March 11th, 2010 — 1 Star, Blackmail, Book Review, Category, Duchess, Countess, Marchioness, Great Britain, M-O, Regency, Secret Agent, Thief, Widow or Widower
Constance Townley is the dowager duchess of Wellford. She is extremely beautiful and extremely poor. Now a widow, Constance remembers the comfortable life she had with her departed husband. He settled her well, but because of the naïve (re. halfwit lamebrain imbecile) nephew (also known as the new duke) is not honoring it and has actually used her home to pay Barton a gambling debt.
Barton is the evil entitled gentlemen (and I use the term lightly) wants Constance to be his mistress/whore and it striving to get that by any means possible. He does several things such as acquiring her home, blackmailing her with the jewels which she had to sell, and threatening to spread malicious gossip.
The hero in all this is Anthony de Portnay Smythe. He is really Eustace Smith (not that this matters in the slightest). He’s a thief which in other words is a spy for government. As a self-made wealthy man, he’s just seen the last of his brothers’ widows’ daughters (how much does that suck seriously) married and feels like something in lacking in his life that gives him purpose. He’s been secretly in love with Constance for a long time but when the government suspects that she’s helping Barton he plans to use her to get his man by any means possible.
The whole story was annoying and gave me very little enjoyment. The repetition of the same drama and its same lack of resolution got old very quickly. For the most part I just couldn’t get involved at all as quite simply, it just couldn’t hold my attention. The cover on the other hand is scrumptious and very pretty.
Rating: 1 Stars
Buy: A Wicked Liaison
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February 3rd, 2010 — 4 Stars, Book Review, Contemporary, Crime and Protection, Mystery, S-U, Seas, Secret Agent, Soldier, Thief, Travel, United States of America
Roxanne St. Claire will keep you on your toes with this novel. Nobody is what they seem and that includes the hero and heroine too.
Constantine Xenakis is a former Navy Seal, one time Bullet Catcher, and thief. He wants to be a Bullet Catcher again and he wants Dan Gallagher’s job as Lucy Sharpe’s right hand man.
His first mission back on the team is a test of his character. The dive site is the El Falcon and it’s rumored that the long lost Bombay blue diamonds are somewhere among the wreckage. He’s to ensure the safety of all treasure found, but can he resist the temptation to keep something for himself?
There’s a thief onboard the Gold Digger. Treasure found on the dive site is going missing. It’s Con’s job to find out who is responsible and stop them. He catches Lizzie Dare red-handed the first night on board, but she insists she was just trying to get documentation about the finds so that Paxton, the client behind the Bullet Catcher case and owner of the finds the diving crew bring up, can’t profit from them illegally and claim they never existed.
It’d be so easy to turn her in and call the job done, but Con decides to hold his peace for now and keep a closer eye on everyone’s, but especially Lizzie’s doings.
Roxanne St. Claire turns up the heat for Make Her Pay. The sexiest scenes, in my opinion, are when Con and Lizzie are showering together in a little cramped space on the boat. Yum. Con’s headspace was particularly fun. Poor guy.
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: Make Her Pay (The Bullet Catchers)
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April 2nd, 2009 — 3.5 Stars, Book Review, Dukes and Earls, G-I, Great Britain, Historical Romance, Virgin Heroine
Amelia Grey spins a sweet love story of ghosts, trapped marriages, thievery, and near misses. A Taste of Temptation is a pretty quick read. The book is wonderful to sit down with and read on a rainy afternoon, which is exactly how I read it.
Andrew Terwillger, Lord Dugdale, is the last of the Terrible Threesome. A confirmed bachelor, he doesn’t understand how his friends can be happy with their wives and marriages. All he sees is that they’re different. They no longer like to drink, gamble, and enjoy women like they used to and he vows no female will leg shackle him.
Olivia Banning is a kind girl who wants the best for her Aunt Agatha. Which is why she’s most concerned when Agatha tells her that Lord Pinkwater’s ghost is calling to her from the grave. Drawn to London on a ghost hunt, Olivia is worried her Aunt is out of her mind and that the ton will find out.
An urn falls at the Dugdale Ball, nearly missing Lord Dugdale. Agatha, convinced that this is the sign of Lord Pinkwater’s ghost presence is determined to set off and search the house. Olivia quickly nixes the idea and offers to go instead as she is not concerned at all with her reputation amongst the ton. Olivia is certain after the season she will be back in the country and marrying a nice non-aristocrat male, Mr. Yost.
However, in her search of the house she is caught by Lord Dugdale, no less. Worse, he’s caught her in his room sniffing his soap. He thinks she’s a thief and when she tells him of Lord Pinkwater’s ghost, he thinks she is crazy. But heaven help him if he wasn’t attracted to her and steals a kiss. Only to find four society women entering the room moments later and catching them!
Andrew is appalled, and forced to marry Olivia, but he will never love the conniving, title seeking, marriage trapping chit he now calls his wife. He’s determined to keep his life like it was in his bachelor days. Can Olivia melt his hostile exterior? Will Andrew let himself be swayed and give up the ghost?
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Buy: A Taste of Temptation
Originally posted 2008-12-03 03:04:09. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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August 18th, 2008 — 3 Stars, Contests, Dukes and Earls, Great Britain, Guest Reviews, Historical Romance, J-L
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 19th 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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