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This was a very sweet storyline, but there are some flaws. Amery writes a light humorous story. She’s dead funny on BOBs and teenage girl crushes.

Jake is a former Broadway star. He’s one of New York’s up-and-coming directors. Legions of fan girls inspired that career sidestep, allowing Jake to enjoy the theater but without the scary mob. This weekend, he’s back home participating in a egad… bachelor auction all for his best friend’s little sister.

When Jake spies his high school ex waving her paddle, he knows he’s doomed. A beautiful blond in the back is his only chance. By only chance, I mean, the only option he finds acceptable. Mouthing the words, “Help me,” at her, Jake is relieved when she enters the bid war.

Sophie feels her blood shimmer at those words. She can hardly believe it, Jake was her high school crush, getting him to help out at the event was a feat but this… this could be the coup of a lifetime. Now if she could get him to break that no relationship rule…

Overall, I felt it could use more polish as there were several parts where I felt I was observing far above the scene instead of being a part of the scene. Does that make sense? Kind of like watching yourself dream, a bit out of body, not quite grounded in the tale. I wanted more sticky in the writing, something that would grab me and hold me in the moment.

Rating: 2-2.5 Stars

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By: Zarabeth, guest reviewer

The Traitor’s Wife is very much a crossroads between genres book. There are a ton of romantic elements, but on the whole I would not label this strictly as a romance. It’s very long and often difficult to read because everybody’s name is one of six names. This can’t be helped because it’s historically accurate. Like how everybody is named Jason and Brittany everybody was named Edward and Isabella etc. This book is very well researched with only a few things fibbed. On the whole it is a very convoluted story, but one if you can get into one you will enjoy. The following includes lots of spoilers:

It’s about King Edward the Second, his lifetime mostly with some overlap of his father and his son. His cousin, Eleanor, is his heroine. She marries Hugh, who is under her rank. It is supposedly a good match. They’re 12 and have many kids. During her marriage to Hugh she ends up being one of Queen Isabella’s ladies in waiting.

The king and Eleanor’s husband become very good friends (as in a sexual relationship). When it reaches the Queen’s ear she takes it out on Eleanor. The king and Hugh petty much run the country. During this time good things happen to Eleanor’s family and bad things happen to everyone else not her family. There are lots of traitors, rebellions, and beheadings. Then Hugh and the king and the other’s die as traitors…

Mortimer, the guy leading the rebellion, somehow managed to start a sexual affair with Isabella. The queen loves him and gives him whatever he wants and he manipulates her. She thinks it’s love but it is not. Edward’s son the new king, but Isabella and Mortimer are acting regents. They run everything and at first Edward the Third doesn’t care. Eventually he does care and there’s another uprising and in it they kill Mortimer.

Meanwhile now that Hugh is dead Eleanor falls in love and gets married to someone else… After Edward the Third is on the throne some random guy tries to claim Eleanor as his own and files a petition with the king for her to be his wife. Apparently, they had sex five years ago when she was drunk and he comes forward because in the new regime all her lands have come back to her. That makes her very very rich… and explains his sudden interest.

As you can see lots of things are going on in Traitor’s Wife, you’ll be kept on your toes.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Buy: The Traitor’s Wife

Victoria (Tori) reminds me of Anita Blake. Here’s why:

1. She’s known for always wearing a gun.
2. Not to mention she’s a police officer with connections to the vampire scene (not widely know to humans to exist).
3. She visits vampire clubs.
4. Tori brings her gun into the bathroom with her when she showers.
5. Tori even resists Michael like Anita resisted Jean-Claude at first.

Michael reminds me of Twilight vampires, because interestingly enough Tori smells to him as Bella does to Edward. He labels the smell of her to something akin to mimosas. Michael can also feel her feelings, like Jasper of Twilight, and project feelings onto her.

Vampire lore:

• All have mind reading capabilities.
• All are involved to some extent in the D/S scene.
• All possess a type of thrall called: affascinare.
• All have the ability to project feelings/sensations called: trucchi.
• All obey or follow the vampire code/law of Alleanza.
• Humans can bond with vampires as equals and as slaves.
• They can be warm/hot and have heartbeats.
• They breathe.
• They sleep?

The bad guys are particularly scary. They make the book very dark indeed. Think vampire Mafia with terribly nasty taste in sexual preferences (torture/slave).

Sex: D/S, voyeurism, good kinky fun

Overall it was a pretty enjoyable read but there were some problems in the story telling. For instance terms are not defined. As the first in the series they should have been. That’s not to say that quite a few can be derived from connotation but the nuances are lost. Additionally, while some of the Italian terminology is similar in format to the English translation, not all of them are.

A few inconsistencies and redundancies scattered the pages, ones that should have been picked up by an editor. They stuck out like a sore thumb in an otherwise seamless story. There is some great dialogue scattered throughout the book. One of my favorites was:

“I wish I believed you.”

“So do I.”

If you can get past the small annoyances it wasn’t half a bad read. The bad guy gets caught, the good guys triumph, the couple gets together, and you close the book happy.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

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Great start. Mediocre middle. Great ending.

There was one discrepancy that was glaring to me… how probable was it to have two people to get married to cover a brewing scandal, get divorced/separated after a year (claiming annulment maybe?), and go about their lives as if nothing happened? It wasn’t something I thought too much about because with romance you know they’re going to stay together and find love so it wasn’t really an issue.

What I didn’t like was that the book spent too long repeating the same things. I was eagerly and desperately waiting for the point when Annabel McBride smartened up enough to realize she couldn’t make a man love her if he wasn’t willing or that she couldn’t compete with a dead wife and kids.

The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell is one of those widower plots that combine brooding hero and a fresh untried miss. I did like that Simon Blackwell generally and truly loved his late wife, but it was hard to read Annabel’s determination to win him over. She can’t if he isn’t willing to let go and the book took too long for Annabel to reach a quitting point that would force Simon to either give up his ghosts or to give her up.

This is too bad because I honestly love reading about heroes who find a second at love or get a second chance to find their first love as the case sometimes is. However I did believe Simon falling in love with Annabel even if he was a stubborn fool about the whole affair. If it wasn’t for the middle section I would say this book was just about perfect.

Rating: 2.5-3 Stars

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The Perfect Wife by Victoria Alexander follows not one but three couples on their journey to love. Luckily two are more peripheral and have overall less air time in the novel. The main couple is Sabrina Winfield and Nicholas, Earl of Wyldewood. The other couples are Sabrina and Nicholas’ offspring from their first marriage, and Sabrina’s friend with Nicholas’ sister.

Sabrina has for the last ten years a life of total propriety. She has been prim, poised, controlled, tame, and dull. She misses the adventure from her past—the intrigue, the thrill, and the illicit nature of her work. She could command the loyalty of men, change fortunes, and guide her own affairs. With her young daughter about to wed, Sabrina yearns keenly to let loose and be free of society’s demands. When she hears about her late husband’s last gamble and subsequent winnings, Sabrina ransacks her London home.

Having found the French letter with instructions to legendary gold buried in Egypt, Sabrina packs and sets off to reclaim herself and to change her fortune. Unfortunately, her daughter’s finance’s father seems to think it’s his business to keep her out of trouble. The annoying Earl of Wyldewood, a politician with a streak of rakish charm a mile long, is determined to unearth Sabrina’s secrets. She is terrified of revealing them, for her past could land her in prison. Under the guise of helping his son, Nicholas is following Sabrina to Egypt with the intention to protect her. However, if he were honest with himself, he would have followed her anyway for underneath her prim exterior, Nicholas suspects that Sabrina may just be the perfect wife.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Buy: The Perfect Wife

Originally posted 2008-12-08 07:47:04. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Fire in His Eyes is the first book of the Dragon Elementals in Stella and Audra Price’s Eververse. A complicated web of Afterverse and the real world, Eververse will introduce you the paranormal.

Char is the last of the reigning fire dragons and he has found his mate. He can’t do anything about it because she is the enemy, a demon succubus, one of the race that destroyed the dragons. It is forbidden to interact with demons! The edict of Fuerety, the King of Fire Demons, put Char and his compatriots all on the run. Dragons were to be killed on sight, no matter their loyalty. They are forced to appear human in order to hide. A demon that could call a dragon had full power over the dragon and the dragon’s elements. His mate is just such a demon that could call him and he could not take a chance that she might betray him.

Char has a unique ability as a fire dragon compared to other dragons. He can use flame to see across the world. A single flame in front of him can illuminate other scenes, so long as they too are lit up by fire. Char can even slip through these tiny flames and emerge on the other end. This leads to some highly erotic moments.

Alcyone Sterling is a succubus, which means she thrives on sex. Her sexual preference is men, but this does not exclude women. She runs a strip club in Shadow Heights called Pinkys and feeds off the sexual atmosphere. The Queen Succubus is one of her friends and past paramours. She senses Char at a masquerade party where after some mind altering sex she’s hooked. Something about Char just calls to her.

When dragons mate, they mate for life, like naked mole rats and some penguins. In addition when they claim their mate fully, they create a lasting bond between themselves and their partner. When Char performs this (during sex!) Alcyone receives a red and yellow dragon around her waist like a vivid tattoo. This explains the cover!

The language is a little crude for me; lots of swearing and oh gods/goddess. It was a distraction while reading and pulled me out of the story more than once.

Rating: 2.5-3 Stars

Buy: Fire In His Eyes

Originally posted 2008-12-08 06:42:17. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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By: Cara Lynn, guest reviewer

Have you ever wanted to switch bodies or lives with someone else? Even if it was only for a day? How about a month? Could you survive a month as another person? Switchcraft is just such a tale. Switchcraft is a fun book, sort of like the movie Freaky Friday. But it does make you think.

Aggie and Nely have been good friends for a lot of years, but they have drifted apart because Nely is married with a baby, and Aggie is living the high life, sort of. Each wishes what the other has. But both are withholding secrets. Aggie’s business is about to fall into the ground, not to mention a crazy stalker, and Aggie’s life is more complicated than it looks.

You guessed the rest! They take off for a weekend alone to visit a spa where the guru somehow manages to switch their identities. He is only able to switch back on a full moon.

Throw in two men who are over their heads. Kevin would love to be Aggie’s significant other, but they are best friends. Nely’s husband is afraid she is drifting away from him (which, as Aggie, she definitely is.)

Both Aggie and Nely learn how valuable friendship is. Each is able to help the other’s life out — which they could have done in RL if they had only known.

Definitely light fair for summer, but I enjoyed it. I give it a 2.5

Buy: Switchcraft

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Originally posted 2008-12-06 18:23:25. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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By: Cara Lynn, guest reviewer

Love You to Death by Melissa Senate is a light, summer read.

Who is turning Abby Foote’s life upside down? Abby has had the unfortunate (or fortunate) experience of loving and losing a number of truly unsuitable men.

Her latest is unable to attend the bris of her nephew and deserts her in LL Bean. But he is substantially better than her last love. While serious about him, she found him in intimate circumstances with the woman who is now about to become his wife. Or is he?

His engagement picture hits the paper the day of the bris.

Then he is found murdered. In the course of the investigation, it is learned that two other of her former lovers have had attempts on their lives.

Enter Detective Benjamin Orr, the best thing that has ever happened to her. She is the police’s number one suspect, but if she isn’t the one who has committed these crimes, then someone close to her is liable to harm her also.

To the author’s credit, the family dynamics, the fiance to her ex-love, and the co-workers are all developed well. There is a lot of humor as those close to her suck up to her, while claiming they don’t believe it, because they think she is capable of murder and who knows if they might be next on the list.

Then again, it is a serious subject and in real life it might not tie up as neatly. It’s a lucky thing for her that she is believed and the real murderer is found out.

I give it a 2.5.

Buy: Love You To Death

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Originally posted 2008-12-04 15:40:41. Republished by Old Post Promoter

By: Cara Lynn, guest reviewer

Janet Evanovich is one of my favorite writers. I really enjoy her Stephanie Plum series. So when I saw Wife for Hire, I figured I’d give one of her other books a whirl. It’s quite lightweight and fairly short (especially since the print is larger, which is a bit annoying to me.)

I give it a 2.5-3.

It was a fun and fast read, not nearly so complex in characters or plot as the Plum novels. But it was a good diversion.

Hank Malone, from Vermont, and Maggie Toone, from New Jersey, are made for each other. Both were trouble in their childhoods, neither wants a life that is particularly predictable.

Malone has advertised for a pretend wife in order to look stable enough to qualify for a bank loan to run his apple orchard. Malone is also hoping to avoid the women who are chasing him. What he advertises for and what Toone is are two different things.

Toone is in process of writing the memoirs of an aunt, who just happened to be a madam.

Throw in assorted characters, such as Elsie, the housekeeper, who is particularly funny, a bit like the grandma in the Plum novels, but different; both sets of parents, who in their own ways are characters themselves; long time friends and small town busybodies, and you have a recipe for a lot of fun along with some twists and turns.

Of course, they fall in love, getting involved very quickly, maybe a bit too quickly for me. Throw in some assorted (funny) kidnappings, due to a misunderstanding, and things get complicated, but are eventually sorted out.

All’s well that ends well. And it leaves you with a smile on your face.

Buy: Wife for Hire

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Originally posted 2008-12-04 03:27:58. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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By: Marcia, guest reviewer

The review for today is not one, but three novels.

The Raintree Trilogy is an weak, anemic effort by three different authors. The premise is that two hundred years ago there was a war between the Raintree clan, a family with paranormal abilities, and the Ansara wizards. The Ansara clan was nearly wiped out, but the Raintree clan stopped short of annihilating them entirely, a mistake that they are about to regret. The Ansara clan has been rebuilt and a rogue group is out for revenge.

Book One: Raintree: Inferno by Linda Howard

Dante Raintree is Dranir or king of the Raintree family and owns a hotel-casino in Reno. Like the other members of his family, he keeps a low profile and does not advertise his paranormal abilities, which in his case is the ability to control fire and enter the minds of others. He has no intention of ever getting married or having a family. His brother Gideon, who is heir apparent for the position of Dranir, sends him fertility charms on a regular basis. Gideon does not want to be Dranir.

Lorna Clay finds herself in Dante’s office because she is suspected of cheating. Lorna is empathic and can therefore ‘read’ the other players. She denies, even to herself, that she has this ability. Suddenly there is a fire in the casino and Dante must enter her mind to augment his own powers in an effort to control the fire. Controlling Lorna’s mind is something Dante does often in the story, albeit with good intentions. It is a wonder that Lorna can forgive him enough to fall in love with him.

Those familiar with Linda Howard’s work, may be disappointed with this book. She does not appear comfortable with this genre and has difficulty explaining the particulars of Dante’s paranormal abilities and the Raintree family. As a result, the plot seems disjointed and characters’ motivations are not easy to understand.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Book Two: Raintree: Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones

Gideon’s gift is controlling electricity and the ability to see and talk to ghosts. Talking to ghosts comes in handy with his job; Gideon is a homicide detective in Wilmington, NC. Lately, he has been dreaming of a tricky little girl ghost named Emma who insists on calling Gideon ‘Daddy’. He has carefully explained to her that he has no intention of marrying and having children, but she laughs and says that she will come to him in a moonbeam.

Hope Malory is a police detective who has asked to be transferred to Wilmington from Raleigh in an effort to be closer to her mother. In Raleigh, she worked in vice and has always wanted to work in homicide. She is Gideon’s new partner. She is immediately suspicious of him. He is too well dressed for a cop and he lives in a lovely, beachfront home. His success rate in closing cases is nearly perfect. Thinking that he is a dirty cop, Hope decides to check into him further.

Raintree: Haunted is a pleasant surprise after reading Inferno. Linda Winstead Jones is very comfortable with this genre. The plot is tightly woven with very likable characters and a good amount of humor. There were a couple of things that did not seem realistic: people have a kind of amnesia that keeps them from remembering what doesn’t make sense to them; and a heterosexual man who knows that it is not comfortable to sleep in a bra. All in all it is a satisfying book, the best of the three.

Rating: 3 Stars

Raintree: Sanctuary by Bevery Barton

Mercy Raintree is a single mother, empathic healer and keeper of the Raintree Sanctuary; the sacred, ancestral home of the Raintree Clan, located on a large area of land in the Smokey Mountains. It is here that all the previous characters meet up to defend it against a rogue group of Ansara warriors.

Judah Ansara is Dranir of the Ansara Clan. Cael, his illegitimate half brother and leader of the rogue group of warriors are challenging Judah’s position as Dranir. Judah is also the father of Eve, although he is at first unaware of her existence.

Eve is a bright, talented child with knowledge beyond her years. Since Eve is a ‘half-breed’ she should have been killed at birth and only her mother and nanny are aware of her parentage. Mercy and Judah are bitter enemies, despite the powerful lust they have for one another but they must learn to work together to save Eve and the Sanctuary.

As a finale, Sanctuary falls flat. The plot is thin and lacks cohesiveness, the characters are superficial and the ending is contrived. There is very little detail and plot elements are underdeveloped being briefly explained on the side. Most of the action during the big battle scene is focused on Dante and does not really involve the other characters. This is a disappointing book.

Rating: 2 Stars

If you would like to submit a review to LRP, we would love to have you. You can find submission guidelines here.

Thanks again Marcia! You’re a wonderful reviewer and RRN is lucky to have you!

Originally posted 2008-11-30 13:15:13. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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Emily Albright is a 29 year old romantic whose first love was Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. This love affair started when she was 12 and no man has ever reached the bar that Mr. Darcy set. Of course if you were to look at her string of pathetic dates, you would agree with me when I say who in their right mind would want them? After a disastrous date with Mr. Hair-Plugs, Emily decides never again. She’s tired of dating the worst of lot and refuses to put herself through another Dutch pizza date.

When Stella, her best friend and coworker hears this, she is shocked. Determined to put Emily back on the horse she insists that they go on a 18-30 vacation to Mexico. With images of wet T-shirt contests, drunken frat boys, and too much tequila in mind Emily grasps for an excuse to not go. A brochure to Jane Austen’s England catches her eye and the idea is born. Better still there’s an opening for the week of New Year’s the time of the trip to Mexico and Emily leaps on the idea.

What follows is a story written with humor on par with a Stephenie Plum novel…delicious and wickedly witty. My one complaint with the tale is Spike and I’ll explain. Spike is the only other young person on this tour and he’s there to write a report on the incredible sexy Mr. Darcy, the one man all women would date and hop into bed with given the chance. Spike is set up to be a modern day Mr. Darcy, but let me tell you he is far from the dashing figure cut by the broodingly reserved Mr. Darcy. Spike has a flabby belly, is only kinda cute, and his style of clothing is far from impeccable. Same goes for his manners.

Meanwhile Emily has the incredible chance of meeting the real Mr. Darcy in a series of out of time experiences. Getting her in own way, she finds herself cross with Mr. Darcy for his 19th century mannerisms and breeding and feels self-conscious and foolish by her own 21st century idiosyncrasies. Instead of explaining to him that she’s an American from the 21st and that from her perspective things have changed from style of dress to turn of phrases and what is considered good manners, she leaves him in the dark and always takes his silences as negative non-comments. The truth of the matter is, he finds her American “19th century” ways a breath of fresh air and falls in love with her. When he says as much Emily contridicts him and thinks to herself that the fantasy of Mr. Darcy is not as good as the reality of Mr. Darcy.

What an incredible nit-wit! She throws away the good catch because she can’t be bothered to speak plainly to Mr. Darcy. I find it hard to believe that any woman greeted with a flesh and blood Mr. Darcy would not make the effort to be on the same page with him. Sure she thought he was a period actor for a time but when she discovered the truth Emily should have persevered to explain why she thought he was not telling the truth. Even if he thought she was crazy he would have come around, after all he loved her for her American ways already. So for the ridiculously stupid move on the heroine’s part I have to rate the story below average, because I just can’t reconcile myself to Spike the modern Mr. Darcy Emily Albright wanted.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Originally posted 2008-11-24 07:44:58. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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The classic story of Sleeping Beauty retold by Catherine Murdock in Princess Ben takes on a life of its own. When her father, mother, and uncle are brutally murdered under the orders of King Renaldo of Drachensbett, Benevolence is summoned by her aunt, the queen, to take her place as the heir to Montagne.

Ben is resentful of all the tortures Queen Sophie inflicts on her from classes in deportment and dancing to limiting her food in an effort to slim her figure. Ben has never been one of those silly princesses, who dined on air and compliments. She was plump and happy about it. She enjoyed her food and having it taken away is a terrible injustice!

After her latest punishment from Queen Sophie, Ben cried and raged and somehow stumbles upon a secret doorway. Behind the doorway is a stairwell, and the stairwell leads to a room. In the room there’s a book, a magic one, and in the dead of night Ben steals away and practices magic in secret. One spell creates a sleeping body double.

Prince Florian of Drachensbett, believes in destiny and true love… until he realizes that the sleeping girl who can not be woken from his prophecy is the sullen rotund Princess Ben. Despairing, Florian chooses to lead warriors against Montagne, but thoughts of war can’t block out Princess Ben. He dreams of her, as she dreams of him, much to his disgust because the girl in his dreams is nothing like the Princess Ben he met.

This book is weird to read as its first person omniscient. Queen Benevolence is recounting her tale to readers and at times it reads from young Ben’s point of view, but you get voiceovers from the present older Ben. I felt like I should believe the experiences were happening to a fifteen year old girl, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around it with the narrator voice being so much older.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

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So how do you rate a romance novel where the romance part was exceptional but the side story was wholly unnecessary? Once again I’ve managed to pick up a story where the author seems to think that it’s a good idea to include a history of sexual perversion on kids. What’s with this? The young girl that was abused was not the heroine this time but the side character who ends up doing unspeakable things herself on innocents and sinners alike in the name of justice seemingly unable to tell the difference. Why include this? I mean really? Who wants to read this? I don’t!

Most of this stuff is hinted at throughout the novel about the hero’s father being such a sleaze ball, a building that the son had to remind himself was not a fault for what happened, etc. The bastard is dead mind you at the start of the novel so we don’t see a continuance, just back story. It’s becoming gratuitous to the point of being like a retarded bathroom scene in a movie. Anyway you are warned ahead of time if this is not your cup of tea to deal with topics like this in a novel.

Now that that is out of my system, the romance between Grant and Gillian was a wonderful unfoldment. The Scottish Companion starts with Grant’s return to Scotland when his brother dies of a blood disease following shortly after their other brother died of the same cause. Dr. Feyton is worried that Grant may be suffering from the same disease and Grant decides if this is true he must marry immediately. Not wanting to go through the hassle of finding a bride he asks about Dr. Feyton’s daughter. A marriage arrangement is agreed upon and they go their normal ways.

Arabella would rather play at being a physician than be civil to anyone. She doesn’t like to be touched, talked to, interrupted, or forced to do anything. So right off the bat she hates the idea of marrying Grant and does her best to be disagreeable. Everyone finds her to be exactly that and many make asides to Grant about his foolishness.

Grant himself is feeling foolish because immediately upon seeing Gillian he finds himself attracted to her. She is a magnetic force on his life and he can’t seem to stop himself from seeking her out. He knows she’s hiding something and desperately wants to be let into her world. She makes him forget his losses, and overwhelming duties; she challenges his authority and is an intelligent companion who he seeks to impress with his experiments.

Gillian for her part knows that as the companion to Arabella, Grant can never be hers. She was foolish once in love and paid the price with her innocence and virtue. She lost the protection of her family, the love she thought was hers, and was censured by society. Only under Dr. Feyton has she received a modicum of protection and sense of purpose. She knows the price of love and passion so how come she can’t seem to resist the handsome earl? She wants to experience his kisses, she wants to be his, and she wants what Arabella is so blithely willing to toss away.

Rating: 2.5-3 Stars

Originally posted 2008-10-17 05:10:30. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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Guilty Pleasures by Laura Lee Guhrke is the tale of Lady Viola’s brother and his duchess-to-be. Technically Guilty Pleasures is a prequel to The Marriage Bed where Viola and her husband John patch up their estranged marriage. On a whole this novel was much better than the Marriage Bed, but because I read the Marriage Bed first I was biased against this book from the beginning. Now before I started reading, I had no idea of Guilty Pleasures relation to the other novel, the backs of the novels do not give very much information. I picked both of them up in the store because their covers were wonderfully designed and drew me to them. It’s too bad really.

So why am I prejudice against the book from the beginning? Daphne, happily married by the time Marriage Bed takes place, tells Viola some very negative things about her character and how it’s possible that Viola was nearly wholly responsible for the estrangement between John and herself. Daphne is on John’s side because she was poor and in desperate straights herself once. Honestly, I never really picked up on that at all in Guilty Pleasures. The novel started with Daphne having already secured a position and working five months at Tremore Hall under Anthony. If I don’t like a heroine the novel goes downhill fast for me. I didn’t like Daphne in Marriage Bed and I saw no reason to like her now.

It’s too bad because I always liked Anthony from both MB and GP. He’s an antiquarian and loves his history, hates evicting tenets and always has some way to allow them to stay while giving them self-worth, doesn’t abuse his power over his female servants and employees, and champions his sister. He is hero worthy without a doubt. Of course his noble actions avoiding thinking of his female workers cause all the havoc in this story.

Daphne loved to spy on Anthony when he was shirtless and working outdoors excavating. Who wouldn’t? When Viola comes to call on her brother, Daphne becomes Viola’s number one choice for her brother to marry and cleverly sets them up. Daphne overhears a conversation between the siblings where Anthony describes her as a stick bug on a twig, a machine, and unlikely to marry. Just goes to show him later that he never should have opened his mouth, doesn’t it? Having heard, Daphne decides to accept Viola’s offer to help bring her out into society which makes Anthony panic as he’ll be losing his best employee on the dig.

He devises ways to make her stay; she makes him fall in love with her. Overall a cute tale, but one I couldn’t really get into because of Daphne.

Rating: 2.5 Stars.

Originally posted 2008-10-15 05:06:38. Republished by Old Post Promoter

I generally liked this novel. It revolves around how a marriage once destroyed by infidelity can be healed. I have pretty strong views on this subject so I’ll talk about what ruffled my feathers. I’m like Viola, the heroine, at the start of the novel, looking at things in black and white. The author didn’t persuade me to think in gray matter, too bad Viola did. Luckily in the end she got what she deserved – a loving, devoted, adoring husband – but you could have fooled me. I still thought the hero was shy of truly learning how to love at the end of the book. However, you can be the judge.

Viola is the sister of a Duke and at the age of nineteen she knew she was in love with Viscount John Hammond. She also knew that despite the circumstances of his situation, he loved her, not the money she brought with her. How naïve she had been. John knew nothing of love; he was all empty words and passion.

“When unaccompanied by his love, a man’s desire was like the wind. It had no substance, and it was impossible to hold onto.” – pg 186

Now eight going on nine years after their vows, John has come to the decision to get himself an heir. For that, he will need to woo his way back into his wife’s bed. This task would prove impossible until he changed. But can a man like John, change his spots?

In the last ten pages he did. Until then the brute refused to take blame for more than half the novel and managed to in nearly every conversation lay the whole troubled affair at Viola’s feet. This is much like what happens in the movie Something to Talk About starring Julia Roberts. This made me really mad and when it wasn’t John telling Viola how she made him break his marriage vows and slip into other women, it was the Duke’s wife that was telling her how she wasn’t looking at things from John’s point of view.

John broke his vows. Period. The end. Case closed. What kind of man has to hide his dirty deeds behind his innocent wife? In today’s world with all the diseases that can be caught, a man who cheats ought to be charged with attempted murder if he slips back into his wife’s bed (undetected or not) without first having himself checked out thoroughly.

Viola first turns John away from their marriage bed when she learns that he kept a mistress during the entire time he was courting her. All his words of love, adoration, devotion were lies. She might have forgiven him those if the other woman wasn’t involved. After all impoverished lords needed funds and heiresses to make them solvent – he could have learned to love her.

John waits a month and leaves Viola to live a separate life. There he has count them, five, mistresses in the space of the years prior to his most devout attempt at reconciling. He only does it because he needs a legitimate heir to the viscountcy. Viola is the only woman who can grant him this. So once again he plans to use false words to get her into bed and if that doesn’t work the law is on his side and he can force her there.

But in his own words the five mistresses were her own fault for being cold to him. Poor baby. Eventually he says he is sorry for his part in breaking their marriage by using his young nephew to be his buffer. I don’t think Viola had any part to breaking the marriage. Distraught as she was she stayed with him (granted making him take separate sleeping quarters and refusing to allow him to use passion against her to win his way back into her good graces) until he left.

Marriage vows are not a one way street. A man and his needs can be resolved with a hand not another woman or any of her body parts. Fidelity goes both ways. If he required it of her then it was not an unreasonable request for Viola to make of him. John said it was and refused to be sexually blackmailed. Well what the hell was he doing when he refused to promise fidelity but sexually blackmailing his wife?

Has anyone read this book? What do you think?

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Originally posted 2008-10-06 15:07:06. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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