in the dew in an attempt to get rid of her freckles, and the one with her bumping into Robert which causes him to miss the target in the archery contest and lose the prize of kissing the May Day Queen.

The heat in the picnic scene is not caused by the weather!

Things I didn’t like: Georgie was way too headstrong for me. While I admire her decision to not let others particularly her parents run her life, her choices led to other people being hurt.

Georgie and Robert were caught in compromising positions (or intimate discussions) way to many times by family members.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Buy: Pretty Persuasion

]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-pretty-persuasion-by-olivia-kingsley/feed/ 0 Audio Review: First Comes Marriage (Huxtable Quintet, Book 1) by Mary Balogh http://www.loveromancepassion.com/audio-review-first-comes-marriage-huxtable-quintet-book-1-by-mary-balogh/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/audio-review-first-comes-marriage-huxtable-quintet-book-1-by-mary-balogh/#comments Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:05:55 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=13557

Narrator: I am on an audio book kick. I loved this narrator. Anne Flosnik is great! She makes the book come alive. It’s like listening to a movie with all of her voices. I wanted to drive more around town just for the opportunity to get further in the book!

Heroine: Vanessa Dew is the widowed second daughter of the Huxtable family. She liked her previous marriage, despite its hardships (a young dying husband from the get-go). To save her sister from a loveless match, and to get back into a marriage bed (which she has little experience with but enjoyed) she proposes to the most eligible bachelor in London. She promises to make him happy in bed and out. Can a man resist such an offer?

Hero: Elliott Wallace, the Darcy-like Viscount Lyngate, accepts the unorthodox proposal from the upstart widow. After all, he’s not looking for a love-match, just a monogamous one. He’s surprised by how much he’s attracted to the little plain thing, but her happy optimistic self is irresistible to a man as staid and reserved as himself. Wedded bliss was more than he expected, and Elliott isn’t about to give it up!

Review: The marriage of convenience premise was a little weak, considering Elliott starts the book with a well-bred mistress. Also for as much regret as he appeared to hold in the beginning about agreeing to wed Vanessa, I find his reasons to remain faithful to the marriage odd – I would have found it more reasonable had he finally got why his own father/grandfather had cheated – but then again, Elliott doesn’t believe in love matches – so perhaps his reasoning isn’t so bad, just unexpected.

Some of my favorite scenes are at the beginning with Vanessa proposing and Elliott catching her at her bragging and also on their honeymoon and the field of flowers! I love how she gets him to pick an entire houseful of them. I love Vanessa’s character, she’s wonderfully drawn and inspires a lot of laughs and smiles as you listen to the story. She’s very forthright and this helps smooth over rough patches and turns potential big misunderstandings into adult conversations fast! If you like reasonableness in your heroes and heroines you’ll like this story!

Rating: ★★★★☆

First Comes Marriage

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/audio-review-first-comes-marriage-huxtable-quintet-book-1-by-mary-balogh/feed/ 0 Review: The Desires of a Countess (The Jordans, Book 3) by Jenna Petersen http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-desires-of-a-countess-the-jordans-book-3-by-jenna-petersen/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-desires-of-a-countess-the-jordans-book-3-by-jenna-petersen/#comments Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:02:38 +0000 Sandra Scholes http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=13416

Reviewed by Sandra Scholes

Just when she thinks everything is alright and the bad times are over, Ginny Blanchard finds that someone else wants to interfere in her life and the raising of her son. Her husband, Henry had died, and she for one is glad he did – he was a cruel man who delighted in hurting her and causing her unhappiness. Little did she know that this someone was Simon Webber, a cousin of the family who will act as a substitute father for her young son, Jack. He has been made trustee of her son’s inheritance and until he becomes of age, both her and her son will have to answer to him.

She wants more than anything to get rid of the man who invades her house, and will do all she can to make sure he has a very uncomfortable stay with her, or so she hopes. Harriet tries to make her understand that he might not be the sort of man who would hurt her, or cause her problems with her son – he might turn out to be a nice man who has her and her son’s interests at heart. Ginny doesn’t see it that way, though and wants to be left alone to live her life with her son and friends.

I found this story to have great characterization; Ginny is a woman who has been hurt all her life while being married to a cruel husband, so she expects every man she meets will be the same sort. She tries to come to terms with what has happened to her over the years, but she finds it hard to trust anyone now that she has the chance to go out into polite society and find another beau. The reader can get to understand why Ginny feels the way she does, and also get into Simon’s mind – even though he seems to mellow out once he is in her good company.

Simon is a no nonsense sort who doesn’t like to be kept waiting, so he doesn’t like Ginny when he first meets her, and who can blame him – after all, she doesn’t want him there. He is impatient, brusque and harsh at first, yet he is amazed at why she is so nasty to him when he arrives – he expected a teary widow, but she was something else entirely. He likes the look of her, and wonders why someone as beautiful as her is so bitter, but then he doesn’t know the whole story. He begins to like her company after a time, but he doesn’t dare tell his best friend, Adam that or he will make fun of him terribly.

It is more a case of if the two of them can settle their differences and come to an agreement, they can make a friendship in the house work, but I somehow think that even Ginny wants more than that.

The Desires of a Countess is a riveting read - it has a depth about it that makes readers want more from their heroes and heroines.

Rating: ★★★★★

Buy: The Desires of a Countess

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-desires-of-a-countess-the-jordans-book-3-by-jenna-petersen/feed/ 1 Review: The Temptation of a Gentleman (The Jordans, Book 2) by Jenna Petersen http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-temptation-of-a-gentleman-the-jordans-book-2-by-jenna-petersen/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-temptation-of-a-gentleman-the-jordans-book-2-by-jenna-petersen/#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:50:05 +0000 Sandra Scholes http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=13418

Reviewed by Sandra Scholes

Men have always come to women as knights in shining armor, but in Regency times, they were clothed in much more refined armor than that. Marion Hawthorne thinks she is marrying a most honourable man, but Noah Jordan thinks otherwise, he thinks he is a murderer and she might be at great risk of her life. Noah is a spy who has been ordered to go into the luxury and independence of the country, where he hears a murder might be on the cards, and feels he has to save poor Marion from certain death.

At the moment this is all supposition, yet his superior is convinced that it will happen if he doesn’t investigate it, observe the clues and prevent her demise at the hands of a rogue. He doesn’t expect to meet the lovely woman, but once he does, he asks for her help with his investigation – the problem is, once he does that, he risks falling in love with her.

Noah is a man who likes the thrill of action, the chase, but now that he has been sent into the country to investigate a murder, he loathes the fact he is mixing with the social elite, and it bores him terribly. To be a part of the ton, watching endless hours of society life makes him wish he were back home. He thought he was out of the spying business, but finds that his superior wants him to do it again, for old time’s sake. He has to mingle with the elite and his cover is that he is looking for a wife. In his own mind, he hates the idea of having to come home to one woman every night for the rest of his life, only to leave at night to visit a mistress or his friends for a game of cards. His life has the awful chance to become even more boring until he meets the woman he would want as his companion, and perhaps his wife.

Marion is a woman who hates travel of any kind, and especially when she feels uncomfortable in it. She has a mind of her own and doesn’t mind expressing it in front of her father or anyone she might dislike. She hears about the infamous Mr Jordan from Josiah Lucas, a man who is actually glad he hasn’t come to visit them. When she enquires, she is told he is a rake of the highest order, and one unlikely to be one she should get to know. How wrong she is for when she meets him, she finds him to be nothing like the rake he has said.

I had to laugh at the first time Noah meets Marion – his horse, Phantom eating her pencils while she is out sketching! It is a wonderful scene to start with, and one that definitely breaks the ice between the two of them. Noah is captivated by her, and can’t help but have lewd thoughts run through his mind at the very sight of her. He is concerned however when she tells him who her intended man is to be – and wishes it were him. He deludes himself into thinking he is only talking to her to get information for his investigation, yet he is drawn to her and can’t get her out of his mind.

Marion, I found was an honest woman who talks freely in front of others, even with Noah, a man she doesn’t know as intimately as she would like. He doesn’t mind her having opinions, but she knows it’s not in the slightest bit ladylike.

Once read – never forgotten, there’s the impulse to read again.

Rating: ★★★★★

Buy: The Temptation of a Gentleman

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-temptation-of-a-gentleman-the-jordans-book-2-by-jenna-petersen/feed/ 0 Review: Red Velvet and Absinthe by Mitzi Szereto http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-red-velvet-and-absinthe-by-mitzi-szereto/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-red-velvet-and-absinthe-by-mitzi-szereto/#comments Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:50:33 +0000 Sandra Scholes http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=13101

Reviewed by Sandra Scholes

There is nothing like 15 stories of paranormal erotic romance to thrill a reader into each of them, all are different, yet all will leave them with the distinct taste of absinthe on the tongue from the sheer pleasure they bring.

A Foreword and Introduction create enough of a background to the Gothic horror story to set the scene for the stories that the reader will immerse themselves in. Kelley Armstrong goes into all the elements that make up the Gothic story, the darkness, the innocent woman, mysterious man who is interested in her, and the haunting madness that is so often the bread and butter of this genre. They don’t always work out that way, though, there are the stories that bend the rules a little, some are different in they use gay or lesbian characters instead of the usual ones everyone knows about.

Well, everyone doesn't know about these stories - they vary from each one, and all have the distinct elements of the Gothic horror within them. They can surprise, shock, and amaze-all with the intensity of the Gothic drama and feel of the age. These stories bring out an atmosphere of intrigue, full of dark and twisted emotions we can all feel in the right light...in this case it is candle light that will inspire us.

Here are a few of the stories available and my reviews of them:

Snowlight, Moonlight by Rose De Fer

A woman on a journey is attacked and left for dead on a snowy path. The coachman did not survive and the coach itself would not be useable again. Lucky for her she has someone who can help her, a man who encounters her body one night and takes her all the way back to his mansion house. There she wakes up and wonders where she is. The kind gentleman tells her where he found her, yet she has no memory of it. Everything is a blur to her mind until he mentions one thing, the things that attacked her days ago. That is what startles her.

Of particular interest to the reader will be what the man has been studying for a while, and what she really is after the accident. It interested me when a perfect gentleman could be so out of character to tie the lady to his bed - but then again, the reader will find out why. I enjoyed the atmosphere this story conjured for me, and I found it the sort of story that I could read again and again.

Cover Him with Darkness by Janine Ashbless

A young girl remembers seeing a young man tied to a slab of limestone. She sees how handsome he is, and how strong he looks, yet also how vulnerable and unhappy he is too. As she is so young, she doesn't know what the man has done to make her father have him bound so cruelly, but he doesn't tell her anything - just decides to keep her in the dark as far as explanations go. She is persistent though, and soon she will discover who and what he is. When she is older, her father's dying words are that someone has to watch over the man as he had many years ago, and it sounds like she will have to do her duty to the family.

Strangely enough, the reader might not ever find out what he is, they will have to make their own mind up as to whether he is a titan or some kind of Prometheus as Janine makes him out to be. All the reader will know is that he is a muscular and handsome man who has been imprisoned for what seems like generations.

A Rose in the Willow Garden by Elizabeth Daniels

Bierce is wandering around for that special person, but he hasn't found her yet, and being a hunter of a man he does keep on trying until he gets to her, but it isn't easy when he is trawling the bars and inns along the town in search of her. He always finds loose women there who want him as he is a seductive devil, but one eludes him, and whoever she is he can't get her out of his mind.

Readers will soon find out that he is not the sort of man she should mess with even if she does think she loves him. She does have a boyfriend already which annoys him a great deal, but he understands that she will have lovers being a handsome woman. There are things she needs to know about his past and what he has done with other women before she takes the plunge and gets with him, but it's up to her. This is an unusual story with a nice ending.

The Blood Moon Kiss by Mitzi Szereto

The Blood Moon Kiss is a vampire soap opera directed by Mark Gaitzburger and the heroine is the beautiful Christine, while the anti hero is Talen played by Kyle. He is a method actor and everyone knows how good he is at playing his part to the fullest. Christine thinks there is something wrong with him, something the other actors have missed, but she also finds him intriguing to her in a way no other man would, and that, for her...could be dangerous.

Kyle's accent could give him away as she notices it is slightly European, and has a certain twang about it. He does get ill occasionally and tends to shut himself away from the sight of others, and it bothers her that he does this. The Blood Moon Kiss reminded me of Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula, a man who finds the love of his life in the future and can't be without her. This is the perfect Gothic romance story set in the present day in this volume.

Painted by Anna Meadows

You would never think a painting could cause jealousy, but in one woman's wife, it does. She hates the very sight of it, but the husband likes it a great deal, and after winning it in a bet, he finds her dislike of the woman annoying for him. She mentions that the woman looks like a tart, hoping he will remove it some day. The woman in the painting has a certain something that Benjamin likes, and it entices him to keep looking at it even though it sends goose bumps on his skin.

Benjamin feels as though no one is taking his feelings into account about the painting, as he sees the woman in it as almost alive. He is the only one who has a connection with her, and one night when he is alone, he notices that the woman is gone. The rest of his family think Ben should get married, but he isn't interested in anyone other than the woman in the painting and he wonders who she really is. I enjoyed the setting of this story, and the presence it evoked for me.

La Belle Mort by Zander Vyne

Elizabeth Morton is due to be executed, and she is with child too. She has been tried for a crime she did not commit, she did not steal a diamond necklace from the estate where she lived, and worked but she knows who has. This is a journey back in time again to when a woman could be tricked into anything, and the gentleman would get away with it. Taken to prison before this can happen, she is made open to a life of nothingness, and doesn't expect the sorrow and pain life in jail can cause. She does have a visitor though, and he could be the answer to her dreams. When another man arrives she listens to what he has to say, mentioning that if she tells them where she has hid the necklace, they will pardon her. Unfortunately, she hasn't stolen it, and doesn't know where it is.

Elizabeth is the sort of woman from period dramas who was used in those days by rich lords who had affairs with nursemaids and servants when the wife was otherwise indisposed. Tales are numerous about what happens when these women are pregnant and can only do one thing - leave where they are or risk being kicked out anyway. In those days, servants were used and cast out, and this story tells the reality of what happened.

These are only a few of the stories in this book, and I picked my favourites out, but there will be the readers own favourites too and not all of the characters are so obviously monsters either – this is much more than a compilation of the unusual and the monstrous…it is deliciously Gothic.

Rating: ★★★★½

Buy: Red Velvet and Absinthe: Paranormal Erotic Romance

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-red-velvet-and-absinthe-by-mitzi-szereto/feed/ 2 Review: The Secret Mistress (Dudley, Book 3) by Mary Balogh http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-secret-mistress-dudley-book-3-by-mary-balogh/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-secret-mistress-dudley-book-3-by-mary-balogh/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:20:44 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=12987

I listened to a narrated audiobook version of this novel. Read by Anne Flosnik.

Hero: Edward Ailsbury, the new Earl of Heyward, knows he must marry. As a spare, now heir, he knows the importance of preserving the family lineage. The candidate he has in mind is his family friend and favorite bluestocking, Eunice Goddard. A wife should be a friend, someone intelligent that one can converse with, and a lady unblemished by scandal or wild behavior, but when the lady refuses him, he’s flummoxed. What now? Well, his family wants him to court Angeline Dudley and so he does. He’s flummoxed again when he realizes that the scandalous Miss at the inn is none other than she!

Heroine: Angeline Dudley is preparing for her first Season. She’s determined to catch herself a simple steady gentleman, a man completely opposite her rakish brothers and father (now passed away). A potentially scandalous incident at a public inn reveals to her just such a man and it’s instant attraction for her. All she wants is his good opinion and his love, but it seems to be the thing he’s determined to hold back. She suspects his interested lie elsewhere and does all in her power to bring them together, for his sake and Eunice’s sake (who becomes her friend).

Review: I really liked the pairing of a stuffy, circumspect, and introverted hero (who doesn’t think he is and takes offense when he’s called on it) with a bubbly, impulsive, and extroverted heroine (who rambles and says things to upset the hero... like calling him a dry stick :D lol).

He’s extremely dignified and extends politeness and courtesy as a shield. She prattles to fill uncomfortable silences and makes jokes at her expense to hide her insecurity. Angeline feels she doesn’t deserve him and her innocent behavior appears to be reckless behavior.

I also thought it was incredibly sweet that the heroine put the hero’s desire so far above her own she tried to orchestrate opportunities for him to meet Eunice in hopes he’d propose to her. There were lots of great quotes in the story, my favorite is below.

Favorite Scenes: Their first meeting at the inn, and Edward’s first proposal to Angeline.

Favorite Quote:

In a few short minutes he had shown himself to be her ideal of manhood. Of gentlemanhood. He seemed perfectly content and comfortable with his ordinariness. He seemed not to feel the need to posture and prove his masculinity at every turn preferably with his fists… He was in fact, more than ordinary. He was an extraordinary man.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-secret-mistress-dudley-book-3-by-mary-balogh/feed/ 2 Review: Regency Nights by Kitti Bernetti http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-regency-nights-by-kitti-bernetti-2/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-regency-nights-by-kitti-bernetti-2/#comments Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:09:56 +0000 Sandra Scholes http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=12855

Reviewed by Sandra Scholes

Two men, one woman - no breaks for the guys who want to get it on!

This novel takes after Pride and Prejudice as it is set in Regency London with Cavendish De Courcy, a single man from a family who are in want of funds, and need to marry him off to the nearest heiress in order to save them from their fate. Cavendish is not happy to help them in their search for wealth - but he knows he has to make sure he gives them what they want. The fact is, Cavendish has already found a life mate, and one he doesn't want to be taken away from, and it is a secret he knows his parents must never know of. He met him at around about the same time he is to be married, and that in itself creates a problem.

Nathaniel could be the answer to his non existent gay sex life, and being married off to some over pampered puss can only send shivers down his spine. He has to go through with it even if he doesn't want to as everyone knows that in Regency London being gay was an offence in those days. Even so, it doesn't mean that Nathaniel need leave his side; it just makes it more difficult for him to conduct his gay affair while trying to keep his new wife happy.

Nathaniel is the son of the local pastor of the district, and he is studying music to while away his hours. This both amuses and amazes Cavendish who never knew he had such a religious background.

His father has chosen Arabella, his wife for him, and considers her excellent childbearing stock, but as usual; doesn't take his feelings into account. Cavendish thinks he might have to tell Nathaniel to leave his side, but doesn't want to have to make that decision, and instead has to weigh up his happiness over that of his family.

I find that cover art is well worth taking into consideration when wanting to read novels - even though they aren't always indicative of a good book. This novel's cover model is a handsome chap with full lips readers will want to kiss more times than Cavendish will. As a cover it will make it a best seller.

At the beginning, Cavendish's encounter with the life model in an artist's studio gives him pause for thought as he is to be married off to a girl, a girl he has no interest in - he likes men, young men who fuel his sexual fire, and make him as wanton as he needs to be.

There are some excellent moments in this novel, and even at 72 pages it manages to cram in some beautiful sensual scenes where the two of them enjoy their brief moments together out of the sight of Cavendish’s new wife:

Cavendish lay as motionless as a sleeping lion; he suppressed the groan of longing which rumbled in his throat. He couldn’t possibly betray the hunger that seared his body, the need to be touched still further, the desire to have not just a damp flannel, but Nathaniel’s delicate fingers probe his tingling flesh.

When Cavendish brings Nathaniel into their home, he tries not to cause all kinds of problems, and instead has him produce artworks for the family as a cover for their affair He gets the impression that while Nathaniel is there, his wife is aware of the feeling he has for him, and makes it hard for the two of them to be together when she is around:

For over two weeks, Nathaniel played the part of the dutiful artist producing delightful sketches and studies for the commissioned works. Cavendish itched to be alone with him, but Arabella guarded her husband jealously as if she could sense the bond that existed between the two men and was determined not to allow it, or Nathaniel to replace her in Cavendish’s affections. Maddening frustration began to build in her husband. He could not perform his marital duties to her, and he could get no relief from Nathaniel for Arabella stuck to him like a newly born foal sticks to its parent.

Kitti knows how to pen a full bodied book like a fine wine, and in this case, she has managed it. Regency Nights is just that, it fills the senses with its excellent prose, sensual, and highly erotic sexual scenes between Cavendish and Nathaniel. Nathaniel serves to be the one who tries to take his mind off of his duty to his new wife, and all the other duties for her he has yet to do, like having her bear his children.

Readers will notice all too soon that he is more interested in Nathaniel than a woman. He finds he can be the man he wanted to be around him. There is no pressure to be the man his father desired - he can be his own man and not feel as though he is being so wanton and immoral about it. What he does with Nathaniel can only be described as wanton and immoral by others who find out about their tryst. It doesn't matter what others think of them. Cavendish is in love, and with him all his desires are fulfilled.

I enjoyed that there is a solution to Cavendish and Nathaniel’s problem, and it is one that many would not have thought of, but which will make the reader smile.

Rating: ★★★★★

Buy: Regency Nights

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-regency-nights-by-kitti-bernetti-2/feed/ 1 Review: Scandalous Desires (Maiden Lane, Book 3) by Elizabeth Hoyt http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-scandalous-desires-maiden-lane-book-3-by-elizabeth-hoyt/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-scandalous-desires-maiden-lane-book-3-by-elizabeth-hoyt/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:20:25 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=13169

Heroine: Widow Silence Hollingbrook is in a dire situation. To reclaim what she loves she must face the man who callously and cruelly used her to make a point that ruined her marriage. Only of course he doesn’t make things simple. Apparently there’s danger (evil Charlie Grady, the Vicar of Whitechapel) and wouldn’t you know, he’s the father of the baby girl she thought was an orphan.

Hero: River pirate “Charming” Mickey O’Connor is fiercely handsome but woefully unfeeling (or so he thinks, he takes quite good care of those he considers his). He climbed his way to the top of London’s dark and dangerous criminal underworld and has no intentions of falling back down. But when a danger from his past threatens to tear it all down, Mickey acts and once again his actions will prove to be Silence’s undoing.

Review: Scandalous Desires is not to be missed – pirate hero? Hello! It’s a beautifully written story with all the elements that I like including a seemingly heartless hero (he’s dragged into love, but once there he’s going to go all out). I love how Mickey is the engineer of his own romantic downfall – he wants Silence and to get to her he uses Mary Darling, a bastard daughter a whore claimed was his but he knows is not. He’ll keep Mary around because it means Silence will stay because she loves the girl. Of course he falls for both, poor man, haha. Silence and Mikey are enemies, but they aren’t, because Mikey doesn’t really want Silence as an enemy, but plays the part because of his plan to keep her by his side. The only thing left to say is that this is definitely one of the best books of the year!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

(Would have been 5 Stars, but Mary Darling gets sick and drags focus)

Buy: Scandalous Desires (Maiden Lane)

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-scandalous-desires-maiden-lane-book-3-by-elizabeth-hoyt/feed/ 0 Review: By Force of Instinct by Abigail Reynolds http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-by-force-of-instinct-by-abigail-reynolds/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-by-force-of-instinct-by-abigail-reynolds/#comments Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:38:37 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=12233

The Question that Starts it All: What if Darcy had been forced to stay at Rosings after giving Elizabeth his letter?

Review (with spoilers): I’m a big fan of Abigail Reynold’s Pemberley Variations, but By Force of Instinct lacked her usual flair. It was heavy on the “My loves” and “My hearts.” Give it to me in another language and it’s not so bad, but I felt there was room for better pet names and that the frequency needed to be turned way down. Through in a few more uses of their names and that would have been good too. As it was the conversations came across as overly mushy and sentimental (and cluttered with unnecessary poetry) distracting from the truly great pieces of dialogue about happiness and love.

Also Lizzy was out of character in a way that wasn’t explained satisfactorily. She was prone to crying and such, instead of meeting (confronting!) situations with confidence and wit we all know her to have.

There was too much misunderstanding between Lizzy and Darcy. Why be so elliptical/obtuse?

Mrs. Gardenier was the character with perfect understanding, who’s insightful commentary was too convenient, taking out the challenge right out from under Lizzy and Darcy, because Mrs. Gardenier gave them everything they needed, instead of letting them figure it out on their own.

A Fun Twist on the Perfect Sister: Georgiana was petulant and sullen over Wickham. She acts like a petty teenager and tells Lizzy that Darcy is actively with a mistress. All this is fine with me but it is all wrapped up in a big bow of understanding and forgiveness with little real contrition. Georgiana should have figured out how to bridge the emotional gap between Lizzy and Darcy. Especially considering...

Mr. Bennet’s intense dislike of Darcy. He refuses to bless their union/marriage until the day of it. His sudden change of heart and understanding is a little far fetched because he isn’t even grudgingly accepting Darcy even after others try to explain how great Darcy is and what Darcy’s done.

Rating: ★½☆☆☆

Buy: By Force of Instinct (The Pemberley Variations)

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-by-force-of-instinct-by-abigail-reynolds/feed/ 0 Review: The Soldier by Grace Burrowes http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-soldier-by-grace-burrowes/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-soldier-by-grace-burrowes/#comments Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:59:58 +0000 Aggie S. http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=12582

Reviewed by Aggie S.

Devlin has finished with war and serving his King. He just wants to go home and take care of the family holdings. Upon arrival he finds a waif of a child in his fountain, dirty and straggling looking. He is informed that this waif conveyed with the estate, which he finds hard to believe. He is to be responsible for this child’s upbringing.

First thing he determines is that the child needs a bath, but nobody in the castle will help, so he assumes that this waif is a male child and then finds out differently rather quickly. Second he finds a governess, Emmaline, o take care of this unruly waif and a tutor to teach.

Emmaline is running from something or to something; Devlin can not decide which. But alas the soldier in him comes out again and he is determined to find out and do something about it. Emmaline in the meantime has decided that things are heating up too much and decides to take off again. She gives him notice and takes off. Winnie, in the meantime, becomes more of a handful because she wants Emmaline back. What happens, does the hero get the girl or do circumstances make things impossible?

Review: A must read! For an English romance this has a great story to it and was hard to put down once started. I hope to find more like it by this author.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Buy: The Soldier

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