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By: Marcia, guest reviewer

Quiet and obedient Emily Fairchild is not expecting an adventure. She is content to care for her father, a country vicar since her mother died after a long illness less than a year before. She is happy to have been invited to the masquerade ball being held by the Marquess of Dryden at his country estate. Her cousin Lawrence was kind enough to escort her.

Emily is unable to dance, still being in mourning, but she is looking forward to visiting with her best friend, Lady Sophia, daughter of her father’s patron, Lord Nesfield. Unfortunately, Lady Sophia is dancing with the notorious Earl of Blackmore. Lord Nesfield takes issue with this and there is an embarrassing confrontation.

When Emily is ready to leave she follows a man that she thinks is her cousin and gets into his carriage. In the dark, it takes little time for Emily to realize that the man in the carriage is not her cousin but the Earl of Blackmore. The Earl is happy to have what he thinks is a widow in his carriage. He has no use for virginal young ladies, as he is not ready for marriage.

Maneuvering herself away from the seductive Earl and back into the ball without anyone seeing her is the first of her adventures. Soon she finds herself accused of murdering her mother and blackmailed into posing as the spirited niece of Lord Nesfield in London and must find out who tried to elope with Lady Sophia.

Since the Earl of Blackmore and his friends are the suspects, Emily must spend time flirting and trying to encourage them to confide in her. In the meantime the Earl of Blackmore has not forgotten the lovely Emily Fairchild whom he recognizes in spite of the fact that the carriage, on that first night, was very dark.

This delightful romp entertains with twists and turns provided by the mystery of who tried to elope with Lady Sophia and the necessity of defeating Lord Nesfied. The personal growth that the characters find on the way to love adds interest and dimension.

Rating: 3 Stars

Buy: The Forbidden Lord

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Originally posted 2008-11-30 00:41:40. Republished by Old Post Promoter

Lady Phoebe Fairchild is in a pickle. Mrs. Ramsey is blackmailing her. The awful woman has guessed her biggest secret– that she is Madame Dupree, the French modiste, whose fashion creations are the talk of the ton. In exchange for not exposing her secret and ruining her reputation Phoebe must go to Wentworth Hall. Immediately.

The fantastical experience she had imagined for herself was not living up to the reality. Ladies Alice and Jane are the most ill behaved women of quality Phoebe has ever met. They constantly bickered and goaded one another. Neither one of them listened to her and treated her as the very lowest of servants.

William Darby, was the one bright spot. Lord Summerfield intrigued her. This man who had traveled the world, bore a tattoo from India, and could tame wild horses thrilled her beyond imaginings. Here was a man that evoked fever in her blood, the very fever her mother had talked about, but Phoebe feared would never find her. The more she came to know him, the harder it was to tell the truth. Why he had said lies and those who purposefully deceived were the only things he could not abide or tolerate! She could not bear it if he hated her.

Will hated being home. If it was not one thing with his family, it was another; Alice fantasized herself in love with a smithy, his brother thieved and whored about, and his father was mute and parallelized from a seizure. He knew he had come home too late and despite the chafing of the polite society, Will was determined to do his father proud and uphold the family honor. He would do his duties as heir and older brother to the best of his abilities. That unfortunately included finding a bride.

The bummer crop of women that paraded by him day and night, he found not one woman that stirred his passion. Madame Phoebe Dupree, the seamstress he had hired on to outfit his sisters stirred his blood in a way no woman abroad or at home had ever done. He found utterly enchanting. His thought constantly pulled in her direction. The troubles of his family could not distract him for long, not even Joshua’s insolent ways and fierce determination to ruin the family name.

But how could he marry Phoebe, even if he loved her, when Caroline Fitzherbert was more the wife that he needed? It would all be so different if Phoebe were of quality. Why if she were, all of his problems would be solved.

In the end I found The Dangers of Deceiving a Viscount by Julia London was a sweet and engaging romance story. I found the love scenes lacking however. They were too short and not overly descriptive. Not the worse I’ve encountered by far, but in the middle of such a tender story it’s a little too lukewarm for the passion I was expecting… craving.

Rating: 3 Stars

Originally posted 2008-11-22 18:18:24. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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Welcome to RRN Amy! I am so happy to have you with us today! Amy is the first entrant into the current blog giveaway contest here at RRN. She’s hoping to win a signed copy of Teresa Medeiros’ Some Like it Wicked. Below is her review of Teresa Medeiros’ novel Yours Until Dawn.

Hi everyone! I’m Amy and I decided to review Teresa Medeiros’s Yours Until Dawn, for the blog giveaway contest. This Regency set novel follows the troubles of a blind lord and a plain miss as they journey toward love. I really enjoyed this novel and quite loved everything about it from Gabriel’s angry bear behavior to Samantha’s waspish retorts. I would have given the novel five stars except for the ending, which I won’t spoil, but I was unsatisfied even though it was a HEA (happily ever after).

Naval war hero and English Earl, Gabriel Fairchild was blinded in his last battle at sea. A flying piece of shrapnel hit his eyes, forcing this proud man into acute darkness. The doctors say it’s permanent – well all but one who thinks it might be hysterical blindness. However, the very idea of a grown man like Fairchild having hysterics is hard to imagine.

Miss March, Gabriel’s sweetheart, leaves him lying alone in the hospital bed with a gasp of frightened sensibilities. The shrapnel has done more than take his eyesight, it has also taken his looks. Angry and hurt at her flight, Gabriel retreats to the countryside and terrorizes everyone around him for the abandonment of his family and of his love.

The novel starts with the tart Samantha Wickersham applying for the job of being Gabriel’s nurse. She finds the task eagerly handed to her despite her lack of solid references and immediately sets to work ignoring all of Gabriel’s blustering. Reeking of lemon verbena, capable prim Miss Wickersham sets about taming the wounded man hiding behind the lion façade.

Not unexpectedly, she wins his heart, but complications arise and she is forced to flee. Gabriel must find the woman of his dreams before it is too late – but how does one find a woman one has never seen?

4 Stars

To be considered for the autograph copy of Some Like it Wicked, send your review of on one of Teresa Medeiros’ romance novels to reviewromancenovel[at]yahoo[dot]com.

Marcia is the first person to respond to the $10 Gift Card Contest! Her review for us this week by Julia London and looks to be a devilishly wild ride across England. The story mixes modern language with historical settings which might turn you off reading, but the the thrill behind the tale should hook you back in easily.

Lady Greer Fairchild is on a journey to find her inheritance in this second novel of the Desperate Debutantes trilogy.  She began her travels in London as the companion of Mrs. Smithington who wanted a little adventure and to see more than just London before she died.  Unfortunately, Mrs. Smithington did die before Greer finishes her journey.  A gentleman by the name of Mr. Percy has been traveling with them and has been a charming and helpful companion during the trip.  After the death of Mrs. Smithington, he suggests that they continue the journey together, since their destination is the same.

Greer is desperate to continue into Wales where she has learned that her inheritance is in the hands of a distant relative of her deceased stepfather.  It is for this reason that she agrees to continue her journey with just the company of Mr. Percy even though she knows that to do so would ruin her reputation.  The distant relative is none other than the Prince of Powys, a man who is known to Mr. Percy as a thief.  Mr. Percy has many a dark tale to tell of this prince, Rhodrick Glendower, Earl of Radnor, and Greer is terrified when they meet him riding a fearsome stallion on the road to the Earl’s castle.

The setting is out of a gothic novel with the wild countryside of Wales, a large oppressive looking castle and a dark brooding prince.  There are also strange dreams, ghosts and mysterious past crimes none of which really add up to a true gothic atmosphere since there is no real mystery or suspense.  The reader knows immediately that Mr. Percy is no gentleman and Rhodrick Glendower is a kind loveable person depicted as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  We also know that Rhodrick could never have committed the mysterious crimes and that they were probably committed by Mr. Percy.  Instead of trying to imitate early 19^th century speech, Ms. London has written the dialog a frank, modern style that may or may not appeal to readers.  Even so, this is an enjoyable albeit light story.

Rating: 3 Stars

Thank you Marcia for writing to us! If you’ve just finished reading a romance novel and want to write review but weren’t sure how check out RRN’s submission guidelines for tips and advice to get started.

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