March 4th, 2010 — 3 Stars, A-C, Book Review, Comedy of Manners, Estranged, Gambling, Gentry, Gothic, Great Britain, Jane Austen, Regency
Duty and Desire takes places during the majority of the silent period. It is the second book in the Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy Gentleman Trilogy. The first is An Assembly Such as This which ended in London at the beginning to the silent period of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Darcy is in quite a pickle. He's managed to successfully divert his friend from near disaster, but his mind won't stop resting on the delights of Elizabeth Bennet. Thinking Pemberley will help orient his mind, Darcy finishes his business in London and hies home. There he meets his sister, Georgiana much changed from her misfortunes of last summer. Bright sunny and remarkably mature, Darcy can hardly believe his eyes. He's worried that one wrong move on his part will ruin all of Georgiana's progress.
Christmas comes to Pemberley and Darcy is caught more than once daydreaming about Elizabeth's fine eyes. He knows he must do something about his wandering imagination and fast. Determined to erase her presence from his thoughts, Darcy decides to enter into the hunt for a wife. Leaving his sister in the care of family and his best friend Dy, Darcy goes to a reunion house party of old Cambridge and Oxford mates.
There he meets his cousin's fiancee and is at once charmed and disturbed by her flirtation. He finds solace in the dark beauty that is his host's half-sister. As his thoughts war between Sylvanie and Elizabeth, both gray eye beauties, a dark nearly Gothic mystery begins to unfold. His host is in dire need of funds, a piglet is slaughtered and made to look like a human baby, personal affects are stolen, and more. Fletcher, Darcy's valet, is the only one he can trust to help unwind the threads of this coil.
I guessed immediately who was behind everything, but had not guessed at the second mystery that was present in the writing. It took me by surprise at the end during the revelation. In hind-sight I can see the clues that I could not before. A masterful tale, if a little drawn out. Would have preferred more Bingley in this part of the story, as it was there was very little. I suspect Dy and/or Colonel Fitzwilliam love romantically the sixteen year old Georgiana. My suspicions will have to wait until the next and final chapter of Mr. Fitzwilliam, Darcy Gentleman Trilogy.
Review: 3 Stars
Buy: Duty and Desire
Find and buy more Pamela Aidan novels.
Originally posted 2009-07-02 03:04:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Online Stores
February 14th, 2010 — 5 Stars, Artist, Book Review, D-F, Great Britain, Historical Romance, Poor Eyesight, Spectacles
You know how they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, well I do. I picked up Jacquie D’Alessandro’s Sleepless at Midnight last fall because of the cover. It was sensual while not being risqué. I bought it when I read that the heroine snuck into his room to spy on him bathing. I was not disappointed. What followed was some of the best dialog I had ever read in a romance novel with a touching story besides. In addition to the witty repartee the bedroom scenes should be noted. They are exceptional: steamy, sticky, and sexy.
Miss Sarah Moorehouse is plain, bespectacled, and unfashionably tall with a naughty side a mile long. She forms secret clubs, reads a novel that would raise eyebrows, sneaks into men’s private rooms, and draws pictures of naked men in her sketchbook. Matthew Langston finds her fascinating.
However, Matthew can’t afford to find her so. He has to fulfill two death bed promises to his father. The first is restoring the estate and the second is getting married within a year of the old man’s passing. His father’s last few words were about a windfall hidden on the estate. If he could find it before time was up he could marry the woman of his dreams and not the one of the pretty heiresses staying at his house party.
Rating: 5 Stars
Happy Readings!
Originally posted 2008-11-17 15:25:15. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Online Stores
February 3rd, 2010 — 4 Stars, Architect, G-I, Great Britain, Guest Reviews, Regency
By: Marcia, guest reviewer
It is always a treat to read one of Madeline Hunter's books. They are very well written with compelling plots and historical subplots as well as wonderful characters. Secrets of Surrender is the third book in the Rothwell Series about a family that is declining socially.
Roselyn Longworth has come down almost as far as possible. Her respectable family has been impoverished for sometime but after her parents' death, her brothers became bankers. Adding to her distress, her older brother has been killed as a freedom fighter in Greece her younger brother fled to Paris, after his embezzlement of bank funds was discovered, absconding with roughly 100,000 pounds (about $10,000,000 today). Her cousin's husband, Lord Hayden, has tried to repay all those affected but there is still a great deal of resentment, most notably from Lord Norbury. Unaware of his connection with her brother, Roselyn has agreed to be Lord Norbury's mistress thinking that he cared for her, but his attentions are anything but romantic.
In the opening scene we find her at a house party hosted by Lord Norbury. This is not a respectable affair. The only attendees from society are men, the women they are escorting are not their wives or mistresses but common prostitutes. She tells Lord Norbury that she will not continue with this affair, but he is unwilling to let her go and indicates that he will hold her by force.
Kyle Bradwell is a local boy who has risen up in the world thanks to the patronage of Lord Norbury's father. He is an architect and arrives thinking to discuss some business with Lord Norbury. When he discovers that there is a house party in progress, he intends to leave as soon as his business is competed. Lord Norbury invites him to stay long enough to have dinner with the rest of the guests whom Kyle has not yet met.
Entering the dinning room Kyle is offended by the company, but he is dazzled by a beautiful, graceful woman across the room and soon realizes that she is here with Lord Norbury. During dinner Lord Norbury rises and addresses the company. He tells his guests that Roselyn no longer chooses to be his mistress and that he is glad to be rid of her because she is so cold and unskilled, although he does list some favorable and intimate physical attributes. He wants to be compensated for the money he has spent on her so far and he offers to auction her to the highest bidder. Kyle is horrified by these proceedings and realizes, when looking over the men that are bidding, that Roselyn is in grave danger. They are not nice men regardless of their standing in society. The bidding starts at 50 pounds and proceeds with several gentlemen in the running. Kyle wastes no time and bids 950 pounds. The room is silenced and Kyle leaves quickly with an ungrateful Roselyn who is unaware of his honorable motives.
What follows is a beautifully written story of two kindred spirits on the outskirts of society who find love, completeness, home, security and acceptance with each other. Adding depth and interest is an historical backdrop dealing with the English justice system during the Regency period and the inequities of justice for titled gentlemen vs. the common man and men vs. women.
4 Stars
Buy: Secrets of Surrender
 |
|
US $4.99 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $1.00 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $1.00 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $1.00 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $4.99 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $1.77 |
Sale |
 |
|
US $2.99 |
Sale |
Originally posted 2008-08-12 05:42:06. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Online Stores
December 3rd, 2009 — 3 Stars, Book Review, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Erotica, Great Britain, Kidnapping, LGBT, Regency, Rogues and Rakehells, S-U, Virgin Heroine
Looking to add some spice to your Regency romances? Try Sinjin by Julia Templeton! This erotica novel focuses on the main romance but you’ll also get to experience some other sexy scenes featuring the hero’s brothers and their current paramours. There’s a lot of sex some of which features a little voyeurism and a little ménage trios action. Additionally there is a tiny hint of lesbian interaction that stops at dirty talking and a kiss, in case that bothers you.
The Rayborne brothers are being forced to find brides by their mother. Sinjin being the eldest must find his bride before the summer is out and preferably at a two week house party their mother is throwing. Prepared for the worst, determined to be a martyr to give his brothers more time to sow their wild oats, Sinjin strides through the doors and is arrested by the sight of the beautiful Katelyn Davenport.
Katelyn is engaged to be married to a terribly wretched peer. He’s forty plus years of age to her just shy of twenty years, overweight, balding, and a bore. His strict views of propriety and womanhood are so imposing Katelyn can hardly imagine marriage to him. She’s determined to use this time away from him at the Rayborne house party to enjoy herself while securing for her sister one of the brothers. When Sinjin’s smoldering gaze lingers on her Katelyn dares to imagine a life spent with him… or at the very least his bed!
Rating: 3 Stars
Buy: Sinjin
Online Stores
November 15th, 2009 — 3 Stars, G-I, Great Britain, Guest Reviews, Historical Romance, Victorian
By: Marcia, guest reviewer
Taking place in Victorian England, Beyond Innocence is about loyalty to family versus being true to one self.
Edward Burbrooke is horrified to learn that his brother, Freddie, has been discovered, in the bedroom, with a footman, at a house party. He loves his brother and feels responsible for his ‘fall from grace'. When they were both young, their father died and Edward, now being the Earl of Greystowe, sent his sensitive younger brother to Eton, thinking it would be good for him. He assumed that Freddie could protect himself from hazing by older bullies. Marriage to a good woman would cure him and protect him from horrible scandal.
Florence Farleigh is the daughter of a recently deceased country Vicar. She is very short of funds and has come to London to seek a husband. Florence appeals to her father's attorney, whom she has been told is very clever, to help her; unaware that Mr. Mowbry is also the earl's attorney.
Edward decides that Florence is perfect for Freddie and, with his Aunt Hyptia's help, strives to place them in close proximity. He does not plan to fall in love with her himself.
Emma Holly is a skillful writer treating her characters with kindness and sensitivity, but what makes this story really unique, are comic situations and erotic imagery that have a distinctly male point of view.
Rating: 3 Stars
If you would like to write a guest review for LRP, I would be happy to include you in this growing forum. It is the goal of LRP to share with readers recommendations, opinions, and reviews on romances. Your contribution would be greatly welcomed. Please see our guidelines for further information.
Originally posted 2008-11-19 16:15:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Online Stores
September 29th, 2009 — 3.5 Stars, Book Review, Bride Stealing, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Dukes and Earls, Great Britain, Heiress, Kidnapping, Lisa Kleypas, Regency, Rogues and Rakehells, Virgin Heroine
I had some unfamiliar and ear-wax color substances to avoid while reading this book; those are potential problems with any secondhand novel, though I must say I’ve never encountered anything quite like this. lol. Anyway despite the somewhat repulsive quality of my copy of It Happened One Autumn, I enjoyed the story. This Lisa Kleypas novel is number two in the Wallflower quartet. While reading I kept expecting something more, something a little extra. I didn’t get it and so I have to say it was a bit predictable, not that most romance novels aren’t easily predictable, but while the conclusion was good it wasn’t as satisfying as I had hoped it to be.
Lillian Bowman, is an upstart American wallflower and proud of it. She’s got a good nose in her head and can distinguish scents the way an artist can label all the colors on a canvas. However, good olfactory sense aside, Lillian is a bit of a hoyden. She won’t mold herself into one of the demure English ladies that litter the country. Her mother bemoans that this will ensure Lillian to never snare a husband of her own – especially that of a peer.
Her sister Daisy is in a similar boat and the two heiresses have got to figure out a way to wed Lillian off – what better chance will they get than the Earl of Westcliff’s month long house party? Before they go, Lillian purchases a flask of perfume made from her own recipe. The proprietor tells her he added a special ingredient, one that is sure to cause magic to happen. Scoffing at the superstitious idea, Lillian pays and they depart.
Well there must be magic in the perfume after all because Westcliff seems to have gone bezerk. He can’t take his eyes off of Lillian or for that matter his hands and lips. Once he captures her in his arms he doesn’t want to let her go. This is totally unusual behavior for Westcliff as he’s only ever shown Lillian amused contempt in the past. Still, in spite of the handsome earl’s attentions, Lillian refuses to ignore the noble Viscount St. Vincent who is also making a play for her hand. Vincent doesn’t seem affected by her perfume at all and while she longs for a little more passion in his arms, all she desires of Westcliff is that his passion is unaffected in the absence of the perfume.
Vincent is looking for an heiress as his father has squandered off all the family inheritance and property except what is entailed. He finds Lillian charming, pretty, and interesting. If he has to take a wife, he could not ask for a better woman.
Marcus Westcliff has been irritated, vexed, annoyed, dismayed, and amused by Lillian’s presence. He can’t seem to get her off his mind but he knows he will never marry her. It is expected that he wed a properly breed English woman of good bloodlines, and while that makes him sound like thoroughbred horse, it doesn’t change the facts.
So it comes as a surprise when they both ask her to marry them (I won’t say who asked first or how the second came about, that’s half the fun.) Now Lillian has to make a choice – but which one?
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Originally posted 2008-09-29 12:02:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Online Stores
April 2nd, 2009 — 5 Stars, Book Review, Counts, Marquis, Viscounts, Dukes and Earls, Erotica, Great Britain, Magic Users, P-R, Paranormal, Scarred Hero, Survival, Victorian
Mmm-mmm delicious. I love the plot to this novel, which looks like it will drive the second in the series. I also love the romantic conflict- it’s simply too yummy. Roman certainly has a way with storytelling, twisting and weaving different threads into one cohesive whole. I listened to the audio version of this book and was tempted more than once to click double speed just so I could devour this novel faster. Of course, I didn’t, that would take out half of the fun. Medea Carter Beckett is truly the best narrator Ravenous could have found for the job.
Magickers are being hunted. In the age of the English witch hunts, known as the Great Purification, one man rises above the rest to the head of the assault. Nobody is safe while Corwin continues to breathe. He is clever and charismatic, wooing people to his viewpoint. A bill is in parliament and if the Magickers are to have any hope at all for survival it must pass.
Malcolm Wargrave, earl of Preston, is on the fence. He is neutral and has not taken a stance, either agreement or disagreement to Corwin’s speeches. He is Lady Raven Drake’s lover. They started their affair almost immediately after their mutual friend’s house party began. She was a virgin when they met, and while she gave him her virginity she could never be his as she belonged to another. That and because she kept a secret from Malcolm.
Gareth, Viscount Moore, is Raven’s intended. They are engaged for several purposes. Not only were they well matched as both were Master Magickers, but they also stood as the only defense for their people. As the heirs to two of the very last powerful lines of Magickers, their alliance would create a new line of Masters. Their children would be powerful. United in marriage, their union would be a beacon of hope to their people.
Raven will face the toughest decision of her young life – will she give into her heart or into duty?
Rating: 5 Stars
Buy the audio version here.
Online Stores
