Love Romance Passion » Victorian 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: A Midwinter Fantasy http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-a-midwinter-fantasy/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-a-midwinter-fantasy/#comments Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:38:57 +0000 Lynn Reynolds http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=12096

Reviewed by Lynn Reynolds

This anthology, by Dorchester Publishing, is like getting three books for the price of one.

The first story is “A Christmas Carroll” by Leanna Renee Hieber.

The prologue, for me, starts the story in some confusion.  We know the story is a historical romance because it is set at the end of 1888 and it is Christmas time.  My confusion comes in how the words in the prologue are trying to set the story.  My mind just can’t seem to process the words into a picture in my mind.  This is part of Leanna’s “Strangely Beautiful Series.”  If you have read her other books in the series this may seem less confusing.  And would probably help you to better understand what is going on.

We meet Michael Carroll in Chapter 1.  We find his profession is that of a vicar.  He is part of a group called “The Guard”.  It is not a military group but a group that watches over evil spirits (ghost hunters of old).  We then find out that he has loved the same woman for over twenty years.

Everyone that belongs to “The Guard” all have special gifts.  But as Michael shares his story, we find that the groups gifts have disappeared.  How will they function?  Their gifts are what also keep the group connected to each other.

I like that in Leanna’s story our couple is older – not all couples need to be young.  The reader can easily put themselves into the couple’s shoes.  How is Michael going to convince his lady-love, Rebecca, that they belong together?

Rebecca doesn’t feel that she deserves Michael’s love.  But it is Christmas time – a time for miracles.  And of course the story is set during the era of Dickens (big hint).

Michael scores hero points in my book because he visits the local orphanage infirmary.  He is considered “The Heart” of the group and we can see why.  He is also someone who does not hide his emotions.  You don’t see many authors that give the male character these types of feelings.  It’s refreshing!

I’m also impressed with the descriptions of the settings and clothes that the characters are wearing.  Leanna gives her readers a good idea of how it was to live in 1888.  She also shows the reader that you don’t have to have a lot of sex in a story to see the romance between characters.

Rating: ★★★★☆

The second story is “The Worth of a Sylph” by L.J. McDonald

This story is part of L.J.’s “Sylph Series”.

The story starts out with us learning that Mace is a shape-shifter (a battle sylph).  We also learn he has a female master.  Her name is Lily and she is in her eighties.  Lily decides that it is time for Mace to find a new master.  Before she leaves their plane, she wants to make sure that Mace is taken care of.

In the story, we get a lot of information about Mace and a young boy named Jayden.  We also see that Sylphs need to draw energy – whether from humans or animals.  Mace sets out to try to find Jayden and as he travels we find out what Mace’s life is really like.

I felt the story was running a little slow because of all the time it takes for Mace to look for Jayden.  We see all that Mace has had to endure but his love interest doesn’t appear until chapter 5.  This is when we find out her name is Sally.

In an anthology stories tend to be short and the author has little time to tell their story.  In this case, and because I have not read the other books in the series, I felt that L.J. fell a little short.  The first four chapters went on a little too much about Mace and no hint of Sally.  Once you get to chapter 5, you see that the story picks up.

I did enjoy the way that L.J. describes things  and she gave us the perfect sort of hero.  Mace protects women and children and will do anything for them.  If I go back and read her other books in the “Sylth Series”, this story may have been better for me.

Rating: ★★★½☆

The third story is “The Crystal Crib” by Helen Scott Taylor

Sonja is a travel professional that goes to meet Vidar.  Vidar owns a resort/theme park.

Sonja is a woman who hopes that her dreams will come true.  One of those dreams is to meet her father.  Vidar is a man who takes charge.  We can tell that Helen has given Vidar a strong, and very focused, personality.

Is Vidar the one who will make all Sonja’s dreams come true?  We find that Vidar knows Sonja’s father and is going to take her to meet him.  On the way to this meeting, Sonja sees things that just don’t seem possible.  She also finds out that her father isn’t exactly human.  And what other dreams does Sonja have?

What I love about Helen’s story is that she mixes both paranormal and mythology together.  She does a great job at describing her characters.  The reader can just picture the look on Sonja’s face as she looks around and sees what you or I will never see.

This is a love story with a twist.  As you read the first love scene, Helen has you both smiling and laughing.  The descriptions she uses makes the scene seem very clear in your mind.  Helen gives her readers a father/daughter moment as well as a good over evil moment.

Rating: ★★★★½

In my opinion, Dorchester Publishing saved the best for last.  Even though I have never read these authors before, I would, overall, recommend reading this book.

Buy: A Midwinter Fantasy

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-a-midwinter-fantasy/feed/ 1 10 Reasons to Marry an Earl http://www.loveromancepassion.com/10-reasons-to-marry-an-earl/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/10-reasons-to-marry-an-earl/#comments Sat, 01 Oct 2011 09:52:55 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=4260

countess This list of reasons is for the young miss of the Georgian, Regency, or Victorian era. Entering into matrimony is not a decision to be made lightly. While it is important that you make a good match, every young lady should choose her future husband with great care. Below I have compiled a list of pros on marrying an earl. The discerning young woman will note the state and accuracy of each of these points against the gentlemen she wishes to wed. Not every earl will have all ten points in his favor, some for instance can be greedy fortune hunters. However, this list is not made with those rapscallions in mind.

1. The rank.

Rank makes all the difference in the world. Do you see yourself as a countess? Would you be thrilled to be deferred to by one and all as the 'Right Honorable Countess of (insert blank)' or 'My Lady?' If so, then marrying an earl is for you!

2. The high society.

You are part of the le bon ton. Being readily established as part of the Upper Ten Thousand will gain you a lot of influence. You'll be rubbing shoulders with Britain's elite!

3. The wealth.

A countess can expect to be able to indulge in a little shopping with the pin money she receives quarterly. She need not worry about money at all unless she is mismanaging her household. That of course, would never do.

4. The clothes.

The clothes, the accessories, the hair styles and shoes... fashion in short, my dears, and being at it's height is marvelous! A countess would be looked upon to set trends and knowledgeable about everything that is all the rage.

5. The parties

All that divine dancing! Which is your favorite? The country dance, the cotillion, or the scotch reel? How about the quadrille or the more scandalous waltz? You will need plenty of dancing slippers but it would be worth it!

6. The servants.

A countess need not cook or clean or lift a finger she does not want to raise. She can devote her energies to more personal and rewarding tasks such as correspondence, reading, drawing, visiting and more.

7. The London townhouse.

A townhouse in the most fashionable part of London is the perfect place to host an assembly or fancy dinner party. Many a hostess will envy your accomplishments in presentation and decoration of your home.

8. The country estates.

When London gets to be too smoggy and the Season is not in full swing, a countess must have a place to retire. Her country estates are just such a location and their beautiful sprawling gardens are the icing on top of the cake.

9. The travel.

To see all the beautiful sights and sites of the world or England is a joy for any countess. Won’t all your friends be envious of your latest trip to Paris?

10. The earl.

The most wonderful thing about being a countess is the earl. Do you not agree ladies? He should be handsome, kind, well mannered, not marred by scandal, and good to his hired help. It wouldn't hurt if he liked children, old matrons, and dances at Almack's, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. He's bound to have a failing somewhere. Just remember to keep the pros of marriage to him in the front of your mind and you will be content indeed!

Photo Credits: http://www.weheartit.com/

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/10-reasons-to-marry-an-earl/feed/ 5 Top 10 Reasons to Travel to Victorian England http://www.loveromancepassion.com/top-10-reasons-to-travel-to-victorian-england/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/top-10-reasons-to-travel-to-victorian-england/#comments Tue, 27 Sep 2011 09:26:51 +0000 Guest Blogger http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=12132

by Isabel Cooper, guest blogger and author of No Proper Lady

When Joan, the heroine of No Proper Lady, finds herself back in Victorian England, she’s pretty happy about it. Sure, she takes issue with some expectations for women—but compared to the post-apocalyptic future she came from, where demon lords rule the Earth, 1888 is a pretty easy time to live. Since my time includes more lattes and laptops and fewer tentacled things trying to eat my face, I think I’d be less enthused about going back permanently.

As a tourist, though? Absolutely. Get me some money, a fake name, and a chance to go back to the twenty-first century next time I get a cavity, and I’d take all my vacation days in Victorian England. Here’s why:

10. An Age of Discovery! Evolution, spiritualism, railways, automobiles—the Victorian era was as inventive and controversial as our own, and people really seemed to get invested in the theories as well as the gadgets. They also used More Capital Letters, which may or may not be a good thing.

9. Travel Was Fun. If you had the money, first class on a railway sounds like it beats any road trip I ever took. Plush seats, private compartments, and great dining when you stop, plus nobody would be talking on their cell phone. Likewise, I’d much rather cross the ocean by boat than by plane if I could go in luxury. Sure, it’s slower, but that brings me to my next point…

8. Life Was Slower.  Which is weird, because I am not a patient woman—ask anyone. But maybe that means it would do me good to go to a time and place where I had to slow down and take it easy. Maybe I’d take more in, relax a little, and be better for it. Sounds nice, anyhow.

7. Food. Again, this is one of those things that depends on having money. But if you did…wow. I’ve seen some menus from the time. Meat. Cream. Pastries that defy the imagination. I would explode, but I would enjoy myself until I did.

6. You’re a Time Traveler.  In itself, that’s pretty cool. You can try and change the past; if you can’t change the past, you can always make strangely knowing predictions and impress young men/women; and you can always hope to run into David Tennant.

5. The Clothes (Women). Oh my God, the clothes—and the reasons to wear them. In my daily life, it’s hard not to just wander around in jeans and a turtleneck, and while that’s good in its way, I’d love to have some motivation to make myself all pretty and have tea, or go dancing, or similar.

4. Dancing. Yes, people dance today. I do it myself, and it’s fun—and the ratio of men to women in most dancing groups my age is not great. Back in the 1800s, men who danced were not rare and majestic creatures like the noble…I’ve run out of metaphor here, but you get my point.

3. Active Recreation. Or at least different recreation. I like video games as well as the next geek girl, but it would be nice to sing for fun, or dance, or ride horses or row boats—and to have those things be regular amusements rather than once-in-a-while novelties.

2. Meeting Future Famous People. Darwin. Dickens.  Tennyson. Eliot. You could have harsh words with Freud, if you wanted, and maybe set him straight about a few things. Why not?

1. The Clothes (Men). Insofar as I have recently been a single young woman, and insofar as the baseball cap dude-bro look does not flatter one single person ever, and neither does the cartoon-t-shirt neckbeard look…I would so not mind an era when the average guy wore a nice suit regularly. Nope. Would not mind that at all.

NO PROPER LADY BY ISABEL COOPER – IN STORES SEPTEMBER 2011

It’s Terminator meets My Fair Lady in this fascinating debut of black magic and brilliant ball gowns, martial arts, and mysticism.

England, 1888. The trees are green, the birds are singing, and in 200 years demons will destroy it all. Unless Joan, a rough-around-the-edges assassin from the future, can take out the dark magician responsible. But to get close to her target she’ll need help learning how to fit into polite Victorian society to get close to her target.

Simon Grenville has his own reasons for wanting to destroy Alex Reynell. The man used to be his best friend—until his practice of the dark arts almost killed Simon’s sister. The beautiful half-naked stranger Simon meets in the woods may be the perfect instrument for his revenge. It will just take a little time to teach her the necessary etiquette and assemble a proper wardrobe. But as each day passes, Simon is less sure he wants Joan anywhere near Reynell. Because no spell in the world will save his future if she isn’t in it.

Buy: No Proper Lady

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debut author Isabel Cooper lives in Boston and maintains her guise as a mild-mannered project manager working in legal publishing. She only travels through time the normal way and has never fought a demon, but she can waltz. Her next book, No Honest Woman, will be in stores in April 2011. For more information, please visit http://isabelcooper.wordpress.com.

GIVEAWAY: I have 2 copies of No Proper Lady for 2 lucky readers. Open to US and Canadian readers/addresses only. Enter by leaving a comment about why you would want to visit Victorian England! Last Day to Enter: October 15, 2011.

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/top-10-reasons-to-travel-to-victorian-england/feed/ 17 Review: Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-suddenly-you-by-lisa-kleypas/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-suddenly-you-by-lisa-kleypas/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 09:54:36 +0000 Zarabeth Golden http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=1157

guestreview

By: Zarabeth, guest reviewer

This is a fantastic spinster story set in 1836 England. Our heroine, Amanda, is a 30-yr old spinster supporting herself as a novelist who has decided to do something for herself, for once in her life. As we well know a never-married 30 yr old woman is quite on the shelf, but this does not prevent her from having the same sexual needs as any other woman. So our heroine, and my heroine for this, hires a male prostitute for her 30th birthday completely disregarding social conventions of virginity and premarital sex.

On her birthday a suitable man with an association to the escort service does appear on her doorstep and we assume that this is her prostitute. As the reader we are mortified to learn that this man is not a prostitute despite his sexual actions with our heroine. Later in the book Amanda and the not-prostitute Jack meet at a social/publishing event.

The story as a whole involves Jack doing everything he can to get Amanda back in bed and eventually convinces her to have an affair with him. I very much enjoyed the affair and the experiences of our main characters in public and in private (rating: 5). Once Amanda decides that the affair must end, things get pretty complicated and despair ensues. Months into this unfortunate depression we discover that Amanda is pregnant. Again, our never-married 30 yr old woman has just discovered that she is pregnant- this is a problem. Our Amanda must now decide whether to move to the continent or marry below her standards and whether or not to tell Jack about his child (rating: 4).

I call this a solid 4.5. There are 2 reasons that this review is not a full 5: there is some rear-entry stuff (gags and feels uncomfortable) and there is a bit too much time spent on inner-turmoil instead acts based on inner turmoil.

Rating: 4.5

Buy: Suddenly You

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-suddenly-you-by-lisa-kleypas/feed/ 2 Review: Miss Foster’s Folly by Alice Gaines http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-miss-foster%e2%80%99s-folly-by-alice-gaines/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-miss-foster%e2%80%99s-folly-by-alice-gaines/#comments Sat, 17 Sep 2011 09:47:26 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=7788

This Victorian romance is the very opposite of sexual restraint. If you're in the mood for something hot and spicy with a wide streak of naughtiness you'll want to read this book! You’ll love it from the very first page.

Miss Juliet Foster upon her father’s death is given all of his wealth while her brother gets the businesses, and her sister the real estate.  Suddenly Juliet isn’t just a virginal American spinster. She’s also an heiress and the leeches are popping out the woodwork to try to force her into marriage so they can get control of it.

Determined not to get caught but to still enjoy her life, Juliet decides the best thing to do is seduce her way through the Continent. First she’ll go to Britain, find a nice staid man to start. Then she’ll hit France to turn herself into a more sophisticated lover. Next Spain, for a little passion. All because, if she’s going to end up with a man he’s going to be Italian – the most perfect of lovers to be found anywhere! There’s just one flaw – somebody has to take her virginity first.

David Winslow, the Marquess of Derrington, Derry to his friends, suffers from the Winslow curse which skips between generations. If he’s ever going to be happy and successful he needs to find a woman more wild than he is because in taming her he’ll tame himself. It’s his ‘dying’ grandmother’s wish that he marry soon and so he goes to America to find himself the perfect bride, one who meets all his grandmother’s requirements and cares not a fig for his wealth or title. When Juliet Foster asks him to take her maidenhead he’s both flabbergasted and excited because he knows she is his perfect match. When she runs away he knows he has to chase after her.

It’s a fun romp of cat and mouse and hot hot sex. Really, it’s decadently delicious in every way.

My one complaint is how often the heroine runs off. The very last time she does was one time too many for me. I felt the angst moment could have been satisfied a little sooner with better results if the North & South type moment had been seized upon with vigor.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Buy: Miss Foster's Folly

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-miss-foster%e2%80%99s-folly-by-alice-gaines/feed/ 0 Review: Love and Scandal by Donna Lea Simpson http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-love-and-scandal-by-donna-lea-simpson/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-love-and-scandal-by-donna-lea-simpson/#comments Sat, 09 Jul 2011 09:36:31 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=7790

A lady in Victorian times had little options when it came to acceptable jobs. Writing novels was simply not one of them and certainly not publishing them. That’s why Collette Jardiniere hides her authorship of The Last Days of a Rake behind the pseudonym Collin Jenkins. That is until some trumped-up peacock of a rake refuses to deny authorship. So she goes to London to rectify the gross injustice of her work be unfairly attributed to another and for the first time finds herself experiencing freedom and passion. A very heady combination for a virginal spinster.

Charles Jameson (Jamie) wants nothing more than to meet the man behind the scandalous novel and pick his brain. As a lover of the literary world but lacking skill with a pen, Charles is very much a man of the time. He refuses (at first) to believe woman capable of intelligence, thinking they merely parrot men in their lives. He also can’t believe that they write, let alone one having written a novel he considers to be written by a rakehell.

Simpson does an excellent job weaving both characters together. They’re helpless attraction to each other doesn’t hurt either. She carefully chips Collette’s cowardice to claim authorship away and slowly builds Charles’ character up so that he can be the hero Collette needs. Of course their relationship is not without a series of hardships but eventually all obstacles are overcome.

In addition to Love & Scandal, I read the companion novella Last Days of a Rake. It’s not a love story. Collette didn’t write a romantic piece, it’s a dark look into the redemption of a rake who doesn’t even understand why he’s changed. It reflects everything the characters from Love & Scandal claim it to be and that includes its flaws. If you have a little time on your hands, be sure to check it out and read it before starting the other. I thought it helped a lot with understanding points made in the novel about the heroine’s writing, but you don’t have to read it to enjoy the romance.

Rating: 4 Stars

Buy: Love & Scandal

Free Download: The Last Days of a Rake

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-love-and-scandal-by-donna-lea-simpson/feed/ 0 Review: Carnal Machines edited by D.L. King http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-carnal-machines-edited-by-d-l-king/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-carnal-machines-edited-by-d-l-king/#comments Sat, 25 Jun 2011 09:13:16 +0000 Sandra Scholes http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=11357

by Sandra Scholes, guest reviewer

In Victorian times the emphasis on women and men was of being courteous, proper and reserved, yet in society that didn't sit well with many of the people of the day, especially the well off and super rich who held lavish balls and parties at their huge estates where who knows what would happen. From that tales of debauchery and excess began to surface from the staid and held back populace. Somehow or other, being proper wasn't the norm for most - sex was on the minds of many folks and it came out in the writings of the time from several writers.

In this compilation of 15 stories, sex is at the forefront of these writers’ minds, yet where would we be without it, or them.

Human Powered by Teresa Noelle Roberts pens a revolutionary tale of strong, woman designer Claire, who along with Doctor Lowell are a formidable team at designing and building new technology, at least for Victorian times. The two of them are close, perhaps improperly close for a married woman, but he arouses thoughts in her mind that haven't come up in years, of his scent, his manly musk, and it drives her wild, as it will the reader.

The Servant Question by Janine Ashbless has problems with her robot servant, one of the best from the Tulliver Tireless Housemaid range, and needs a careful hand to help repair her - enter Mr Tulliver himself who is only too happy to oblige. For those who like the surprise ending, this one has it, and it will be unforgettable.

Like in Gotta Have It, another anthology of erotic and deeply sensual stories, Carnal Machines has enough for the discerning reader to get interested in as there are so many aspects of steampunk and the rich Victorian settings to choose from. This compilation has it all, time travel, unusual robots, ruthless gentlemen, and depraved designers. Far from being a series of stories about the staid Victorians, these are told from the perspective of what the characters are thinking inside, all their proper ways are gone and only the unbridled passion can be seen.

I would advise anyone interested in erotic stories to get a copy of this as it is magical, gripping and is different in every way – make way for the new steampunk erotica.

Rating: ★★★★★

Buy: Carnal Machines: Steampunk Erotica

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-carnal-machines-edited-by-d-l-king/feed/ 0 Illegitimacy in the Regency http://www.loveromancepassion.com/illegitimacy-in-the-regency/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/illegitimacy-in-the-regency/#comments Mon, 06 Jun 2011 09:21:53 +0000 Guest Blogger http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=11231

by Grace Burrowes, guest blogger and author of The Soldier

This topic is of sufficient depth that several PhD’s could spend several thoroughly enjoyable lifetimes researching it, and still have plenty of areas for fascinating debate. That said, I am not a PhD, so disclaimers are in order: I’ve done research, but my efforts are by no means exhaustive nor meant to do anything other than tangentially inform works of fiction intended to entertain.

For starters, when I began to meet characters from “the wrong side of the blankets” and to research the Regency period, I realized I had preconceived notions that probably sprang not from the Regency era itself, but from the Victorian and subsequent impressions of the Regency mores. I expected a “stigma” associated with illegitimacy and I expected the occasion of illegitimacy to be rare and quietly deplored.

Except… human nature being what it is, contraception being the faulty to nonexistent thing it was 200 years ago, my preconceived notions were swiftly debunked. For purposes of my novels, I’ve tended to focus on upper class illegitimacy, and found examples of titles passing through sons who were only nominally of the title holder’s line (that is “legitimate bastards”), and households of very peculiar configuration indeed.

Some readers will be familiar with the Fifth Duke of Devonshire’s situation. His Grace’s household included his duchess Georgiana, who raised His Grace’s ante-marital daughter by a mistress; two daughters and a son born to Their Graces; a son and daughter born to His Grace and his mistress (the married Lady Bess Foster who was portrayed in the movie as Georgiana’s best friend and who married William upon Georgiana’s death); and for the first months of the child’s life, Georgiana’s daughter with Charles, Lord Grey, a future prime minister of England.

Going into the Regency period, this was one of the first families of the kingdom.

To ensure that anyone in line for the throne was of sufficiently patrician bloodlines, George III saw The Royal Marriages Act of 1772 passed, which required, essentially, either royal or parliamentary approval of any marriages contracted by George’s children (this is a gross oversimplification). As young men, the Royal dukes were not inclined to ask “Father, may I,” and several contracted void marriages—most would say Prinny among them.

When Princess Charlotte died in 1817, several of the Royal dukes finally accepted the bonds of legal unions, though between them they’d already sired something close to twenty illegitimate children. The Duke of Clarence (Prinny’s successor to the throne) had lived for twenty years with the actress Mrs. Jordan, producing at least ten offspring styled “Fitzclarences,” all of whom were illegitimate. Some respected historians claim that Prinny’s sister, Princess Sophia, also gave birth to a child out of wedlock.

With the royal family comporting itself thus, it’s safe to say illegitimacy, no matter how it might have been deplored privately or decried among the humble folk, was not regarded as a nasty little secret among the highest echelons of society.

And yet… When it came time for me to write a hero whose parents were not married at the time of his birth, I could not assume he’d be oblivious to the nature of his own antecedents. Devlin St. Just, the hero of The Soldier, might have been accepted everywhere on the strength of his ducal paternity, but as a man, as a human, he was still plagued with a sense of inadequacy, a need to find his own way, and a heart for any other creature cast in the role of stray or outsider.

THE SOLDIER BY GRACE BURROWES—IN STORES JUNE 2011

Even in the quiet countryside he can find no peace...

His idyllic estate is falling down from neglect and nightmares of war give him no rest. Then Devlin St. Just meets his new neighbor...

Until his beautiful neighbor ignites his imagination...

With her confident manner hiding a devastating secret, his lovely neighbor commands all of his attention, and protecting Emmaline becomes Deviln’s most urgent mission.

Buy: The Soldier

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Grace Burrowes is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of The Heir, also a 2010 Publishers Weekly Book of the Year. She is a practicing attorney specializing in family law and lives in rural Maryland, where she is working on the next books chronicling the loves stories of the Windham family. Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish will be in stores in October 2011, and The Virtuoso will be in stores in November 2011, with more to come in 2012!  For more information, please visit www.graceburrowes.com.

GIVEAWAY: I have 2 copies of The Soldier. Open to US and Canadian readers only. Enter by leaving a comment. One entry per relevant comment; multiple entries allowed. Last day to enter: June 17, 2011.

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/illegitimacy-in-the-regency/feed/ 13 Review: The Dark Desires of the Druids 1: Murder and Magick by Isabel Roman http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-dark-desires-of-the-druids-1-murder-and-magick-by-isabel-roman/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-dark-desires-of-the-druids-1-murder-and-magick-by-isabel-roman/#comments Sat, 21 May 2011 09:04:32 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=1892

bookreview

Mmm-mmm delicious. I love the plot to this novel, which looks like it will drive the second in the series. I also love the romantic conflict- it’s simply too yummy. Roman certainly has a way with storytelling, twisting and weaving different threads into one cohesive whole. I listened to the audio version of this book and was tempted more than once to click double speed just so I could devour this novel faster. Of course, I didn’t, that would take out half of the fun. Medea Carter Beckett is truly the best narrator Ravenous could have found for the job.

Magickers are being hunted. In the age of the English witch hunts, known as the Great Purification, one man rises above the rest to the head of the assault. Nobody is safe while Corwin continues to breathe. He is clever and charismatic, wooing people to his viewpoint. A bill is in parliament and if the Magickers are to have any hope at all for survival it must pass.

Malcolm Wargrave, earl of Preston, is on the fence. He is neutral and has not taken a stance, either agreement or disagreement to Corwin’s speeches. He is Lady Raven Drake’s lover. They started their affair almost immediately after their mutual friend’s house party began. She was a virgin when they met, and while she gave him her virginity she could never be his as she belonged to another. That and because she kept a secret from Malcolm.

Gareth, Viscount Moore, is Raven’s intended. They are engaged for several purposes. Not only were they well matched as both were Master Magickers, but they also stood as the only defense for their people. As the heirs to two of the very last powerful lines of Magickers, their alliance would create a new line of Masters. Their children would be powerful. United in marriage, their union would be a beacon of hope to their people.

Raven will face the toughest decision of her young life – will she give into her heart or into duty?

Rating: 5 Stars

Buy the audio version here.

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-dark-desires-of-the-druids-1-murder-and-magick-by-isabel-roman/feed/ 1 Review: Because You’re Mine by Lisa Kleypas http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-because-youre-mine-by-lisa-kleypas/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-because-youre-mine-by-lisa-kleypas/#comments Fri, 13 May 2011 09:17:42 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=1572

bookreview

Because You're Mine is a delicious, exquisite, and absorbing read. Absolutely delightful from start to finish. The pacing, diction, plot, and characters were all to my liking. There was nothing in the novel that drew me out of the reading experience. Honestly, I just couldn't put it down. I have a love of all Kleypas novels. She is simply a fantastic author.

Madeline Matthews is in trouble, but not the trouble one would usually expect. No, most of society would say Madeline was not in trouble at all as she was on the verge of making a most excellent match. For Maddy however the upcoming nuptials was the kiss of death. Marriage to Lord Clifton (cue many a bad guy's looks and smell) was tantamount to a gilded cage. He desired her only as his blue blood broodmare, a situation she could not endure. Explaining her feelings to her parents gained her nothing so Maddy hatched a plan that would in essence remove her as a possibility to be Lord Clifton's wife.

The plan is nothing short of daring as Maddy escapes boarding school and travels to London with a crazy plan to throw herself at Logan Scott's feet. Why him? She saw a print of his image and decided that he would be the one she would lose her virginity to... and her approach would be forward, because how else could a girl like herself gain the handsome actor's attention?

Logan Scott is attracted and irritated with the young girl. He knows she is a well bred lady, and a young untouched one at that. He refuses to give into her bewitching charm and plea to take her to his bed. In fact he tries to immediately send her packing. Unfortunately for him he just won't be able to help himself. A constant temptation, Maddy is underfoot all the time because the comanager of the Capital, the Duchess of Leeds, hires her to be an all around assistant for the theater.

Who will surrender first to the emotions brewing behind the curtains?

Rating: ★★★★★

Buy: Because You're Mine

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