Love Romance Passion » Great Britain 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: His Leading Lady by Paula Martin http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-his-leading-lady-by-paula-martin/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-his-leading-lady-by-paula-martin/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:23:43 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=13572

Heroine: Jess Harper is the twin sister of a rising West End actress. But when her twin, Lora, goes missing, Jess is begged to step in by her agent. With Lora off the map and her career in jeopardy, Jess does what she’s always done – help! But the theatre director is both too arrogant and too sexy and he’s bound to see through her act.

Hero: Kyle Drummond needs his leading lady. When he discovers Jess is playing Lora he decides the better twin is present and gets her to take over Lora’s role in his new show. Jess is everything he’s looking for both on stage and off – but can he convince her nothing was happening between him and Lora besides contractual obligations?

The Show’s Financial Backer: Watch out for this guy!

Review: Sometimes it’s nice to dream of the life you didn’t choose, the paths you didn’t take, but what happens when the dream you let go of comes back into your reach again? That’s what happens to Jess – she chose a life off the stage, but with her sister’s disappearing act suddenly she has a chance at the limelight again. It’s very tempting, but her worry about her sister keeps her from fully believing the life she stepped into. Can she give it up? Can she give up Kyle? It was a nice read, a little lacking in tension and not enough loving between hero and heroine for my tastes. Could have used more!

Rating: ★★★½☆

Buy: His Leading Lady

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Hero: Blake Harrison needs a wife, yesterday, in order to complete the terms of the will of his late father. They never saw eye to eye and this is just one more thing he’s being manipulated to do, but Blake has a plan. He’s going to hire himself a bride because the last thing he needs to do is marry somebody and have them get the wrong idea. At first, any gal who understood the game plan would have been good for him, but when he meets the heroine all bets are off.

Heroine: Samantha Elliot is the owner of an elite matchmaking firm that caters to the wealthy. She guarantees to find you the right match for you at this time in your life plans. When Blake turns down her three perfectly good matches with women just like the women he usually dates she’s curious. Then he offers her ten million dollars for a one-year marriage contract... but only if she’s the bride. Can she return to the life of privilege she knew once before or will scandal rear its ugly head?

Review:  This was a cute, fast paced read (it has to with only 220-some pages). There’s sex in the story so don’t equate cute with clean/sweet romance. Cute means the story is adorable and well-done. I liked the premise for this marriage of convenience story, sure it’s been done before (lots of departed family members like to decree weddings in their last will and testaments) but I thought it was handled nicely. I really liked when Blake gets outmaneuvered again by his departed dad with another caveat in the will that only appears after certain criteria was met. Bybee has a good use of the mean-spirited ("evil") ex. Could have done without the mentally ill sister though.

Recommended: If you like MOC romances, contemporary romance, Dukes, and category romances.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Buy: Wife by Wednesday

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Reviewed by Lynn Reynolds

This is book 2 of the “Jane Austen/Mr. Darcy” series.

Kay Ashton is helping to take care of a very sick woman. They also have something in common – they have a love of Jane Austen. We see that her favorite romantic hero is Mr. Wentworth or to be more specific the actor Oli Wade Owen. If you had one romantic hero you could dream about, who would it be? We also see that Kay is a book illustrator. She quits her job to follow her dream.

Adam Craig is a screenwriter and film producer who lives near Lyme Regis. Kay doesn’t know it yet but they have a connection. But Victoria surprises us by making him painfully shy. Will he get over his shyness to let Kay know how he feels?

Kay has opened a Bed & Breakfast and her first guests are a group of actors doing a film based on one of Jane Austen’s works. We see that Kay has a very easy going personality which works well for her new line of work. She appears to be one of those people who likes everyone. And with a house full of celebrities she’s just a little awe struck.

One of Victoria’s characters sticks out. Her name is Gemma. She’s one of the actresses staying at Kay’s B & B. She’s quiet, a daughter of an actress, and one who hopes she won’t turn out be just like her mother. She doesn’t appear to be your typical ingénue.

For those readers of romance that don’t know much about Jane Austen, Victoria sneaks in little bits and pieces about her into the story – a miniature history lesson if you will. She may make you a fan before the book is finished.

In Kay’s interactions with the film group, she makes certain observations. Be we have to question how on point her observations are. Kay has a crush on the “pretty boy” actor Oli Wade Owen. Is she just star struck because of all his attention? Is she misinterpreting that attention? Will she miss her true soul mate because of her walking around with her head in the clouds?

Victoria helps to fuel the romance bug. You’ll become a fan of hers and she may change your mind about going back and reading some of Jane Austen’s work. She will also get you hooked on the surroundings – she’s our travel guide as she takes us through the English countryside.

This story is definitely like a film. Victoria puts in so many twists and turns you have to keep reading to see who ends up with whom. But if you expect to read sex in this story, you will be disappointed. If you expect a cut and dry romance between main characters, you will also be disappointed. If you love a romance that takes its time and comes out to be a surprise, this book will be for you. You may also want to go back and read the first book and then wait for the Spring when her third book comes out.

Rating: ★★★½☆

Buy: Dreaming of Mr. Darcy

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-dreaming-of-mr-darcy-by-victoria-connelly/feed/ 0 Review: Wicked (Medieval Trilogy, Book 3) by Jill Barnett http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-wicked-medieval-trilogy-book-3-by-jill-barnett/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-wicked-medieval-trilogy-book-3-by-jill-barnett/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:46:40 +0000 Lynn Reynolds http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=13409

Reviewed by Lynn Reynolds

Sofia Howard is seen reading a book that was written by Queen Eleanor. When the book was written, Sofia didn’t want a husband and went to any lengths to make sure that didn’t happen. At least until she met Sir Tobin de Clare.

Sofia appears to be a women’s libber of her time. She has certain beliefs and doesn’t like to be told she can’t. Her king wants her to wed but she wants to have a say in who she chooses. Her friend, Edith, makes a good comic foil for Sophia.

Edith is the one that introduces Sofia to Sir Tobin. But Sofia doesn’t realize that they have met before. You will definitely want to read their reunion. Then we get to see that grown men still like to play childish games. You also get to see why “payback’s a bitch”.

Sofia and Tobin’s story reminds me of The Taming of the Shrew. I loved the movie version with Elizabeth Taylor and her husband Richard Burton. I can definitely see those two in the parts of Sofia and Tobin. It will be interesting to see who will outwit whom.

Our author has a wicked sense of humor. She also makes our couple very prideful – neither wants to give an inch. Our couple exists at a point in time where women don’t have the freedom we have today. There are also consequences for their actions.

The story then jumps to when Sofia spends time at a nunnery. You have to laugh how Sofia’s mind works. But we also have to remember that she is a young lady and is probably just acting her age.

She wants something specific from Sister Judith. She starts out a workout routine that would impress any athlete. Tobin and Sofia are reunited and you will love their reunion. I was starting to get worried that certain things were never going to happen.

But when you read, sometimes you just have to be patient – like the saying goes, “good things come to those who wait”. Their interactions are what makes this a page turner. The ending will surprise you, even though it probably shouldn’t. The only downside was I couldn’t figure out how the title came to be.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Buy: Wicked

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Reviewed by Carla F.

Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen novel and so I grabbed this one as soon as I saw it. The appeal of the story for me is the thought that no matter how much time has passed nor how large the mistake, it can be fixed.

Summary: In this adaptation Rick Wentworth lives in Australia and is a famous marine biologist who has spent his career studying sea dragons. He is now headed back to England to promote his book which his publishers have fortunately for him decided to name Sex in the Sea. Ever since Anna Elliot refused to marry him and broke his heart, Rick has lived by the motto, “Never forgive, never forgot”. But after ten years, Rick is thinking that once he returns from his book tour, that he needs to finally forget Anna, perhaps marry his supermodel girlfriend and get on with his life.

Anna’s life has been busy with her work as a professor of Russian Literature. She regrets that she let her mother’s friend Lady Russell (or Minty as she is known to her friends) talk her in to rejecting Rick’s proposal. She has kept up with Rick’s career, and she even has a ticket to his Bath book signing, but she doesn’t know if she will have the guts to approach him.

Review: Archer captures perfectly the style and tone of the origin. You see and feel the melancholy. (The advantage this one has over the original is that you get to see it both in Anna and Rick.) There is also the sly humor. (The total cluelessness and self-absorption of Anna’s father Walter Elliot and her sister Lisa is a frequent target.)

I liked how that even though this Rick and Anna had a more intimate relationship than their Austen counterparts, the sexual detail is somewhat vague and left for the most part at the bedroom door. It feels the way that Austen might have written it if she were to do so today.

The fun for me with any adaptation of Austen’s is the way the author fits in all the important plot points and characters. For example, the “Letter” scene is a convincing variation. However, one problem that I had with the overall story is that the keeping Rick and Anna apart felt a little forced. Societal rules in Austen’s time meant that there was a more “natural” barrier in the fact that a woman had to wait for the man to approach her.

Things that made me chuckle: The Forward in the book by Will Darcy who met Rick when he and his sister Georgie were on holiday in Australia.

Any mention of name Dottie Dalrymple.

The thing that creeped me out: William, who is Walter Elliot’s heir, bears enough of a physical resemblance to Walter to make Anna uncomfortable. Her sister Lisa doesn’t even seem to see this and is eager to marry him.

Overall: An excellent version of Persuasion. The author captures perfectly the mood and humor of the original while telling a modern story.

Rating: ★★★★★

Buy: Persuade Me (Darcy & Friends)

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Before you start: Have you read Jane Eyre? Did you like it? Well The Forbidden Wife followed Jane Eyre to a Tee, which is great if you love Jane Eyre (which I do) but awful if you’re looking for new surprises (I was and there wasn’t any).

Heroine: 18 year old Ashley Jones is an orphan who grew up in the foster care system. She’s got lots of debt and so desires jobs that include room and board. She’s pretty perceptive and has a lot of insights on people’s behavior because of her upbringing. Working as Jack’s live-in assistant at Blackwood Manor is her ticket for something better, even if it’s located out in the middle of nowhere on the moors.

Hero: 30 something Jack Marchant is working on a novel about his experiences in the military where something bad happened (but is never explained). He suffers a lot from bad dreams which might be indicative of PTSD (but again never specifically stated). He wants Ashley, his little oddball, something fierce, but the trick is making her realize she wants him and can have him.

Wife in the Attic: Or in this case the cruel wife in a coma. She tricked Jack into marriage with a fake pregnancy, which he honored even after finding out because he didn’t want her to swindle him out of money for a marriage that was only 3 months old and also because his pride demanded he make it work anyway.

Review: I wanted Forbidden Wife to do more. If it explored more emotional depth out of Ashley and Jack it could have been a solid update on Jane Eyre. I found this review of the story hilarious because it really tells it like it is.

Rating: ★★½☆☆

Buy: The Forbidden Wife (Harlequin Presents)

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-the-forbidden-wife-by-sharon-kendrick/feed/ 0 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 Reviewed: Love Through Time by Lucy Felthouse http://www.loveromancepassion.com/reviewed-love-through-time-by-lucy-felthouse/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/reviewed-love-through-time-by-lucy-felthouse/#comments Sun, 13 Nov 2011 15:35:41 +0000 Lynn Reynolds http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=13097

Reviewed by Lynn Reynolds

Emily Stone is a book conservator who is sent to Westbury Manor to clean and conserve the book in the library. George is the hunky night guard who watches over the manor at night.

I love how Lucy describes Emily’s first glimpse of the library. You can almost picture the look of awe on her face when she sees all those books for the first time. You can just about see Emily drooling over what she’s seeing and then lovingly touching all the books she can.

As a romance reader, I would be in heaven if I went into that type of library and it was filled with all types of romance novels. You’d never get me out of there. All I would need is a nice fireplace and my imagination.

You have to love how Emily meets George for the first time – he’s not exactly what she was expecting. You have to envy Emily as she gets an eyeful of George. Oh, to be in her shoes. In using your imagination, who would George look like (if he could look like anyone)?

As Emily is going through her books, she comes across a photograph. It’s a photograph of the resident ghost, William Elliot. George and Emily decide to work together to help William move on. But we also get a story of who William is. It’s just enough to get us interested but it doesn’t overtake George and Emily’s story.

You can tell that George and Emily are very comfortable with each other right from the start. When they end up going back to his place, you can picture how impatient they become. I think Lucy planned it perfectly by having the sex come toward the end of the story. It helps to build our anticipation.

Lucy keeps right to the couple’s story without getting into a lot of their backstory. If you put in too much of a backstory, you lose your readers. She gives us a couple that do something more than just get between the sheets. You want to see the couple interact with one another – get to know one another. And she leaves us begging for more.

I was disappointed to see their story come to such an abrupt end. Did they stay together after Emily finishes her job at the manor? Do they go on to have other adventures or do they go their own separate ways? Does this mean this is part of a series? This definitely a short story you will want to read.

Rating: ★★★★½

Buy: Love Through Time

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