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

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

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

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

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

Rating: ★★★½☆

Buy: His Leading Lady

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Reviewed by Lynn Reynolds

Amalie Peschier Declouet walks in on her mother-in-law, Sophia Declouet, speaking to her husband’s cousin Robert. Her husband, Julien, is a most proper man for the time period, nineteenth-century, and runs their estate located in Louisiana. There are lots of formalities that are followed – people are expected to act a certain way.

Jennifer does a great job of describing what the Belle Grove Estate looks like. Since this story occurs in times past, details are very important. Otherwise, a reader may get lost in the story. She also does a great job of describing the power of the raging water and the destruction it brings with it. The reader also sees the different ways that a family copes with having water in their house.

Jennifer also does a great job in giving her readers an insight into family life during this period of history. Slavery was a big part of that history but Jennifer does a great job of not making it the focal point. It’s not the best part of our history but Jennifer does show a kinder side of the Declouet family.

The only disappointment I have so far is that Amalie and Julien, just newly married, seem to have very little interaction with each other. The story seems to revolve more around Amalie. Once the water comes into the story their interactions change.

They have their first intimate moment, but the morning after leaves you wondering about Julien’s mood swings. We get the impression that Amalie lives with two different people. Julien acts so differently at night – so passionate. But during the day he’s so totally different. You’ll have to read the story and see if you agree or disagree with me.

Sometimes Jennifer’s scenes drag out a little too long. If this happens too often, the reader may get distracted and try to jump ahead (which I have been known to do in the past). When this happens, the reader may end up missing a good part of the story.

In amidst the beauty of life at Belle Grove, there is mystery and suspense. Although I don’t feel that this helps the story at all. There are some scenes that it just doesn’t hold my attention. Would the story have changed at all without some of it?

Patrick Dye is the estate’s overseer and the evil character of this story. As I was reading this story, all I could think about was how much he reminded me of Rod Sterling’s character, Jud Fry, in “Oklahoma”. His character would fit Patrick’s character to a “T”. You’ll have to read the story and see if you don’t feel the same.

This was OK for a historical romance but I will have to read more of Jennifer’s work to see if I like any of her other work. At times I felt that the story went on too long and would have liked it to be a little shorter. There was some romance for our characters but I’m a little “on the fence” about the sensuality of the story.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Buy: Midnight Waltz

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Reviewed by Aggie S.

Do you like to read a cowboy romance? Yes? Well this is the book for you!

Hope, is the town's former head cheerleader and homecoming queen. She finally decides to return home after sowing her wild oats in Hollywood, only to find that a twin sister she didn’t know existed has stepped into her shoes... or should I say love life? Hope’s dreams were shattered when Slade married her twin sister.

Colt, the town's bad boy is late for the wedding and figures the only thing he can do is kiss the bride. Hope yells for him to take his hands off her sister, but Slade has already gotten there and punched him for grabbing his new wife. Colt comes up swinging and punches Hope out.

It's a classic - he pursues, she evades, cat and mouse, tit for tat romance.

I'm going to classify this romance as enemies to lovers because Colt has pulled so many pranks on Hope that she feels he hates her. But is that really true? Shirlene, Colt’s sister, tells her he does it because he is so hung up on her and he feels he needs to torment her to get her attention.

You really need to read this captivating story to find out why Colt had a snarling hog with a tiara tattooed on his arm. And, why is there all of a sudden a shot-gun wedding and for who! This book is such an interesting read, with what a plot so realistic it could be an actually true story for many homecoming queens and town bad boys.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Buy: Make Mine a Bad Boy (A Deep in the Heart of Texas novel)

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Only Mine is Dakota’s story, the first story of the Hendrix triplets in the Fool’s Gold series.

Heroine: Dakota Hendrix can't have kids and she wants one so she’s in the process of adopting. Meanwhile there isn’t a guy on her radar (could be because of the man shortage) and she’s doing a favor for the mayor by being the contact person between the town and the new reality TV show being filmed there.

Hero: Finn Anderson is the opposite. He doesn't want kids after raising his twin brothers for so long. He's a pilot with a business in Alaska. He’s in town to force his stupid twin brothers back to college and off the dumb reality show they’re trying out for, but of course, as they’re twins they are automatically voted on and once they are they’re not leaving. He’s an overprotective brother, but a solid good guy.

The Twins:

Sasha: In a word - metrosexual. It doesn’t take more than his name to peg him as a character. He wants to be famous and he’s willing to do what it takes to get there including pretending a wild romance with Lani who is also interested in the same thing.

Stephen: He wants out of small town Alaska and the best thing for that is to follow Sasha onto this dating reality show. In the process he’s matched with an older woman (as un-cougar as they get) and he really digs her (can we say hot?).

Review: I wasn’t really into the main romance. It could be because it reads friends-to-lovers, a trope I’ve never been behind. And Dakota getting pregnant was too predictable. I was hoping a miracle pregnancy wouldn’t enter the picture, because it made the story highly unrealistic. It took care of the angst and depth to Dakota’s character in one too neat package.

I also thought it was unrealistic that Finn who didn’t want kids after raising his brothers after their parents’ deaths would jumped back into raising kids again so soon even if he loved Dakota. He’s never had a chance to be a carefree adult and I felt he really deserved it.

As far as the side romance goes, it really upstaged the main romance in my opinion. I loved their first date. The two of them had a lot of depth and were cute. They could easily have had their own stand alone.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Buy: Only Mine

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arcrev1

Lucky in Love is a riot. Brown had fun putting phrases together that read like classic stereotypical western and modern feisty romance rolled into one. You’ll find expressions like: “my hide tacked to the smokehouse door,” “she belongs like a horse apple in a church social punch bowl,” and “heartache bigger than Dallas” to name a few. They were probably my favorite part of the book and never failed to make me smile or laugh out loud when they appeared.

Anthony “Beau” Luckadeau is lucky at everything but not lucky in love. He plans to prove them all wrong by proposing to Amanda, though his heart has long been lost to Amelia Jiminez, a one night stand at his cousin’s wedding. When he does propose everyone forces a smile and shakes his hand but nobody is congratulating him (not that he notices) because Amanda is the worst wife Beau could have picked. She hates ranching, barns, his friends, his workers, his home, and his nickname. It’s not classy enough for her.

Amelia Jiminez on the other hand is none other than sassy Camellia “Milli” Torres. She’s in Oklahoma to help her Granny and Poppy out on their ranch while Poppy is healing from surgery. She and her toddler Katy would never have stepped a foot out of Texas if she’d known Beau was Poppy’s neighbor. If making him dance in the dirt under fire of a .22 rifle doesn’t force him to keep his distance nothing will… and part of her doesn’t want him to stay away which makes him all the more dangerous.

Rating: 4 Stars

Buy: Lucky in Love

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by Susan S., guest reviewer

High praise for Cooper-Posey’s Heart of Vengeance. A touching love story of two lovers willing to risk it all (titles, lands, imprisonment, torture, even death) just to be together.

Summary:

Ah, Lady Helena of York, beautiful daughter of the late Earl of Wessex. Pretty Saxon maiden with the most beautiful blue eyes-you’ve ever seen. While she may look angelic, this is a knife carrying, strong heroine who can expertly yield a bow and arrow. She’s going to find her father’s killer come hell or high water! And when she does…well, you’ll have to read the novel to find out.

The plan: Helena (heroine) will pose as Lady Isobel of Brittany; a Norman. Lady Catherine and Sir Hubert Fitzwarren will be sponsoring her return to court. Nothing! Absolutely nothing, will stand in Helena’s way. She simply must find the man responsible for all her anguish. That the Fitzwarren’s plan to marry her off, well…she’ll cross that bridge when she gets there.

Who’s Stephen, Count of Dinan, Earl of Northumbria, often referred to as the Black Baron? Stephen, yes, he’s what I like to call, the law of unintended consequences. The one’s Helena didn’t foresee. When their paths cross, a continued acquaintance would be foolish, not to mention deadly. She’s posing as someone she’s not, and he’s seen as trouble to be avoided. A medieval bad boy, no wonder he appealed to me! Helena has a bit of a trilemma on her hands: 1. How to keep her real identity concealed/ avoid drawing the present king’s ire 2. Steer clear of marrying a repugnant man named Savaric/ circumvent the future king’s wrath, and the most troublesome of the three 3. Can she stay away from a noble knight who’s stolen all she had left…her heart?

Who said a woman’s life was easy?

Recommendations: Do you fancy stories with dashing knights, beautiful maidens, and forbidden love? Did the characters and power plays in The Lion in Winter appeal to you? In the movie Romeo & Juliet (the 1968 version, of course) did the clandestine meetings between lovers make you gush? If so, I recommend you pick up a copy. Same goes, if you read romances in “any” subgenre, but more specifically historicals, romantic suspense, and medieval love stories.

Historical Elements: I’d like to touch on a key point; accuracy. 1. King Richard’s use of kingdom’s resources to support his crusade (check). 2. King Richard married Berengaria (check). 3. As well as Richard’s use of Château Gaillard (check).

My Thoughts: Reading is subjective, yes. But, I’m convinced the author’s beautiful story, coupled with historical accuracies intertwined in such a way, you couldn’t possibly debate its winning outcome.

Complaints: Yes, I have them.

Number one, it’s a single title. I want a Vengeance Series! Can’t I get Marked by Vengeance? Where William of Worcester is the hero; all grown up. Secondly, Robert of Loxley (my goblet clashes against the table) I want him. Sorry, I forget myself, strikethrough. Replace the word him, with more. Or, more of him!?

Comedic Element: Stephen doesn’t know Isobel’s real identity, and she’s not telling, so he calls her not-Isobel.

Where shall I place this novel? In my re-read pile, of course!

Rating: 5 Stars

Buy: Heart of Vengeance (Kindle), Heart of Vengeance (Paperback)

eBook, 2010, Cerridwen Press
Medieval Historical Romantic Suspense, 227 pages.
ISBN# 978-141-992-4040

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Three Nights with a Scoundrel is the final installment in the Stud Club trilogy by Tessa Dare. Of the three men making up this exclusive and revolutionary club, I was uncertain if Julian Bellamy had what it took to be a hero because his character was fairly off-putting in the first two books. He had his vengeance mission going for him and he certainly cared about the girl but there didn’t seem to be much else to him. Was I ever wrong. Julian Bellamy has a whole other very secret side and we as readers get to learn all about it.

The vengeance mission is finally concluded in Three Nights with a Scoundrel. I fully recommend reading the first two novels in the trilogy if you’re the type who wants to get the full long arc of the vengeance mission. To recap what it is: Leo Chatwick, founder of the Stud Club, was found murdered. Four people witnessed it: the two brutes that beat him up, his companion who he was arguing with just before the brutes showed up, and the whore he’d paid to accompany him for the evening festivities. Of the three heroes, Julian is the most consumed with finding Leo’s killers and it’s been a long and twisting route to get to the final chapters.

He’s also been promoting that Lady Lily Chatwick needs to be married. He tried to get the heroes from the first two novels to do it, but they fell for their own heroines. He tried twisting the arms of other gentry. In the end he had to face the fact that he loved her and wanted her for himself – which is why his efforts never worked, because he was sabotaging them from the start by picking men he knew in the end would not ask for her hand or that she wouldn’t accept even if they had. That’s because she’s subconsciously wanted Julian all this time and only after a mind-blowing kiss does she let herself dream it might be possible.

Lily was a very big reason why I liked the book so much. She’s lost her hearing due to an illness and has learned to cope. In the book she makes even bigger efforts to break out of her comfort zone and attends social gatherings for the first time on her own without her brother there to subtly help her keep track of conversations and people. She’s very brave and very genuine of heart. Tessa Dare doesn’t undermine her efforts by miraculously healing her of hearing-loss (something that happens a lot with damaged characters especially with hearing and blindness).

Loved the pet bird too.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Buy: Three Nights with a Scoundrel

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Keira: What is your ideal Jane Austen Convention?

Victoria Connelly: I would love to attend a Jane Austen Convention and lots of my UK readers have told me they would too! I think I would love a gloriously romantic setting like Purley Hall in A Weekend with Mr. Darcy. I’ve always been in love with Georgian architecture and it would be a real treat to stay somewhere beautiful whilst enjoying the work of Jane Austen.

I think the perfect convention would have a mix of talks from experts, and workshops as well as plenty of time to relax and chat to other Austen fans. And wouldn’t it be wonderful to have some of the actors from the films come to talk and answer questions? I think there’d be a fight for the front row in Colin Firth ever made an appearance!

Keira: Why make Warick a male romance writers? For the purpose of mistaken identity?

Victoria: I’m a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association in the UK and know two wonderful men who write under a female pseudonym. I’ve always been fascinated by this and I knew I wanted to write about it one day. The idea for Warwick came very quickly and I got very excited about the plotline involving him and Katherine. I don’t want to spoil things for readers but I’ll just say that I really enjoyed writing his scenes and wincing at the horrible muddles he got himself into. I think it helped give the book that page-turning quality – when was he going to reveal who he really was and how would others react to that?

One of my favourite films is The Shop Around the Corner which was later remade as You’ve Got Mail. I love how the hero and heroine are deadly rivals and yet they’re falling in love with each other via their secret identity as pen pals. I’ve always wanted to write about mistaken identity and I hope readers enjoy Warwick and Katherine’s relationship.

Keira: Talk to us about love triangles and the hard decision of choosing who to pick in the end, especially concerning Robyn, Jace, and Dan.

Victoria: Writers adore love triangles – they are so much fun to create! A love triangle means instant conflict and the reader knows a decision has got to be made at some point. When we first meet Robyn, she’s stuck in a rut with her rather hopeless boyfriend, Jace Collins. She’s really unhappy but she doesn’t know what to do. Jace seems to have some sort of hold over her but then she meets dashing Dan Harcourt whilst at the Jane Austen weekend and she knows that there’s a better life for her if only she dares to take a chance. But what happens when Jace finds out?

I loved writing Robyn, Jace and Dan’s story and I really didn’t know what was going to happen until the very last moment! That’s the magic of the love triangle!

A WEEKEND WITH MR. DARCY

Full of characters obsessed with Jane Austen and set in Jane Austen locations in England, this lively modern Jane Austen romantic comedy trilogy features two pairs of lonely hearts who find each other and themselves at a Jane Austen Addicts weekend.

Dr. Katherine Roberts is a Jane Austen lecturer at St Bridget's College, Oxford, who secretly loves the racy Regency novels of Lorna Warwick. But Lorna is really a man who's slowly been falling in love with Katherine. He's hoping that the Jane Austen Addicts weekend will be the perfect opportunity to declare his feelings...

Buy: A Weekend with Mr. Darcy, A Weekend With Mr Darcy (UK)

Online Stores ]]> http://www.loveromancepassion.com/get-into-bed-with-victoria-connelly-mini-author-interview/feed/ 0 Review: Love with a Perfect Scoundrel by Sophia Nash http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-love-with-a-perfect-scoundrel-by-sophia-nash/ http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-love-with-a-perfect-scoundrel-by-sophia-nash/#comments Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:41:54 +0000 Keira http://www.loveromancepassion.com/?p=3332

bookreview1

I selected this novel because of the gorgeous female cover model. She looks like a fairy princess and the pink and black and warm tones are just lovely. The big plus is this is how the heroine is described… well, I think it was an angel, but you get the point: lovely, blonde, kindhearted.

Moving on, the first half of the novel can be said in three sentences:

Grace Sheffey has been jilted twice, widowed once.

Michael Ranier has murdered twice, rescued once.

These two souls get together under a single lodging and share one passionate interlude.

The second half deals with the consequences. I found Love with a Perfect Scoundrel to be a fun, fast-paced romp filled with nutty characters, sensual situations, and many a marvelous moments. Some to me seems a little over the top, like a seventy-five thousand pound promissory note, but I will let you decide for yourselves.

I had a wonderful time reading the novel and I felt great when I finished. I haven’t read anything else by Sophia Nash, but I highly recommend her if her other novels are like this one.

Love with a Perfect Scoundrel is book three of the widow club.

Rating: 4 Stars

Buy: Love with the Perfect Scoundrel

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Couple 1: Soon after finding out her boyfriend was a married louse, Katherine Roberts makes contact with her favorite living Regency romance writer, Lorna Warwick. They become fast friends and Katherine hopes to meet her at an upcoming Jane Austen Convention, but Lorna Warwick is very reclusive; she doesn't even have an author photo and has said she won't be going. Why? Because she's really a man. Warwick Lawton attends the convention, keeping his real identity secret, hoping to make friends and hopefully more with his favorite fan, a woman he's certain he's falling head over heels for. Trouble is, he's not nearly as suave as the heroes he writes about.

Couple 2: A longtime fan of Jane Austen, Robyn Love can't wait to attend the convention and escape her staid life for the weekend. Unfortunately her long term boyfriend, Jace Collins, decides he's got to come too, just not the the convention. He hates Jane Austen and wants Robyn to give it all up which is why when Robyn meets a handsome horserider whose interested in her and in Austen she can't help but give her heart to him. Dan Harcourt can see how manipulative Jace is and can't understand why his sweet Robyn doesn't kick him to the curb.

Review: If you love Austen based fiction, you can't miss A Weekend with Mr. Darcy. It's in all ways wonderful! Many times Warwick's bumbling behavior reminded me of Mr. Bingley. I love a hero who knows his feelings for the heroine and yet makes a mess of things trying to get her attention. If I was Katherine, my reaction to the revelation that he was my favorite author would have been quite different! Hubba hubba. ;) I couldn't understand why it was so difficult for Robyn to let Jace go and grab onto Dan with both fists, but her storyline was equally cute. Jace and Mrs. Soames are characters whose behaviors, scenes, and attitudes, remind you of the unruly Bennets/Mr. Collins and even Lady Catherine de Bough at times in the story depending on what they are doing. I almost felt sorry for Mrs. Soames. She's so hard to please, and yet I have a feeling she just wants to make friends... maybe... underneath... way underneath... lol

Favorite Scenes: The Austen quiz which was fun, and when the horse is brought inside the house! OMGosh... wow... someone had their brain disconnected with that one. Haha.

Rating: ★★★★★

Buy: A Weekend with Mr. Darcy

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