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It is just Hoyt’s terrible bad luck that I read the The Raven Prince for the very first time just two days before I got this book from the library. I know it’s in bad form to judge a book based on another book, but as both are by the same author, I figure this could be the exception to the rule. To Beguile a Beast read like a poor man’s version of the Raven Prince. There were so many similarities between the too, it was astonishing.

Some of the similarities include: the fairytale story at the beginning of each chapter, the conditions of the poor heroes, and the positions of the women in the hero’s life. They are all the same or at least very, very similar. Proof (spoilery):

TBAB = To Beguile a Beast
TRP = The Raven Prince

Fairytale:

Truth Teller soldier fairytale in TBAB.
The raven prince fairytale in TRP.

Heroes:

Hero is scarred in TBAB: Missing eye, missing fingers, facial scars.
Hero is scarred in TRP: Pox marks all over face and body.
Both heroes are gruesome looking.

Hero in TBAB writes on flora and fauna of New England.
Hero in TRP writes on agriculture.

Heroines:

Heroine works as housekeeper in TBAB.
Heroine works as a secretary in TRP.

Similar Hero Character backgrounds:

Hero in TBAB lost his fiancé to fever.
Hero in TRP first wife died in child birth.

The only big difference that I saw was:

Heroine in TBAB has two children.
Heroine in TRP has no children.

I was bored with To Beguile a Beast. It may be because I read Raven Prince so soon before reading this book. I believe, however, that I would have disliked it even without reading Raven Prince. The magic in the tale simply wasn’t as enthralling as the Raven Prince. I closed Raven Prince feeling satisfied and happy. I struggled to make it through each chapter of To Beguile a Beast. I was glad to finish TBAB, simply so I could move on to another story. If you read it, do you feel the same way?

Rating: 1.5-2 Stars

Buy: To Beguile A Beast

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I have wanted to read this book for a while. I can’t tell you how happy I am that I finally did read this book! As I closed the book, I was gushing. There were so many aspects of this story that I liked, it’s hard to find any to point out as negatives, but there are two side plot arcs that could have been left well enough alone and the story would have been tighter focused and undiminished.

As both arcs together make the bigger blackmail arc in the story, I’ll just detail them really quickly. One was the woman who slept with Anna’s late husband, and wanted that information hidden. The other was the lover of the woman who wanted his pockets lined. Of the two, the male lover blackmail arc was completely superfluous and unnecessary.

What I liked:

• Anna working as Edward’s secretary.
• Edward’s internal monologues.
• Anna masquerading herself and claiming Edward at a “luxury” brothel.
• Edward’s proposals.
• The sex. Hot stuff, I tell you.

Anna is a respectable widow. Her late husband a complete scoundrel and adulterer. She can’t have kids, or so she thinks (as is the way with most romance novels - the heroes just have mightier seed - it’s a fact!).

Edward’s late wife died in childbirth. He found out after he married her just how much he disgusted her. He won’t make that mistake twice. He’s currently wooing a baron of an old family line for his daughter, and reassuring himself more than once that the daughter wants to be wed to him. This side arc makes sense for the time period, but it was just another unneeded obstacle in the story.

Meanwhile, Anna has gone to work for him. From the moment he meets her officially, he can’t take his mind off of Anna. She’s invaded his senses so much, he runs to London to seek release in a high end brothel so he won’t ruin her respectability. Little does he know… evil grin.

In parting I want to add just how much I loved the wren and raven symbolism and it’s correlation to the fairytale posted at the beginning of every chapter.

Review: 4 Stars

Buy: The Raven Prince

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I’ll be the first to tell you I’m not a fan of the love triangle for many reasons. The first and foremost reason is because I feel it’s just a ploy by an author to fuel the angst and drama of a mediocre story. Haymore proves me wrong. She does not do this. The love triangle is a valid part of the plot and wholly integral with the storyline. She approaches the love triangle in a very unique manner. I don’t want to spoil anyone, because it’s so different than anything I’ve encountered before in my readings.

Another reason I have trouble with the love triangle situation is the waffling. I simply don’t get it. I’m told this is because I haven’t been in one and until I have triangles are hard to appreciate or sympathize with. If you’re like me you probably think it’s very black and white and very little gray. In my head, I know it’s gray. I know that it is possible to love two people at once, but the Grinch side of me feels that if you can’t make a choice between them then you don’t love either one enough and should let both go. Haymore made me feel the conflict that Sophie, who is in the middle, goes through. I appreciate her position and I sympathize with her, something that is way out of the norm with me.

I have a feeling that a second read through will make it a better read, because I know where it’s going. I was looking at all the wrong things in the book the first time and therefore was anxious and worried about how the plot was developing, certain that Haymore was going to bungle it. I just couldn’t see how it was going to work out.

Haymore surprised me, the ending surprised me, and that says something. It made me reevaluate the whole book and all my complaints and worries held no weight.

A fan of the love triangle will be placing this novel on their favorite shelf. Someone who like me, needs a little persuasion about the loving the love triangle can read this and appreciate it. Who knows, it may hook you so completely you can’t wait to grab a hold of another love triangle!

A brief summary:
Sophie loved Garrett since she was 16 years old and was devastated when he didn’t return home from Water-Loo. Tristan is her best friend and together over many years they healed from their mutual loss. One night after their marriage Garrett returns. Everything as they knew it is changed from property to titles, from money to marriages–Haymore explores Regency law and Regency hearts.

Rating: 3.5-4 Stars

Buy: A Hint of Wicked

This book read a little slow for me and the storytelling didn’t capture me particularly. I read through perseverance more than any real desire to finish.

I like the Medieval period but I would never go back to that time period. As Lynn points out, it’s not safe for a woman outside of the walls of a palace or castle or keep. Sometimes, even then it’s not a guarantee as Lady Sarah of Remy learned.

At a young age, Sarah’s father left her under Queen Eleanor’s care. He left her without any wealth to call her own and more importantly without lands. Completely at the Queen’s mercy, Sarah grew up thinking she was quite blessed… until the Queen began her demands in return for all she’d done for Sarah.

Branded as the Queen’s whore, Sarah is used to the way the other women treat her at court. She spies for the Queen without complaint, hoping one day the Queen will fulfill her promise and marry her off to a titled nobleman. That hoped is crushed when the Queen commands Sarah to wed William of Bronwyn.

William looks like a fierce and unloving man. His muscles bulge and his scowl is harsh, not to mention his reputation… why he is everything Sarah fears. But reputations can be deceiving as both William and Sarah both will learn.

Rating: 2 Stars

Buy: Bedded by the Warrior

WWJAD is quick fun read. The story is flirty and cute just like the hero, Lord James Shermont. Read it in the bathtub, on the beach, while waiting in line at the post office, wherever, it’s sure to make you smile and leave you eager to turn the page.

Eleanor Pottinger (yes it is unfortunate that is her real last name) is a fan of Jane Austen. We meet her trying to get a room at a Jane Austen convention only to be told the room she booked has been given to somebody else. Luckily there was a newly renovated suite that was available…if she didn’t mind ghosts!

Of course Eleanor changes her mind about ghosts the minute they materialize. Sisters Deidre and Mina from the time of Jane Austen need Eleanor’s help. They are stuck as ghosts and can’t move on without her help. Eleanor jokingly offers to help if they can guarantee she can meet Jane Austen. They agree and before Eleanor can cry “Just Kidding!” Deidre and Mina have transported Eleanor back into the past.

When Eleanor wakes up she is stuck in the Regency era and is believed to be the girls’ widowed cousin Ellen who was arriving from America. Eleanor plays along and gets away with it because they haven’t seen the real Ellen since childhood. The ghosts tell Eleanor her tasks are to keep them out of the clutches of Lord Shermont, a rakehell of the worst sort, and to make sure their brother, Teddy, doesn’t enter into a duel with Shermont over their reputations.

Eleanor was once foolish enough to try and make a Mr. Darcy out of a Wickham, is she smart enough not to do the opposite? What would Jane Austen do?

Rating: 4.5 Stars

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I took great pleasure in reading this novel. It wasn’t a typical romance though it held many of the typical pieces you would find in a romance. Atypical you ask? Yes! The heroine for instance was raised by the Dakota, or Native American Indians. She had to return to England to pursue the rest of her destiny and avenge her dead mother. The banter was particularly snappy between the leads. The sex too was pretty phenomenal on the scale of none to steamy. I read this in about a day and half; I would put it down and couldn’t wait to get back to it as soon as possible.

The cover on this novel is hysterical, at least my version which is pretty old. My sister-in-law picked it up thinking a boob was sticking out, flagrant nipples and all, but realized upon closer inspection that it was simply a circular diamond pin stuck to the front of the dress. To me the models look like they are wrapped up in a sleeping bag decorated in some ancient Regency pattern. For being raised by the Dakotas in America, she’s certainly pale, no sign of a tan at all – on the cover or in the book. I wonder why that is? Could it be because society would have been shocked down to their slippers and boots?

Christina Bennett is the crème de la crème. The moment her dainty foot hit the first ballroom, London society gasped and capitulated at her feet. She finds it silly and they call her Princess, even though her father has lost his kingdom, even though she’s never met her father in person. With pale white hair and the deepest sky blue eyes, Christina is a lioness. Her arrival to London was predicted by a shaman’s dream and her destiny was to seek out justice for the crimes against her and her mother.

Is it any wonder when she’s introduced to the Marquess of Lyonwood that she was shaken from her stupor? The man looked fierce and vulnerable at the same time. He held himself like a warrior and bore a warrior’s scar down his cheek. To Christina, he looked positively virile and masculine, a far cry of the fops and dandies she’d met again and again from ballroom to ballroom. He was like a lion too, lithe and predatory. When he pursues her, part of Christina wants to give in and part of her fears doing so because she could learn to love him… worse he could learn to love her and her stay with the English was only ever meant to be temporary.

With tempting kisses and secret trysts, Christina’s head swims with the heady sensations of newly experienced passion. She begs him to marry her in one unguarded moment and the scoundrel declines. Lyonwood sees her proposal as a sign of her scheming ways, not realizing that Christina’s eager passion is unrehearsed. He plans to seduce her not knowing that she’s virginal until it’s too late…

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Originally posted 2008-12-28 19:30:35. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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Julie Garwood is a staple, a household name, and Wedding is the first book of hers I ever read. Recommended to me by my closest friend, I came to the conclusion that it must go to the top of my TBR pile. I found the Wedding to be a delightful combination of bride stealing, tortured hero, and a quest for justice. The tortured hero was my favorite part, though the heroine was pretty great too. The Wedding is the sequel to The Bride, but I don’t think you miss anything by reading this one first; it is after all what I did first. I also found pieces of text to get choppy when going from scene to scene near the end or from heroine to hero point of view. Overall it wasn’t a bad start to learning about who this fabulous author is. Spoilers ahead…

Wedding focuses heavily on a revenge plot, which in the end I felt could have been wrapped up better. When young Laird Connor McAlister comes to his father’s death bed, he is made to promise to seek justice for the wrongs of his father. At ten, one would not think this would be particularly important or something that would be a driving force in the child’s life but we’re underestimating the loyalty between father and son, the pride of the Highlanders, and of course the time period. Connor seeks protection from Alec, forms a lasting brotherhood with the man and grows up to search for his father’s killers.

The man Connor’s father thought was behind the plotting is getting married. Since he cannot prove his involvement with his father’s death, Connor decides to seek a lesser revenge by stealing his bride, Brenna Haynesworth. Lucky for Connor, his soon to be bride, Brenna, shares a bit of history with him. I’ll give you it’s a relatively brief history, but this history is needed so that Connor can justify his actions to his brother Alec. See, Brenna as a young girl asked Connor to marry her three times during his one and only stay at her childhood home. Brenna is an amusing heroine because she loses her possessions constantly. Hair ribbons, knifes, shoes, it all follows behind her like a trail of bread crumbs.

When the novel focused on the hero and heroine falling in love, it was a very good read but then it drifted back into the revenge plot and stuck there with a few too many clichés. Connor’s stepmother is plainly evil. She affects a loving spirit still in mourning for her dead husband in front of Connor, but sabotages Brenna at every turn and picks on all her fears about herself and Connor whenever the man isn’t looking. And Brenna is so concerned about gaining his stepmother’s favor and love that she doesn’t bring up her problems with Connor or anyone for that matter.

Then when Connor’s stepbrother arrives on the scene he is a lecherous cretin, bent on seducing Brenna as soon as possible, not caring at all if she’s willing or not. While this is going on the man Connor thinks plotted his father’s death is moving his players around and causing mischief so that Connor cannot be near Brenna or observe what is going on in his own household until it’s nearly too late. Then to top it all off is another communication misunderstanding and the happily ever after is almost caput. In the end they have it, but I would have preferred Garwood to draw it out more instead of tacking it on at the end as if she’d forgotten about it.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Originally posted 2008-12-27 09:35:12. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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What makes a perfect hero? Is it his dashing good looks, his heroic deeds, or his charm? Third in the series Lessons in Love by Suzanne Enoch, England’s Perfect Hero, delves into the challenge of defining a hero.

Lucinda and her two best friends, Georgiana and Evelyn, create three separate lists on how to be a gentleman of high caliber. Each one is highly personal and defines what each girl feels about herself and what she looks for in a mate. On Lucinda’s list there are four items she wishes to teach a certain dashing gentleman, also known as Lord Geoffrey Newcombe, about being a gentleman.

Only her lessons are getting the attention of a different man; another soldier and nobleman whose past is a mystery and whose character is mysterious. Robert Carroway, brother to Dare, Georgiana’s husband. All she knows about Robert is this: he was at Waterloo, he came home from war injured, his experiences in war have made him withdrawn and edgy, and her father doesn’t like him.

Robert Carroway for his part has lived in a personal hell for three years. The darkness threatens to claim him, chew him up and spit him out. If only it would kill him so he didn’t have to live in silent agony about what had been done to him. The only ray of pure sunlight in his whole existence is Lucinda whose cheery disposition and sweet nature draw him like a moth to the flame. If helping her snare the husband of her dreams could also pull him from the darkness he would do it, or so he told himself. What he really wanted was to be the husband of her dreams.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Originally posted 2008-08-27 05:01:49. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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By: Cara Lynn, guest reviewer

This one had a few twists and turns I didn’t see coming, and it was more believable. The background of the leading characters unfolds throughout the book, and some of it you don’t find out until mid-point.

Samantha van Bergen is in a disastrous marriage, mothering a step-daughter that she dearly loves. This little girl is bright and precocious, and knows more than anyone realizes she does. Her mother died, and Samantha had been her nanny.

The book begins with a bang. Samantha’s husband, Johann, is a compulsive gambler, who has gambled away a family fortune. He loses it all to Cristiano. And come to find out, he has tossed in Samantha to sweeten the pot, but only after he offers his daughter first (nice guy, right?!) but Cristiano rejects this.

Of course, Cristiano has fallen in love with Samantha at first sight. He knows that the little girl will come with her stepmother.

The question is why is he going to this trouble? And what other unfoldments might we find along the way that unlock the puzzle?

Sam takes Gabriella and goes to England from Monte Carlo. When she is there, we learn more about her early life. She is definitely worthy of the best.

Lucky for her, Cristiano agrees with this. He wants to settle a fortune on her in a pre-nup, but she isn’t interested in his money. They marry without a pre-nup, and when a divorce seems imminent, he wants her to use an attorney to guarantee her rights.

Instead, she decides to fight her fears, and she is successful.

She is a plucky heroine and you root for her when she comes out on top. There’s very little fighting or whining; there is a strong, wealthy and scarred hero.

I give it a 3. Have you read it?

If you’d like to submit a review on a novel you’ve read, check out LRP’s guidelines for submission.

Originally posted 2008-08-26 05:44:56. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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Beauty and the Beast by Hannah Howell is not a spectacular read. It is however a pretty solid read. I found several segments to be unnecessary and jumpy and predictable in others. This Highlander romance contains all the elements of the sub-genre including bride stealing, thwarted love, revenge plotting, and battle.

Thayer Saiturn is known as the Red Devil, a knight so fierce and courageous that his name inspires fear in the enemies. The second cousin in line for inheriting a title and land, Thayer knows his place in life is on the battlefield waging war to earn his bread and keep. He wishes for the finer things in life, namely a woman to warm his bed, but he knows his limitations. While men express awe and fear over him, women see nothing but an ugly, very hairy, very red brute covered with many scars (none on his face). He pays for the women in his bed, and does not seek one outside of this arrangement. Betrayed once by a beautiful woman, Thayer vows never to be so weak before another highborn beauty.

Gytha is promised by betrothal contract to the heir of Saiturn Manor. At first it was William, beautiful and strong bodied, but word came that he was dead. So too came word that the second cousin, Thayer was dead. Learning that she is to marry Robert, Gytha expresses disappointment. Robert is weak and his soft looks do nothing for her. She would prefer the knight coming in to witness the wedding – the tall one with flaming red hair, a lithe graceful body, and sweet soft brown eyes.

When she discovers that the red knight is Thayer, the true heir to Saiturn Manor, Gytha is relieved. Robert and his uncle are not but cannot fight the contract. Thayer is dismayed, having thought this to be William’s wedding he was attending, he finds no comfort in learning it is his own. The thought of the inheritance does not soothe him for his bride is the prettiest beauty he has ever seen. He was sure to be cuckold, made a fool of by his marriage to her. Men everywhere were vying for her attentions even as she walked down the aisle. He was doomed, for Gytha could not possibly want him.

Rating: 3 Stars

Originally posted 2008-12-15 23:06:06. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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Book three of the Pleasures Trilogy staring plump little Gabrielle from India and Erskine (Quill) Dewland soon to be Viscount Dewland. Right off the bat, this was my kind of book and I loved reading every word. I’ll tell you why:

First, the alpha male is one of those wounded and brooding alphas. Quill was hurt from a horse riding accident that left him scarred. He walks with a slight limp most of the time but when tired it is more pronounced. He can’t dance. Repetitive motions cause him intense migraines and this includes riding horses but more importantly intercourse. As alpha males goes, Quill is decidedly masculine. He likes women – he just doesn’t know if they’re worth the three day recuperation.

Second, this story also involves one male character basically stealing the bride out from another man’s nose. This doesn’t always go well for me, but in this case it was just icing. Upon learning that his son was practically incapable of siring progeny, the elder Viscount Dewland orders his second son Peter to take the heiress sight unseen as his bride. Peter doesn’t want to marry, positively shrinks back from the idea, but eventually under pressure agrees. To his dismay, Gabrielle is the antitheses of beauty, grace, and lacks the instinct to navigate smoothly with society’s haut ton.

Third, Gabrielle is a completely charming heroine. She is as gabby as her nickname implies and loves to talk. Gabby is protective, open, loving, kind, and sharp. She is smart enough to keep her half-brother safe from harm. She also knows that Peter finds her a great disappointment. Despite knowing from experience with her father in India, is determined to do her best to please Peter so that he will fall in love with her. This makes her equally stubborn.

She makes friends early with the Duchess of Gisle who has just returned from her honeymoon on the continent. They meet at the dressmakers. Peter has brought her there to clothe her properly so she won’t shame him in public and prays the Madam will be able to transform his ugly duckling of a future wife.

Quill of course, thinks his younger brother is nuts. In fact most of the men in the ton that have seen luscious Gabby agree with Quill. They congratulate (quite crudely) Peter on his good fortune to snare such a well endowed beauty who will surely be a hellcat in bed. They think it’s doubly clever of Peter that she is an heiress.

When Gabby laughs her way into one social scandal, Peter is determined to throw her over but doesn’t know how. Quill gladly informs his brother that he will marry Gabby and happily. Of course, he’s worried about what she’ll think of him later, but Quill can hardly bring himself to care about his own problems. He burns for her and is happy around her. This is enough for him. His only true concern is will it be enough for Gabby?

Rating: 5 Stars

Originally posted 2008-12-11 09:29:18. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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J.C Roat and Rick Bremseth, both former SEALs who helped with the research for SEALed with a Promise, might tease Daughtridge about writing mush, but it is mush I definitely like. SEALed is very hero-centric. I closed this book with an urge to call up my best friend to get her dad to find me my very own Do-Lord. In the immortal words of LolCat “I can haz SEAL?” or maybe it was cheezburger, I tend to forget. This book is definitely recommended for the Save the Contemporary project Dear Authors and Smart Bitches are hosting together.

Dry-witted Emmie was a blast. She was smart, intelligent, analytical, observant, goal oriented and true to character. A professor of ecology, Emmie is well read and knowledgeable in many areas. She’s the definition of an avid scholar. She dresses down to hide herself and makes it an art form to remain unnoticed, which is why it’s so disconcerting that Navy SEAL Caleb “Do-Lord” Delaude does. Emmie is here to support her best friend Pickett in her upcoming nuptials - she is not here looking for a brawny jock, especially the brawny jock who’s the best man.

Caleb Delaude is extremely smart. He’s down played his intelligence to fit in better amongst his peers. Able to retain facts after reading or glancing at print, he also has an uncanny ability to see things others can’t. He’s great at picturing layouts from a map, knowing where to place people in any situation and sometimes he gets strange moments of déjà vu where the present and near-future collide. Caleb finds himself fiercely attracted to Emmie and before he knows it he’s worming his way into her life… but only because he needs her connections for a revenge plot… right? Strange how the operative changes all because of a slip of a thing!

Rating: 4-4.5 Stars

Buy: SEALed with a Promise

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For the most part I truly enjoyed reading Beast. It’s a twist on the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast and has a scarred hero who just happens to be a prince… a prince of nothing as it were because it was a French aristocratic title bestowed after the dissolution of the monarchy. The hero is extremely fond of perfumes and perfume ingredients. He’s a botanist, chemist, and a nose which is to say an expert at smelling things. He’s quite a vain creature who has worked very hard to be charming, well thought of, wealthy, and seen as handsome instead of grotesque. His manners are faultless, his skill as a lover unparalleled, and his person dressed and draped in the finest money can buy.

The heroine is a vain person as well, but hers is a beauty that was bestowed upon her from birth and not anything she ever had to work to achieve. In fact she sneers at anyone who comments upon her beauty. If only they could see the girl beneath whomever that girl may be… She doesn’t want to marry at all and she’s certainly not inclined to marry someone who is not as beautiful as she is because isn’t that something she deserved? Couldn’t the man she married be handsome as well as titled, wealthy, charming, and whole of body?

It was a good set up but about halfway through I thought wouldn’t it be great if the hero to put the heroine in her place. Of course it never happened. In fact the reverse did. Why though? Sadly, I believe it is how the initial key plot points unfolded. So despite the hero perpetrating the whole disaster and the heroine being the cause of the disaster, the hero was forced to grovel.

So what happened? Louise found out her husband wasn’t as magnificent as her parent’s said he was and she was determined to find a lover who could give her everything she was certain her new husband could not. Charles overheard and hatched a scheme to force her to see beyond his face and his original intentions were to reveal himself and make her the butt of the joke. Instead he fell in love and tried to unsuccessfully woo her as himself in daylight. She figures it out eventually because he slips up. He’s tried to tell her who he is/was but Louise is clueless and refuses to see the connection because that would just be too horrible!

So because Louise didn’t grow up and Charles did the only growing I’m going to have to give Beast 3 Stars instead of the 4 Stars I would have if the heroine had owned up all of her faults instead of just a few and try to make amends to her husband.

Buy: Beast

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This love story is one of the most endearing I have ever read. Lisa Kleypas spins a tale worthy of mystical magical world of fairy tales. Based on Russian superstition, a prince who is like the Beast in Beauty and the Beast meets the woman of his dreams and learns to love. The bedroom scenes are exciting and steamy. Prince of Dreams is a novel not to be missed.

Despite his wealth, Prince Nikolas did not lead a charmed life. Taught early on the abuses man could inflict, Nikolas is determined to avoid emotions at all costs. Tortured and exiled from Russia, Nikolas makes a new home in England where during his recovery he meets Emma Stokehurst. At the tender age of thirteen, Emma is the girl Nikolas is certain he will wed. She is his destiny.

Nikolas remains on the fringes of Emma’s life as she grows and now at the age of twenty, he is more certain than ever that she is the one for him. Emma is tall and lithe, her body he imagines will match his own to perfection. Her red hair, independence, and forthright attitude remind him of the women back in Russia. Though she has a large dowry, Emma is left alone and dismissed by the male of the species. Everything about her is unfashionable in the eyes of polite society.

When he discovers that a man is wooing her under false pretenses, Nikolas strikes swift and sure, cutting her secret beau out of her life with a single conversation. Everything is working according to his plan as Nikolas seduces and marries the bewitching Emma. Now with her by his side as his wife, he is positive that his life is going to turn for the better. He was wrong.

Emma’s gentle nature and guileless giving is more threatening than the memories of those that tortured him in Russia. She can cause more havoc with a single kiss than Nikolas is comfortable with. His life has been dedicated to suppressing his emotions and the feelings Emma brings out are threatening to destroy all that he’s worked for, so Nikolas does the most hateful thing he can think of… he sleeps with another woman.

But despite the wedge he’s driven between them, the bewildering flashes of déjà vu keep happening to him. Snippets of conversation leave him in a cold sweat and a painting once revealed causes him to faint dead away. When Nikolas awakes he is angry and confused. Destiny has taken him back in time to mother Russia, where he lives life through the eyes of his ancestor Prince Nikolai. It is here in the midst of the past, Nikolas learns to become a better man… Emelia, beautiful Emelia, who is in every way his wife Emma, teaches Nikolas how to love. Disaster tears them apart and sends Nikolas to the future.

Realizing what a mess he’s made of his own life, Nikolas is determined to set things right. But Emma won’t have him. She doesn’t trust in the changes Nikolas has under gone. She won’t love him… won’t let herself love him. This new man who is in every way the man she had hoped he would be can’t last, because she knows his nature. As soon as she loved him he’d revert and mock her for her love. After all Nikolas is not a man that can change, he is a product of others hatred and fear, whose innate stubbornness rejects all kinds of affection. But he has changed and he will prove it. If it’s the last thing he does, he’ll make her believe in him; love him as she once did in the past.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Buy: Prince of Dreams

Originally posted 2008-12-07 19:34:48. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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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.

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