Love Romance Passion » Barons and Baronets 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: Too Scandalous to Wed by Alexandra Benedict http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-too-scandalous-to-wed-by-alexandra-benedict/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-too-scandalous-to-wed-by-alexandra-benedict/#comments Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:04:55 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=92

bookreview

Alexandra Benedict’s novel Too Scandalous to Wed flirts with disaster and happily ever after at every turn. A strong wind could not tumble the stack of fantasies Henrietta has built around Sebastian, Viscount Ravenswood, or could it? Sebastian does not want to be the hero of Henrietta’s dreams, he doesn’t want the little hoyden at all, but he can’t seem to get rid of her. Of course, he hasn’t been really trying – running away simply doesn’t count when the girl is determined to have him.

Henrietta has fancied herself in love with Sebastian for years and has been trying to catch his eye. She is certain that he loves her, even if he does not know it. At every turn the brute chooses to ignore her attempts of flirtation or reprimand her for the silliest things. If only she could get him to kiss her! When Sebastian runs off to hide on the continent to keep the lovely Henrietta at bay she turns a desperate idea of hers to keep him into action and visits England’s highest ranking courtesan for help.

Sebastian doesn’t know what hit him, but he is certainly feeling its affects as his eye and his thoughts are drawn more and more toward the bewitching vixen that’s replaced the girl who always adored him. The more she treats him with reverence the more he wants to hear her say his name. The changes in her are disconcerting and enchanting at the same time to Sebastian. He knows even as he tries to figure her out, that he should not get close to her as he is not a good man. The quickening in his heart and loins won’t let him rest either until Henrietta’s every mystery is solved.

Henrietta struggles to keep the lessons of seduction in place, pretending aloofness even while lightning sizzles through her at a single smoldering blue-eyed glance. Sebastian was finally finding her irresistible, becoming the man of her dreams before her eyes. Remaining coy and composed she flirts dangerously with disaster, because if Sebastian ever found out what she’d done to snare him, he’d never forgive her.

There are elements of intrigue and flights of fancy throughout the novel, from a revenge seeking enemy to Henrietta’s father calling her his ‘darling boy,’ you’ll be sure to gasp and giggle your way through the book.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

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Marry a horrible abusive philandering man or risk absolute ruin by running away? Tough choice… not! Spinster Emma Worthington has waited this long for romance and there’s no way her family’s dire straights will force her into an unwanted marriage to a creep. She packs her bag and races to an old suitor in hopes he’ll renew his proposal. It might not be what she had hoped for out of her life, but it was far better than the alternative.

But meeting the man that became of the old suitor was supremely disappointing. He was obviously a drunkard like her father, drowning the memories of his late wife. His children were not the nice polite kids they were before. And she’s fairly certain the housekeeper is on too friendly of terms with the master of the house. So she dithers on his second proposal and seeks employment as a companion only to find out she sought a position with the mistress of her best friend’s husband’s best friend. Utterly humiliating!

Baron Richard Du Quesne thought he recognized the woman at the mail coach stop but now that he knows Emma is on the lam, he’s determined to save her from herself. His moniker around town is the Silver Squire because he owns most of the city and has enough silver lining his pockets to fund a small country for years. Is it any wonder she can’t hide from him? He’s reputation as a rake ruined his suit and his character in her eyes years ago—something he’ll changed this time around come hell or high water.

I can’t think of the words to describe the writing style of this story, but I’m leaning towards epic and classic with lots of drama and comedy. Emma and Richard bicker a lot, she does silly things to get away from him, thinking he’s as bad as the man her parents want her to marry, and does an extremely TSTL move at the end, but he saves her and so do his friends which is really sweet.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Buy: The Silver Squire

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by Susan S., guest reviewer

Wickedly sensual! You’ll wish you had your own vampyre to make your heart race.

Summary: Heroine, Blaire Garia Lindsay, has agreed to travel to Loch Calavie at her brother’s insistence. He’s just inherited Briarcraig Castle; the ancestral home of the battle-born witches. It’s been said to be haunted by ghosts. But Blaire doesn’t place too much stock on gossips. Until she hears a voice. It’s coming from the cellar. Turns out she was right not to believe in ghosts. What she does find is rather…unexpected. Ms. Lindsay uncovers a vampyre! And just what the devil is hero, James Maitland, Baron Kettering of Derbyshire doing locked in a cellar? Well, that’s exactly what Blaire intends to find out.

Lindsay and Kettering will have to search for answers, either acknowledge or deny their growing attraction, and uncover hidden secrets without him dying, again, or her dying the first time.

Hope they find the answers soon! Trouble’s coming…without an invitation.

Review: I was right you know. Those unanswered questions from The Taming of the Wolf were resolved in this newest release. Things didn’t go as I had envisioned though. Lydia Dare’s unexpected plot twists gave me no foreshadowing the events would play out as they did. Two key events came at me from left field. Hitting me both hard and unexpectedly. What fun!

It Happened One Bite has a powerful beginning, strong mysterious elements, lots of magick, humor, as well as plenty of sensuality. You’ll close the book wishing the Còig witches would just conjure an additional 400 pages for you to read.

It’s always great fun when Dare’s heroes get utterly foxed; James does. He had a wee bit too much whiskey, and said a wee bit more than he should have. Whoops! As for the Vicar, Mr. Crawford, he’s at his wits end with the lot of these sinning witches and their male counterparts. What’s my overall opinion? This novel is another winner by the Dynamic Dare Duo!

My only recommendation: Baron Kettering should’ve taken an additional bath or two. Heck, he should’ve taken one before every chapter! (Suppressing laughter).

Recommendations: It Happened One Bite has mass appeal. It’ll draw readers like termites to wood. Especially if you like: romance, historicals, paranormal novels, and mysteries. Also for “adult readers” who liked the Twilight series.

Number of spotted cameos: I spied with my little eye seven familiar characters from the previous installments. There were three of Blaire’s coven sisters: Rhiannon, Elspeth, and Sorcha. Then Elspeth’s yummy lycan husband, Lord Benjamin Westfield. The Vicar, Mr. Crawford, Alec MacQuarrie, as well as Matthew Halkett, the Earl of Blodswell, which we met in The Taming of the Wolf. And who we’ll get to know more intimately in the next installment. (See What’s Next?) If I missed any cameos I blame it on Kettering. He kept distracting me with his hickey bites.

What’s Next? In the Heat of the Biteis set to release in July 2011; bringing us Rhiannon and Matthew’s story. Brace yourselves. A storm’s brewing!

Review-O-Meter Rating: Rating: ★★★★★

Buy: It Happened One Bite

Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Romance, Copyright 2011, Print Pages 385. ISBN-13# 978-1-4022-4507-7.

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I got this novel from the library when MagdalenB recommended it for a hero who bumbles his first declaration of love/marriage proposal:

Balogh's A Precious Jewel. Gerald tries to explain why marriage is good idea; forgets to mention "love." Twice!

Read it in a day because it was so different than any courtesan romance I have read to date. While reading it I simply couldn’t put it down and I liked it a lot. Writing the review pointed out to me all the things I didn’t like about the novel so you’ll have to excuse the overly negative approach. This novel was not without flaws, but if you’re like me you’ll enjoy it anyway.

Priscilla Wentworth lost her father and brother within a very short span of time and became a ward of her uncle. Her uncle is a lecherous creep and to avoid his advances she runs away to London to meet up with her former governess. She had planned to get a job at her finishing school. In actuality it was a high end whorehouse. Prissy tried for two months to get a job as a maid, a servant, or a governess and could not because she had zero references. Too prideful to take a made up position by her old governess she chose instead to become an honest whore. No virgin prostitute novel here.

After two months working, Sir Gerald Stapleton, becomes her client. One night he comes to her and finds her beaten by her previous costumer and decides to set her up as his mistress. Gerald has very simple tastes in bed – he likes his partner to be unmoving and receptive. He has never made love to a woman, just used them. The love scenes are very detached because of this, even when he comes to Prissy and tries to learn.

Gerald is not really romance hero material. He has zero redeeming traits. He is not bright, or adventurous, or particularly good at anything. He is not handsome. He is not good in bed. He makes no grand gestures (except screwing up his marriage proposal twice) and his idea of romance is buying her pieces of jewelry (something most men did for their mistresses anyway). He tells Prissy she’s a “good girl” and “you have pleased me” more often than he should. In bed he takes and does not give. He doesn’t know how or care really to learn. He believes (and it’s true) that he’s inadequate.

However, he cannot help but love Prissy. She’s the backbone of the novel. Her warmth, unfailing kindness, and presence in his life draw him in and won’t let him go. Gerald must overcome his anger at the betrayals by his mother and stepmother in order to truly acknowledge his need for Prissy. Until then he treats her like a mistress and like their time together is strictly business.

Rating: ★★★½☆

Buy: A Precious Jewel

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bookreview

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: ★★★☆☆

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genre

When reading romance novels about English gentry and nobility I always wonder about the rankings. I know diddlysquat about this subject, mostly because I am American. I decided to do some digging to see if I could sort the matter out. Luckily there are a lot of resources on the matter.

The first thing I was determined to find out was the order of the rankings. I always thought an Earl was as noble as a Duke or fairly similar. An Earl is far less substantial than you might think. In fact they seem to be quite plentiful; perhaps that is why so many romance novels include an Earl. A Marquis, on the other hand was more substantial than I gave credit. For some reason, I always assumed it was on similar footing as a Viscount. Whoops-- social faux pas, anyone?

The order of rank is as follows:

  1. Duke/Duchess
  2. Marquis (alternative spelling: Marquess)/Marchioness
  3. Earl/Countess
  4. Viscount/Viscountess
  5. Baron/Baroness

Baronets and Knights are not peers. A baronet is a hereditary knight. The title of Sir goes down through the generations. His wife is referred to as Lady.

The rarest rank of nobility is the Duke with his dukedom, making Barons by their rank far more abundant.

About the only thing I got right was the order of the Viscounts and Barons.

Did you know there were several peerages?

The isles of Britain and Ireland had in total five different peerages. Those of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom! No wonder the country has so many names in history! Also, a noble man could belong to more than one peerage!

Labels of Address (loosely):

This doesn't include salutations of correspondence. The first bit is how to do the introduction on the different levels of nobility followed by how to address them in formal speech.

  • Duke/Duchess: His Grace/Her Grace (insert title); His Grace/Her Grace
  • Marquis/Marchioness: Most Honorable (insert title); Lord/Lady
  • Earl/Countess: Right Honorable (insert title); Lord/Lady
  • Viscount/Viscountess: Right Honorable (insert title); Lord/Lady
  • Baron/Baroness: Right Honorable (insert title); Lord/Lady
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I have a feeling His Christmas Pleasure will be a story that sticks with me and become an annual reread and a fond favorite. It was wonderfully executed from the very beginning and truly delightful. You won’t want to come up for air!

The next bit has spoilers…

Abigail Montross repeats family history when she elopes with Baron de Vasconia. Her father only has himself to blame when he tries to marry her off to a man twice her age, as wide as he is tall, with no manners and thirteen children! A marriage of convenience while not ideal looks like paradise in comparison even knowing that the baron asked her first and foremost because of her inheritance.

Andres Ramigio has many faults. He is the bastard son of a Spanish baron and the unexpected heir when the real one died in battle. He was not enough and his father shot himself. Andres has lied, cheated, and stolen over the years in an effort to rebuild what was lost. He is poor enough to make poverty look affluent. In his heart of hearts he knows he does not deserve Abigail but he will do everything he can to deserve her a little more each day.

Nothing goes right for the young couple from the very start. A maid gives away the plan which brings Abigail’s father charging. It’s a race to the border and a hasty wedding over an anvil and a quick hop in the marriage bed to seal the deal. Then they find out Abigail’s monies are tied up and unavailable. They are broke and worse the house, stables, and land that is to be theirs is in complete disrepair. It would take a fortune to fix it.

In an instance Andres knows once again he’s build a life on dreams as insubstantial as clouds. His failure at being a husband to Abigail is unacceptable. She must go back to her father… but then Abigail does something to humble him. She sees past his good looks into the man underneath and bets everything she has on him. Somehow they will make it work and make a life together.

The hero and heroine truly compliment one another. They are each other’s backbone. Where one fails the other succeeds. Where one fears the other gains courage. Their weaknesses are bolstered by the other’s strengths. It’s magical.

For a happy holiday read you can’t go wrong with this His Christmas Pleasure!

Rating: ★★★★★

Buy: His Christmas Pleasure

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bookreview

I’ve recently started and stopped a few novels. I just couldn’t get into them past a few chapters and it wasn’t because the story itself wasn’t good it just wasn’t the storyline I was in the mood for at the time. Luckily I came across Julia Quinn’s It’s in His Kiss, a delightful tale that was just what I was in the mood for. It’s in His Kiss is a Bridgerton Family novel. I would assume since all the Bridgerton children were named A-H and that one child is mentioned to still be unmarried, that Hyacinth’s story is number seven in the set. Just don’t quote me on it! Grin.

Hyacinth is delightfully outspoken young miss of age twenty-two. She is good friends with the Countess Danbury, an elderly lady known for her sharp tongue and exuberant use of her walking stick on unsuspecting shins. Hyacinth meets Lady D, as she is known, every Tuesday to read the racy and seriously over the top shenanigans of the Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron and other works by the same author.

Mr. Mozart would die in disgust all over again if he had to hear the latest in the annual Smythe-Smith Musical. Four girls, tone-deaf with sausages for fingers attempt to play classical music. In truth they mutilate it beyond words which provide Hyacinth and Gareth St. Clair much amusement as they discuss their bleeding ears. Gareth is Lady D’s grandson and it is no surprise that he runs into Hyacinth again and again – or is it?

Gareth has been avoiding his grandmother’s home every Tuesday since Hyacinth began making her appearance. He knows his grandmother wants to make Hyacinth her new granddaughter and that’s precisely why he stayed away. He only consorted with women of a certain reputation and not wholesome girls with marriage-minded mamas. And now that he’s conversed with her, Gareth can’t seem to stay away from Hyacinth.

Add in awful poetry meetings, a search for lost diamonds, and Gareth’s secret and it’s a party in the making! Hot, steamy, and full of titillating midnight adventures It’s in His Kiss will entertain you to the very end; a fabulous tale that can’t be missed!

Rating: ★★★★½

Buy: It's In His Kiss

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guestreview

By: Marcia, guest reviewer

Most Regency Romances portray life in this period as opulent and sensual.  And it was, but it was also very hard. Wealthy children were valued not so much as individuals but for what they could contribute to the family in the way of money or power.  Each member of the family was bound by duty to do their part, but could not hold a paying job or engage in industry or business.  They were not encouraged to marry for love.  In fact, most people of this class did not think such a thing was possible.  Debt was a worry for all classes of people.  There was no welfare system and many people died of starvation and exposure.  Even those from good families could suffer the effects of malnutrition since keeping up appearances was more important was maintaining one's health.  Women and children were legal chattel (personal property) and did not have the right to self-determination or to manage their own money or affairs.  With money and power a man could easily get away with murdering members of his family; abuse and neglect were not crimes.

Today we think of the Caribbean as a luxurious place to vacation with warm tropical breezes and beautiful scenery.  During the 19th century the Caribbean was a backwater place without culture or conveniences of any kind.  There was no air-conditioning, running water, window screens, paved roads or hurricane warning system.  Insects thrived in the swamps and hot, humid weather.  Many of the resident landowners had been exiled from polite society.  The slave population far outnumbered white landowners.  The slaves were angry, desperate people with nothing to lose and access to fire and machetes.  Slave uprisings were not uncommon and greatly feared.  As a result, the methods used to keep the slave population cowed and in check are too horrible to mention.  A hard life makes people hard.

Mademoiselle Camille Marchand has come to London with her natural father, Comte de Valigny, a devious and dissolute man intent on using Camille for his own ends.  Camille has her own plans.  She has learned to trust no one and is intent on not making the same mistakes as her mother, who was foolish enough sacrifice all for love.  Camille has recently learned that her maternal grandfather has left her an inheritance with the caveat that she marries an English nobleman before the age twenty-eight and give birth to a child within two years.  Camille's twenty-eighth birthday is in six weeks.  Her parents' reputations are so bad that she has no hope of finding an honorable husband so in desperation she has agreed to allow her father to offer her in a card game.  A small group of men have gathered at Valigny's home.  It is very late and the men are drunk.  Valigny has lost a great deal of money. For his final bid he offers Camille, providing the winner marries her and splits her dowry of 50,000 pounds with him.  Her beauty mesmerizes the men at the table including Lord Enders, whose depraved proclivities are well known and Kieran, Baron Rothewell.

Kieran and his brother and sister were orphaned and a young age and sent to live with their paternal uncle in Barbados.  The uncle, exiled for killing a footman, is a violent drunk who abuses the children.  Kieran tormented by his past and slowly killing himself with hard living, is suffering from alarming symptoms that suggest that his death will be sooner rather than later.  Despite that fact that he has no use for a wife, Kieran cannot stomach the idea of Enders winning Camille and he cheats to win the hand. Kieran and Camille agree that theirs will be a marriage of convenience but, of course, that is not to be.

This novel is written in beautiful, sumptuous prose with realistically structured scenes that showcase the torment and vulnerabilities of the characters.  The bedroom scenes are elegantly erotic.  Ms. Carlyle skillfully immerses us in the intense emotional struggle of Camille and Kieran to relinquish their fear of intimacy and trust themselves and each other enough to fall in love. Never Romance a Rake is a stupendous finale to the Rothewell trilogy.

Rating: ★★★★½

Buy: Never Romance a Rake

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/book-review-never-romance-a-rake-by-liz-carlyle/feed/ 0 Review: Enchanting the Beast by Kathryne Kennedy http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-enchanting-the-beast-by-kathryne-kennedy/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-enchanting-the-beast-by-kathryne-kennedy/#comments Thu, 16 Sep 2010 09:47:44 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=3890

bookreview

This was an impulse buy. The cover was pretty (I only saw the front b/c this was an online purchase) and I was fairly certain the inside would give me a wounded/scarred/brooding hero because of the title. To my surprise it was a historical paranormal!

Nicodemus Wulfson is as you guessed it, a werewolf. His brother is being tormented by ghosts, something he emphatically does not believe. He decides the best way to help his brother is to go to London and obtain a person who claims to hold an affinity with ghosts and winds up with Philomena, a ghost-hunter/communicator with spirits.

The mystery behind the haunting was fairly predictable but contains several unique elements. I easily narrowed it down to the two major suspicious persons but was undecided as to which one it was until much later in the novel.

Philomena is a much older heroine than we are used to seeing in romance. She’s forty years old and a spinster, though she’s not unaware of what takes place behind closed doors due to the ghost of a prostitute named Fanny.

Nicodemus is twenty-seven and is determined to claim Philomena. Around her his wolf practically demands he get on with making her his in every way. At first he thinks it is just lust but quickly concludes that he wants more than an affair; he wants a wife and mate.

This book is quite possibly part of a series involving Merlin’s Relics but is well written enough to be a stand alone. Kennedy has marvelous world building skills. We are introduced to this alternate reality of the world where the aristocrat are descendants of Merlin and hold magical powers. The most powerful are royalty followed by the other noble ranks in order. It is the baronets that are lycanthropes or weres and they can be many animals from the more traditional werewolf to snakes, ducks, horses, etc.

Another element that I liked but wasn’t a major factor in the story was the idea of hedge witches (and wizards) who were the bastard children of the nobility. Even if they were claimed, most of them lack the power to be associated with rank.

Rating: 3 Stars

Buy: Enchanting the Beast

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