Review: The Officer and the Bostoner by Rose Gordon

The Officer and The Bostoner (The Officer series #1)
by Rose Gordon


Blurb:

Allison Pearson is a well-to-do young lady traveling by stagecoach from her home in Boston to meet her intended in Santa Fe, but instead finds herself stranded in a military fort in the middle of Indian Territory when her stagecoach leaves without her.

Given the choice to either temporarily marry an officer until her intended can come rescue her or take her chances with the indians, she marries the glib Captain Wes Tucker, who unbeknownst to her, grew up in a wealthy Charleston family and despises everything she represents.

But when it’s time for her beau to reclaim her and for Allison and Wes to annul their marriage, will she want to go with him, and more importantly, will Wes let her?

Review:

I’ll just start off with how much I enjoyed this awesome read! I don’t often read western romance or romance set during the American revolution so I was highly surprise at how much I liked this story. But of course I would! I’ve enjoyed Rose Gordon’s works before and this was no different. Sure it was different from her other books-not set in England and their word and speech terms were different- but everything was still as romantic and entertaining as her last series. ~Ah the Bank Brothers~

Anyways, I really loved this book! I was hooked on it and fascinated by it in the first couple of pages and even more invested when we met the hero! Wes was a very likeable, and I mean like, a lot~, piece of a man! He has humor and the sarcastic teasing jest personality, the hot sexy strong broad shoulders and protective type written all over him. Mmmmmm~ Did I mention he’s an Officer in the American Army? And a Captain! Stationed in hot sweaty Texas, all hot sweaty and tan all over! He sounds and looks good on horse back too! He has a mysterious past and secrets that might help or break him. And He’s willing to give you his name to protect you – from Indians, other soldiers, and even his friends- at all cost! So, what will it be?

Although at first I was struck at how crazy the heroine acted, it was understandable and tolerable to why she acted the way she did at her first arrival. Heroine, Allison is vulnerable and has lost a lot in her days but being stuck in the middle of nowhere was something uncalled for.  She’s from the big city of Boston and have never lived close to being a beggar in her life!  So it was quite surprising she could move pass it and live on a Fort! Well, she had no other choice anyways.  She’s promised to be married to another man, waiting for her at the end of her supposed trip, but then ended up married to the sexy Officer who’s willing to give his name to protect her virtue. She’s attracted to the offending man and at every turn he makes her heart skip a beat, but she has to stay calm if her intended were to come for her, or risk losing it all.

I like that Allison’s a  determined and strong willed young lady and very adaptable to her new surroundings.  Although she did bicker at the beginning about her surrounding she didn’t complain much about the life style afterwards. I loved watching her grow from a vulnerable proper young lady into a strong independent woman comfortable in her skin.  There were times in the story that I disliked her because things would have been understood better if she’d just said something! But then it made for very enjoyable moments in the story yet other times  brought on “eye-rolls and head-shaking” moments.

The same thing could be said for Wes too on not saying something during a particular moment but then quite understandable from his position. and made for funny inter actions and eye widening smiles. I liked that he was fairly straight forward in what he wanted to say and was persistent in keeping Allison comfortable even though he, himself wasn’t sure about it. I TOTALLY Love Wes! Everything about him I adore~ Every little thing he said to Allison down to the things he did for her was sweet, romantic, and very thoughtful. He is what I would call me a perfect hero~ Or Husband!
There was the fact that I didn’t quite enjoy the ending as I would have liked due to some factors but I’ll just move away from that. I thought some things weren’t needed in the book and could have been omitted or left out. While other things could have been presented in a different manor and time, but I’m not the writer so it’s  not my place to say but just my opinion. Minor grammar and spelling problems so yeah.

All in all I very much enjoyed this book and do hope you readers try it out and adore it too. This was a funny, entertaining, sarcastic bickering filled with with-held sexual tensions and sweet intentions to woo your wife into staying kind of read. This will make you smile from ear to ear at every scene between the couple and their secret ogling at each other down to conversations with Wes’ friends. You will have a blast!

This eARC was provided by the Author through NetGallery.

Review: eARC Anything But Sweet by Candis Terry

Anything But Sweet
by Candi Terry
Avon Books
Released Date: June 25th, 2014

Blurb:

HE’S STUBBORN AND THOROUGHLY MALE . . .

If Charlotte Brooks thinks she and her TV makeover show can turn Reno Wilder’s hometown upside down, he’ll be happy to prove her wrong. The x-Marine has seen too much turmoil and he likes Sweet, Texas, just the way it is. Traditional. Familiar. A little dull. Everything Charli isn’t. But instead of backing off from his scowls like everyone else, Charli digs in her skyscraper heels.

SHE’S TENACIOUS AND WICKEDLY TEMPTING . . .


Reno Wilder is a one-man unwelcoming committee, but Charli isn’t budging. It’s clear the gorgeous cowboy needs an overhaul just as much as Sweet. Someone needs to break him out of that gruff shell and show him how fun and rewarding a little change can be.

THEY’RE ABOUT TO FIND THAT LOVE IS ANYTHING BUT PREDICTABLE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Review:

This was my first read from Candis Terry and I’ll say I love her writing and her characters right off the bat, especially her heroes but this book really got my jaw tensing and teeth clenching tight!

Reno Wilder has lost lost of loved ones in his life and he most definitely doesn’t like change. He’s a cowboy, he runs a hardware and feed store, a build it your self type of man; a very hard, broken and tortured man with a big heart but stubborn as heck kind of man. He’s a stay out of my personal life and leave me to my own thing kind of man. But he is also a loving, caring, touching kind of man. But when a Bossy pretty lady from the big life came to town to change up his small town, it throws him in over his head. Angry that this little miss would target his hardware store and place it on the lists of changes and for his attraction towards her, he plan to counter attack and show her that changing the town will bring only havoc. That is if he can stop falling into her traps!

Charlotte ‘Charli’ Brooks is a designer who came to Sweet, Texas with her recording crew to redecorate the town from the requests of the residents. Out spoken and determined to get the job done she has no time to waste. On a short budget she has to depend on the town for help and most likely from the swoon worthy scowling broad shoulders cowboy rancher. Raised by a barely there military father and having nowhere to call home, she is drawn to the little town and wonder if it can be call home. But the very man to ruin her plans of making it big for the town is tying her up in strings, but does she have a plans for him! She will not look away from a challenge. Tying him around her fingers will be fun.

This was a great story and I loved the secondary characters, Reno’s mother and his brothers. I really want to get to know them better and see where life takes them in this little town. But I most definitely want to see the lovely ladies who will touch their hearts and bend their knees!

I super adore and love Reno and his brothers! But as I mention before, this book got me clenching my teeth!

Charli, Charli, Charli. I didn’t really like her. She was great and I know she was doing great things for the town but I couldn’t help but be on Reno’s side about keeping the town how it is and just fixing things up would have been just fine, but to change up the town? I was not so much on that side.

So the first couple of chapters I just disliked her. She was bossy and annoying! And Reno, poor Reno…..I just wanted her to leave him be! Stop talking and making him mad and crazy because you’re making me mad! I guess I read this whole book in the point of view from Reno. I’m a lot like him, we don’t like to be bothered and picked and jabbed at. And when there’s something we don’t like we stick too it. I don’t know, I will always have this feeling towards Charli even though I’ve moved passed it as the story went, but it’ll still be here, so maybe I haven’t moved on.

But it was good~ And I hated it! I almost didn’t want to read any more of it, and throw it in the did not finish pile, (which I don’t even have!) I had to stop a couple of times but I just had to keep on reading. I had to find out the ending….  Although it was predictable, I wanted to know how everything transpired.

All in all it was great. I love the characters and their little town and it was all a big happy go party community! I do really want to read the brothers stories though so I’ll look up on it when they become available.

This eARC was provided by Avon via Edelweiss.

Review: The Secrets of Mia Danvers by Robyn DeHart

I just have to say that I HAD to purchase this book!! I read an excerpt of it during her tour (which is still going on by the way) and I super had to read it.  So I purchased it and read it that very night (Thursday)! Although I didn’t finish it till the next night/morning at 6am (today, Saturday)!!! Got stuff to do on Friday so yup. Anyways~ Here we go!

The Secrets of Mia Danvers (Dangerous Liaisons #1)
by Robyn DeHart

Review:

So this is the first book in Robyn’s new series Dangerous Liaison! I’m telling you, I’m loving it so much that I’m going to email her about how great it is!

This is a mystery romance thriller-ish book base on the ever terrifying unsolved cases of the Jack the Ripper trope.

We have the hero, Alex Foster, Eighth Duke of Carrington who lives by the rules of society. An former army man and now the new Duke after his elder brother’s unfortunate and scandalous death, Alex is determined to not bring any scandal onto their name like many relatives before him. But that is quite difficult when you have a younger brother who’s always drunk, angry, rake-ish and trying hard to break away from the family. While preparing to propose to a lady, whom was promised and trained to be the Duchess to the next Duke of Carrington, Alex’s well ordered world came to a halt when the mad (and pretty) girl who lives on the edge of his property came knocking on his door.

The heroine, Mia Danvers, third and youngest daughter of a Viscount, and blind lives quietly and peacefully at the edge of Danbridge Hall. With her governess turned companion, Rachel, she lives quite happily sculpting sculptures and not having to live by the rules and proprieties called by the society.  That is until one night she encountered a gruesome murder and became a witness and target of Jack the Ripper. Not knowing who to turn to she asks the help of the Duke of Carrington to help her find the killer, as she is the only one to bring him to justice.

This story caught my attention right away from the first page. The prologue introduced you to Mia being escorted to the cabin in which she’ll live in for the Rest of her life (by her self!). At this point we got to see how she was treated by her mother and got to see how caring and loving Mia’s governess, Rachel is at disregarding Mia’s mother’s order to leave Mia alone in the cabin and decided to live there with her. How can any mother do that! But thankfully Rachel stood her ground and protected Mia from the harsh world.

As the first chapter came along I was thrown into a world of murder and mystery. I was super excited and in thrall at starting the book with a murder! I couldn’t get enough of it. From here we got to see hear what Mia witnessed and I sure was loving it. All mystery and not seeing who the killer is….. Fabulous!

Meeting Alex was fabulous too. He’s not really an Alpha male in my eyes, or at least how I saw him, but he is kind, caring, rational, agreeable, stubborn, and very protective. We got to see how he changed throughout the story and how he started to see and feel things differently after meeting and getting to know Mia. Seeing how she lived being blind but perfectly mobile and independent really intrigued him and taught him a lot about her. He also started seeing how society was at the fault for many things by making rules and judgments for and of people. But he most definitely likes the ideas and opinions of others in conversations. You got to Love that in a man! Swoon~

This is a line that I found fascinating (as in very agreeable) from Alex:

A path wound through the gardens, then darkened, allowing some reckless couples privacy for trysts. It was amusing to him that a society who claimed to truly be scandalized by people’s behavior seemed to do everything they could to create perfect scenarios for said behavior. And then the rest of them would stand around and discuss the carnage.
(Kindle Locations 2319-2322)

Mia is loveable. She’s caring, smart, independent, strong, opinionated, headstrong, stubborn, and determined. She has long thrown away proprieties. She’s not afraid to speak her mind and say what she know is right. She’s also not afraid to ask for what she wants and to hold back, especially when it came to her attraction and feeling towards Alex. She is also very independent and don’t like being pitied just because she is blind. I love her strength and power and how she held herself against those who thought little of her. I guess that says a lot about her character and personality.

The things that kind of bothered me was how openly they used each others’ Christian names. I found it really surprising that no one thought it strange or weird, and most definitely inappropriate of them to call on each other by their names and not titles. I especially thought that Alex’s mother would have said something or vexed or had a fit at them about it but yet she said nothing. She hated Mia and still she nothing! That really bothered me.

Another problem was Alex and his brother, Drew’s relationship.  There are so many misunderstanding that stood between them that I just couldn’t help but heave huge sighs and bulge my eyes out every time they talked and said nothing of what they thought (in their minds!). Yes, siblings have problems, everyone does but still, I felt like if some of the things were said their problems would have been solved much quicker. It would have changed to story a bit but still, I frowned and clench my teeth so much that I’m afraid one day they will all crack under the pressure.

But the story over all was fantastic! The plot and everything. The sisters were well written and their relationship with Mia (even though they we not well liked for what they did) was well executed. The relationship between Alex, Drew and their mother was also well formed and you can really feel the tension and unsteadiness of it. I love the back story of why Drew acts the way he does (So many secrets and surprises there).  The relationship between Mia and Alex was lovely. I love the tension there and how Alex tries to play the right cards but always find an secret way through it to sabotage his plan. The secondary love story for Rachel was fabulous! I was glad to get a short story in-between the larger one so that I won’t have to wait for a novella and it really helped the whole story wrap up at the end.

I definitely love the way Robyn pulled at my senses and brought on a whole bunch of tension to the story and mystery of who Jack the Ripper is and how they’re going to find him and what not. I find it fascinating that Robyn can play with it to make it seem real. But it brings up my question of: did she do research, by covering her eyes herself to see how it felt like?  She sure did a great job at it though.
This was a fabulous and very engaging story. I highly enjoyed it very much. It has a lot of action, mystery, sexual and thriller tension, love, forgiveness, and second chances.

I can not tell you how excited I am for the next book in the series, The Temptations of Anna Jacobs, starring Drew Foster!!!

This was bought as Kindle copy of the book.

Review: ARC The Perks of Being a Beauty by Manda Collins

The Perks of Being a Beauty (Ugly Ducklings #3.5)
by Manda Collins

ebook

Release Date: June 18, 2013

Blurb:

The beautiful Miss Amelia Snow is not accustomed to being snubbed by the gentlemen of the ton. But when her mother dies unexpectedly, forcing Amelia to take employment as companion to a wealthy cit’s daughter, she quickly learns to play down her looks or risk losing her position. When her employers, the Smithsons, decide to throw a country house party, she is determined to fade into the background. But how can she when the Smithson’s guest of honor is Lord Quentin Fortescue, the childhood friend who stole her heart?

Younger son, Lord Quentin Fortescue, is far more interested in his host’s cotton mills in the north than he is in courting the man’s dim-witted daughter. But it’s the girl’s companion who makes him look twice. Years ago, Miss Amelia Snowe rejected his proposal without a backward glance. Quentin has molded himself into just the sort of man she’d have wanted back then, but is Amelia still the smug beauty who broke his heart? And can either of them risk their newfound positions to indulge the fiery attraction that burns between them?

Review:

This is the novella starring the beautiful Miss Amelia Snowe, the mean child in The Ugly Duckling series.

Although she was mean and hateful (we really did dislike her) in the previous three books in the series, she finally gets to have her own HEA and hero.

And we get to see how she came to be the way she is and can begin to reform our thoughts about her in this little novella.

Okay so her Miss Amelia Snowe’s mother has passed and she is now destitute and penniless, but with the help of her newly found friends the former Ugly Duckling cousins, she has found a job as a companion to a girl from a middle class family. The parents then planned a house party to find their daughter a suitable husband and during this time Amelia is reacquainted with her childhood sweet heart, Lord Quentin Fortescue.But she can’t risk her position as a companion to the girl whom she’s watching because where else could she go. She’ll just have to stay away from the tempting man and let him go on his way.

Quentin was surprise to see his former love working as a companion to a family lower than her social upbringing let alone in more controlled of herself and duller than he remember. The last he had seen of her was when she rejected his suit of becoming his wife years ago and leaving him heart broken to pursuit titled gentlemen in London. Now a widow, he thought he has gotten over his feelings towards the high headiness of a girl he fell for but can’t help but fall back into her gaze and wonder what had happen to the girl he once new and loved.

This was an amazing read as I sit here at six in the morning typing this review. I love the series and am super delight and happy that Ms. Collins had written this story for Amelia and had given her her own HEA. We got to see her in the last book of the series in How to Entice an Earl quite a bit and got to see her break down due to the fact that none of the wealthy titled gentlemen wanted her but fell for the cousin whom she loved the bully. I just love that this novella helped reformed her in our, the readers’ eyes and can come to love her as much as we once hated her.

In this story Amelia was portrayed as the toned down girl whom she used to be and had fallen in hard times with her mother’s death. We also find out that the reason why she was so persistent in finding a suitable and wealthy gentlemen was due to the fact that she wand her mother was living on loans and basically nothing but pride. I love how realistic Amelia’s feelings were towards those she had wronged and how she felt that everything that was happening to her because of her actions in the past. I really admire her strength and courage on holding her head high and learning her position as a fallen beauty and on doing the right thing for a good cause, and for not look down on people because of their status anymore. It was an eye opener for her which was great.

Quentin I adore! He keep to himself and stayed true to himself. He was witty and open with Amelia and their past history and was willing to work it out and put it past him just to get closer and have that bond they used to have years ago. I like how he wasn’t pushy to get Amelia to open up about her thoughts but listened and waited for her responses, along with poking her with small questions at first then letting her open up to more info when she wanted to.

This was a very sweet, fast, touching story of forgiveness, reformation, second chances, and learning to trust and love one another. I really enjoyed this read and can’t believe this series it truly over~ But I cannot wait for the next trilogy series which stars a certain characters we just met in this story So look out for Why Dukes Say I Do book one in the Wicked Widows trilogies coming the end of July 2013!!!

Hope you readers enjoy this delightful little read

This ARebook was provided by netgallery and St. Martin’s Paperbacks.

Review: One Ture Love by Lori Wilde

One True Love (Cupid, Texas #0.5)
by Lori Wilde

Blurb:

In Cupid, Texas, they say everyone has one true love. And if you write a letter to Cupid, you will get an answer in return . . .
Now, from New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde, read how the legend of Cupid began . . . All it took was one great love story! 

Too bad for pretty young housemaid Millie Greenwood that her one true love is John Fant, the handsomest, wealthiest man in town. But in 1924, a maid—no matter how lovely—isn’t about to marry into the town’s foremost family, and John is on the verge of becoming betrothed to another. Everything seems hopeless until Millie writes a desperate letter to Cupid, and the most romantic legend of all is born . . .

Review:

This was my first read of Lori Wilde’s work and I thought it was a great short story. It was sweet, fast and the couple got their HEA. AS you can see it’s a novella and the first to start off in a new series surrounding the residents of Cupid, Texas and their “Cupid” legend that attracts a lot of tourists. But since this is the novella to start things off the Cupid wasn’t exactly “worshiped” yet.

Both the characters were well liked. I really liked John Fant. He was the handsome only son of the wealthiest family in town who wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and is kind and warm hearted all around. Millie Greenwood is the eldest daughter of a miner and is a country gal. She has just turned eighteen and suddenly became fatherless due to an accident at the mine.  To help her mother and six siblings survive, she took position as a maid at he home of John’s sisters house.

I love how Lori told the story in first person and mad it sound as though Millie was telling you her love story. Millie gave the readers snide remarks about what she was thinking as though she was really talking to you about her romance. She made it very easy to follow and kept you engaged and interactive with her. She made you want to root for her even though you knew it was going to have a great ending.

The downfall for me was not getting to see John’s point of view and know what he was thinking. Although he was still a very lovable character without needing to know what he was thinking, I always felt like his view point was going to come next in the story after a certain scene. The other thing was how Millie made me feeling like she was selfish towards the end.  She just made me not like her so much, even though I knew why and understood her reasons I still felt like she shouldn’t have say, written, done what she did. I know it’s to be a short story but I felt like there should have been more and that the ending came on too quick. It was a great ending, it’s just that how it came about just didn’t fit well with what I would have liked or pictured it to be.

So far this was a great short read and the next books in the series are about descendants of these two love birds in the city of Cupid!

This ebook was provided by Edelweiss and Avon/Harper Voyager/HarperCollinsPublishers

rating: 3.5

Review: At The Duke’s Wedding by Maya Rodale, Miranda Neville, Caroline Linden, Katharine Ashe

At The Duke’s Wedding (Anthology)

by  Caroline Linden, Katharine Ashe, Miranda Neville, Maya Rodale

Review:

Oh My Gosh!!! Oh My Gosh, Oh My Gosh, Oh My Gosh~!!!! I love this book so much! Every time I read an anthology from these ladies I fall head over hills for them and just want to jump through time to be with their characters. This is their second work together and I just want to weep for more.

I am so shaky and giddy right now I can’t stop smiling and typing is taking me forever to type what I’m feeling. I just want to bounce round the room and roll around the floor in giddy bliss!

I can’t even begin to describe what an out of the world this book was. Every story was like dragging me through a field of rose bushes. They’re beautiful to look at then- wham! The vines pulls you right in and you can’t get out because all of the thorns are hooking and grabbing on to you not wanting to let you go. You began to feel the pain as each one stabs you everywhere you turn, but it’s okay because you want to keep on moving. Then once you’re out and on the other side: beat up, torn, weeping with giddy bliss with a nice banquet of roses in your arms, you just want to dive back in and feel the joy and pain and bliss of the effects all over again.

It might even take me days just to recover from this book because I don’t think I’ll be able to move on to a new book anytime soon. Just writing about this book now is difficult enough let alone writing about all four stories!

I haven’t felt like this in awhile about a book! I love everything about it: how it started, the middle stories, how it ended, EVERYTHING~!

First, here you have Ms. Maya Rodale’s Jack, Lord Willoughby, the troublemaker whose appearance and mesmerizing smile will need the servants running for smelling salts for the ladies. And Miss Henrietta Black, whose prim and proper tidiness will faulter under the nose of Jack. They will have to team up in search of the Wessex heirloom ring- which Jack was suppose to be in possession of and
misplacedlost. Their adventure will take them to dark brooding corners, shaded grassland, secret meetings, hiding in stables, and a very inappropriate Great-great aunt. And hosts a very nice curricle.

Next, we have Ms. Miranda Neville’s love letter confessions. The brooding and elusive Captain Christian, Earl of Bruton has taken it upon himself to help his quiet and un-wordy cousin write a love letter to his intended. Un beknowest to him that he’ll end up falling for a girl he barely knew through the letters! Miss Rossane Lacy fancy herself in love with the very handsome man whose letters has been keeping her on her toes, Mr. Frank Newnham. Romantic letters about books and literature, she found it strange how the same man whose letters has given her hope in a love-match marriage is nothing like the letter proclaim him to be. Instead he’s quiet and dull. But his scarred and too dark and too mysterious cousin has attracted her attention. Maybe befriending the cousin will better her chances to getting to Frank? This has night walks in the garden, witnessing a gentleman picking flowers, kisses on a balcony and in a grotto, stable brooding, disguises and fraud, and guns.

Here comes the Duke in Caroline Linden’s sister love story. Gareth Cavendish, Duke of Wessex is getting married in a fortnight but why is he uncertain when he finally see his bride at his family country home? It’s because his bride’s elder and widowed sister has accompanied her and has lightning striking the day she arrives! Cleo Barrows has accompanied her family and only sister to her wedding week. Not wanting to be thrown out by her father, she has managed to stay out of trouble and gossip, that is until she starts inquiring about her sister’s feelings towards the wedding.  Lots of laughter and smiles between the Duke and Cleo ends up making it difficult for a wedding to transpire. It hosts lavish parties, games outdoors, giggling girls in white dresses, stable refuge, annoying mothers, a night to Gretna, and strolls.

And Lastly, Katharine Ashe’s time traveling romance. Trenton “Crash” Ascot, Lord Everett, is in thrall at the American girl who just appeared out of nowhere who speaks her mind and is Intelligent! He thinks she’s a madwoman and probably a criminal and she thinks him a great actor in costume. Angela Cowdrey is a grad student working on her report and have no time to take a break for some fun, but then she couldn’t believe that she got transported back in time.  Her savoir, Lord Everett, on the other hand was handsome and familiar! Because she was certain she saw him not to long ago in her comic book calling – and winking! – at her. But she was there for a reason and she was going to find out why, even if the tempting Lord Everett was distracting her. There will be a lot of intelligence, bold speaking, inappropriateness, dips in the lake, night strolls, nature talk, girls in white, carriage race, and stress.

I can not say how much I love each of these stories! I was kind of thrown off when I read Caroline’s story of the Duke, whose wedding everyone were attending, came before Katharine’s time traveling romance but since I’ve finished it, everything was in the right place and order!

There were some grammar and typo problems, but they didn’t bother me or gave me a hard time.

 This will most definitely be on my keeper list and will have to  buy the paperback version when it comes out~! In July.

 

I’ll have to go back and re-read their first anthology again: Once Upon a Ballroom

These ladies are AMAZING!!!!

This book was bought as an ebook.

I Made It~!

I found out that I was chosen to be part of the amazing~ Avon Addicts group!!!! Woohoo~ Wow right? Chosen as one of the 25 members out of hundreds of applicants. I am ecstatic!

I have been an Avon member for some time now and this was my third? I think it was my third applying to become an Addict for Avon Romance. And I told myself if I didn’t get in this time I was going to stop trying. But wow, it paid off! Super excited to be apart of an amazing group of readers, bloggers, reviewers, authors, writers, editors, and publishers~

Look forward to some awesome swag, giveaways, author interviews, character chats, book reviews, and many other things coming my way sometime these couple of months as I take on my new role as an Addict!
So if you love Historical romances and Avon books and their authors, get ready~ <3

Review: eARC of The Rogue Steals a Bride by Amelia Grey

   The Rogue Steals a Bride (The Rogues’ Dynasty, #6)

by Amelia Grey

{July 2, 2013}

Review:

I’m feeling good today! Even though I stayed up all night finishing this book at 4 in the morning and feeling all giddy and happy inside….I fell in love with this book! This was my first read of any Amelia Grey books and it’s the 6th but also the final book to an amazing Dynasty.

Here we have the lovely Miss Sophia Hart, heiress to a shipping company, taking the London season by storm. Every eligible male/gentleman wants her hand in marriage and would do anything to be on good terms with her two twin spinster aunts and guardian Sir Randolph Gibson. Sophia on the other hand is looking for a husband he has to titled, or at least will inherit a title, as she promised her dying father on his death bed she’ll do. While searching for a titled husband, one of aunt has decided she wants a beau for herself and Sophia agreed to help her aunt find her own happiness too during the outings about London. But Sophia has already met the man of her desires and know that they can never be together, because he is not titled and she will do anything to keep her promise to her father in honor his lifelong plan for her as an heiress and marry a titled gentleman.

Matson Brentwood, co-owner of a ship building company in Baltimore, has returned to his homeland and has been in London for the past 6 month.  He was all happiness for the lovely red-headed Miss Sophia Hart was diverging the gossip pages away from him and his twin with her arrival in London. Unexpectedly, Miss Hart pulls at his every desires and being a red-head just arouses him even more. But when he finds out she’s the ward of the man whose name is attached to his and his twin and whom he’s sworn to hate, he’s willing to take a step back. She’ll marry a titled gentleman anyways. But when desires become an obsession and a letter becomes the breaking point, will Matson be able to move beyond his hate towards Sophia’s guardian or will he walk away and let her marry for title ?

~~~

I love these characters! Though not so much Sophia at some points in the book but over all I loved them! Sophia is the type of woman who keeps her words and would never break them. Although she’s stubborn and a rebel she makes it up by being kind, smart, determined, and loving. I didn’t like how she was so determined to marry a titled gentleman. It’s understandable why she would be because of her promise to her father and feeling like she had to because of something she’d done towards him as a child. At times I felt like her openness was too forward for a young lady as herself,  though we know that she isn’t titled and had free rein growing up in America. And sometimes she does things that were meant to be good which was understandable but just wasn’t good! And then to not worry or think about it again and hope that the other person would understand? Ah, no. But I couldn’t be mad at her forever~ She kind of got what was coming to her and in a funny good way, but so did Matson.  

 I super adore Matson! I love how he knew he held hatred towards Sir Gibson but was willing to put that aside for a bit to be around Sophia. I love how his anger towards Sir Gibson can be felt as real because who wouldn’t in the same position he was thrown into? His personality was very much loved and his control over his feelings are well reined in. He does play the bad/good twin act with his brother so of course his feelings would be in line. He’s smart and knows what he’s doing and always plans and think ahead before acting on instincts, that is until Sophia. But all in all he was the more powerful character, I thought, in the story.

The story was very catchy in the beginning. I love how we first met the characters and got to see their character and personalities before they met.  It was fast paced and engaging to fellow although somewhere in the middle of the book I lost interest I found it back towards the end of the book. I like how there weren’t just one big obstacle they had to face but a bunch of small ones that come up do to some of the things they did. I loved the twin aunts and Sir Gibson! I knew there was going to be a story about the sisters and why they were they way they were, or at least one of them. I loved the disagreement between Sir Gibson and the aunts, and man the ending was to die for~! This ending was got me to be all giddy and happy inside; I had to re-read it three times.  

This was a Romeo & Juliet romance with loving fun humor, spinster twin aunts (one looking for a beau), an abundance of devastating titled courtiers, and no tragic ending!

I’ll have to start reading the past two books in the series now because I want to see how the Brentwood brothers got their HEA~! And then we’ll see if I’ll go even more backwards into the series.  

This eARC was provided by Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca.

Review: ARC of Lady Mercy Danforthe Flirts with Scandal by Jayne Fresina

Lady Mercy Danforthe Flirts with Scandal(Sydney Dovedale #3)
by Jayne Fresina
Release Date: June 4, 2013

Review:

Okay, where should I start? What is there to say about Lady Mercy Danforthe and Rafe Hartley? I just got to say this was the first book I’ve read from Ms. Jayne Fresina, even though I have her Sydney Doverdale #2 book The Wicked Wedding of Miss Ellie Vyne on my TBR shelf for 5 months now (I know~ FIVE MONTHS!!!). I for some reason, haven’t gotten to it and jumped to the 3rd book instead. Which I thought was Amazing~ Because now I can go back to book 2 and read up on one of my favorite couple, who plays a great role in this fabulous little book

Lady Mercy Danforthe is a matchmaker who thinks she can help with anyone and everyone who asks of her or not. She always has a plan and they better go her way or she’ll have to make it go her way.  She lives on the finer side of life and if anything goes amiss or gets out of place she’ll fix it; even if it’s a little speck of dirt or crack in the wall, she will get it fixed and be done with. She has a hot mouth for opinion and thought men useless.  Although she’s engaged to a Viscount, she’ll do things her way and things in order- I mean, she did get her Viscount to proposed to her- so she’ll manage. There is only one thing that stands in her way unfortunately, Rafe Hartley, her ex-husband and her one and only mistake! But not for long, she’s determined to find him a bride~ and banish him from her life forever!

Rafe, an illegitimate son, wants nothing but to be a farmer even if his father wants nothing of it but for him to be the gentleman he was wanted to be and have a posting job at the offices in London.  A wild child and rogue seen by many, he was still much loved and liked, and acknowledged, as the son of a well admire aristocratic of the town. When news came calling, in the form of the Little Miss Danforthe Brat, to tell him he was jilted at the alter, TWICE now, he meant to have his way once and for all no matter what. Someone needs to teach little Miss Know It All to keep her nose out of people’s business. How better to do that then to mess with her little head and get him the wedding night he deserves, she does owe him that first of all for running out on him at his first wedding.


I absolutely love this book!! I was drawn right into it from the first line.

“I have only one use for an overly proud cock.”

I mean hello~ if that didn’t catch you attention then what does!?  I was already
giggling  grinning because, what can come after that verse. It was highly enjoyable. I loved both the characters and they both really, and I mean really, have a strong personality and character. Although the little info I gave might give you a different picture of who they are, I think I’m just not good at introducing them.
But because of their strong personalities and opinions, they always argue   But they’re amazing arguments and I love it when they argue and bicker! All of their sexual tension and vibes are there and ready to take aim and throw and punch and mingle and tangle and blahhlalalala. It’s just AWESOME! XD

Oh and that great sexy excerpt I gave not to long ago fit right in ;D
But both of these characters have a lot of flaws and had to get through and overcome a lot to get to their HEA. It was an amazing experience and I do not know what to say next…. They each had a past that haunted them in some form and it was nice to see how that effected who they were and how their relationship clashed. But it was also great to see them break that barrier and to come to understand and learn from each other to bring their relationship to a HEA~!

I was really surprise to see that our hero, Rafe, was the first to see that he would do anything to get his love even if she didn’t see it. His love was pure and true even though she broke him down, many a times, and degrade him because of his class, he still tried to get it in her little miss perfect mind that they can break that barrier. I just couldn’t help but adore him~ even when he got frustrated I couldn’t be angry at him for long.

Miss Mercy on the other hand I just couldn’t help but frustrated and have mixed feelings for her. I love that she tried to help Rafe back on his feet after the cancelled wedding but can’t help but always hate it when she brings up his “commonness“.   Sure it really picks a punch during an argument but man, that really stings to the ears of someone that loves you. I also love that she tried to stay out of scandal for her Viscount’s sake and to her reputation but that is never easy. She also manages to act before she thinks, and wow, sometimes I just think her naive, which I liked when she brought that up upon herself but still, through all her secret rendezvous with Rafe she not thought once of her Viscount! That just gave me pause and troubled me. Poor Viscount. But they had to get their HEA you know and everything worked out after all.  But it’s all good, no worries, I’m happy now, I just needed to get that off my chest.

So, I will tell you, I smiled, laughed, giggled, got mad and angry all along with these two characters throughout the book and it was a great~ pleasure. The last scene/pages of the book got me shivering with excitement and giggling like a lunatic that I had to read it over just to experience and laugh all over again before I was truly finish with the book.

Ms. Fresina did a fabulous job setting up the story and the characters that I couldn’t help but want to see more of them. They were a witty  bomb shell of sexual tension that needed to get under the covers and thrash about each other like wonton wild beings.  I highly enjoyed it! This is one fabulous read, for sure. XD

This ARC was kindly provided by SourceBook Casablanca

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