Lauren Willig has an excellent sense of humor and language—masterfully weaving internal and external dialogue that makes turning the pages of Night Jasmine a delight. Her voice is modern and refreshing and works successfully both in the past and contemporary settings as she presents two love stories to readers.

I loved the way Lauren put words together on the page. Her ability to turn an ordinary expression or phrase into something more exotic and poetic is a skill she has honed to perfection. At first it was unexpected and I made note of particular sentences that caught my eye but as I got swept away into the story they became a part of the scenery and the characters themselves.

Robert, Duke of Dovedale and Charlotte’s hero, is a wonderful character. He and Charlotte foil each other perfectly. He makes mistakes and does some seriously foolish things in the name of love but he does it with heart and good intentions. But as they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions… literally in this case.

Charlotte is a heroine who has believed in fairytales all her life until Robert inexpertly dashes her hopes and dreams to smithereens in an effort to protect her. Disillusioned by love, believing herself prone to fanciful childish delusions, Charlotte comes to the conclusion she is not a storybook heroine. She acknowledges her shortcomings and lack of gumption and decides to change all that.

Another heroine from 2004 is studying and researching into the Pink Carnation for her dissertation. Her story is woven throughout Charlotte’s and Robert’s as we break from them to learn more about the present happenings. Eloise is disconcerted that her boyfriend Colin avoids the question of his current line of work now that he’s left his city job. With all the spies and espionage from the past filling her head and random comments thrown in from one jealous woman, Eloise comes to the unlikely conclusion that Colin is a spy. She scoffs at her own foolishness until evidence confirms her crazy theory.

I was so absorbed in the reading I was reluctant to put the book down for any reason. Sleeping and eating just sounded like too much bother. I will definitely be on the lookout for the rest of Lauren’s Pink Carnation series.

Rating: 5 Stars

Buy: The Temptation of the Night Jasmine

Take a Look at These Fun Posts

• Get into Bed with Sharon Lathan (Author Interview)
• Why I Read and Review Romance
• Review: Darcy Saga: Book One: Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan
• Get into Bed with Amelia Grey (Author Interview)
• 4th Edition of Author Love

Potentially Related Websites

• Twelve Reasons to Turn off the Television
• Review: The Time Traveler's Wife
• Audio Review: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
• 10 Best Places to Read a Book
• Hot hot hot: summer in the city, fragrances to stay cool with

Online Stores

• Back of Book United States Stamps
• Replica/Kit Makes Hybrid Vehicles
• Back of Book United States Stamps
• Booklets Back of Book United States Stamps
• Revenues Back of Book United States Stamps

Categories:

5 Stars, ARC, Book Review, Contemporary, Dukes and Earls, Friends, Georgian, Great Britain, Mystery, Reading, Revenge, Secret Agent, V-Z, Virgin Heroine, Writer

Tags:

childish delusions, city job, dovedale, eloise, foolish things, foolishness, gumption, hell is paved with good intentions, heroine, hopes and dreams, jealous woman, Lauren Willig, love stories, night jasmine, pink carnation, random comments, road to hell, road to hell is paved with good intentions, sense of humor, smithereens