Posts Tagged ‘historical romance’

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Stolen Kisses – Suzanne Enoch

July 16th, 2010

A scoundrel so dark and a heroine so consumed with propriety is doomed for disaster, but of course, Suzanne Enoch carries it off as no one else can.  Lillith’s mother ran away with another man when she was only twelve.  Now it is up to her to live down the scandal through an advantageous marriage.  Her father’s obsession with her becoming a duchess sets a series of events in motion that have you racing for the end of the story.

Jack, the hero and a Marquis in his own right, has a reputation so black and lurid Lillith cuts him when he steps forward for an introduction.  Now he is out for revenge and that revenge is to ruin her, literally.

One really nice twist in this story is Lillith’s brother, William.  The typical younger brother who gets away with everything while the older sister has to not only save the family name, but fend off a myriad of suitors, pacify the hateful aunt, and make sure said brother stays out of trouble.  The difference in this story is the brother is not an idiot.  And I love how this brother comes through for his sister.

Ms. Enoch is truly a master when it comes to telling the story through her characters.

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Confessions of a Little Black Gown

March 24th, 2009

Confessions of a Little Black Gown by Elizabeth Boyle

 

First line:  “Come to bed, my love,” called a rich, sultry voice from the doorway of the parlor.

 

Another clever twist in the world of Regency, by Elizabeth Boyle, had me laughing out loud.  The heroine and her cousin wrote a play for the stage, which is a pirate story in which the pirate is spirited away from prison the night before he is to be hung for treason.  Uh, then, it just so happens a pirate is sprung the night before his to be hung for treason.

The heroine’s twin sister, who is now the Duchess of Hollindrake, is putting together a large house party trying to situate herself in society and cannot afford any scandals.  Ahem….so where is the pirate, hiding in their suite of rooms?  Let me clear something up:  The pirate is NOT the hero of this story.

The hero is a supposed cousin of the Duke of Hollindrake’s.  Disguised as a vicar who has bland eyes and smells bad.  A man who can change himself into anything, a spy of the crown.

This story is quite adorable because the Duchess is so in everyone’s face. And quite annoying.  Her story was another previous book, Love Letters from a Duke, and her character has stayed true to form.

 

For:  Readers who like intrigue, witty repartee, and distinctive characters. - Kathy Wheeler

Get it at Amazon.

 

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The Runaway McBride

March 5th, 2009

The Runaway McBride by Elizabeth Thornton 

 

First line:  ”It was February, the coldest, most miserable February in Scottish memory.”

 

The hero is a seer!  Do you know what that is? A person who can see parts of the future.  This is an unusual hero of sorts.  He comes across as an older, getting wiser character.  His life has not been easy since the time he found his one-time-fiancée who’d run off with another man years before. 

His grandmother, on her deathbed, brings together the three cousins to tell them she sees one of them as the profit of her gift (the seeing) but she cannot tell them which one is the beneficiary.  The only thing she can say is that “his bride is in danger for her life” and he needs to save her.

The heroine is a teacher at a girls school for modern women who are interested in more than embroidery and domesticity issues.  She is a spunky character not easily swayed from the path she sets forth for herself. 

The mystery is intriguing, involving a mother she never knew much about, who left behind an encoded diary.  Thornton does a nice job of spelling out the heroine’s anger with both the mother who deserted her, and a father, while raising her in a loving home, kept the knowledge of her mother a secret.

I love the fact that this book touches on the early feminism movement where young women were determined to be more than just wives and mothers.  She does a nice job of introducing the soon-to-be-movement of the auto industry, as well.

The hero grows in his efforts of dealing with family members he’d ignored in the past – like a half-brother on the brink of manhood, doing things for attention – all negative, because it works, but dotes on the younger half-sister who, not surprisingly, is hard-headed.

 

For:  Readers who find mystery and intrigue with headstrong female characters exciting and inspiring. -   Kathy Wheeler

Buy it at Amazon.

 

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Bride of a Wicked Scotsman

February 26th, 2009

Bride of a Wicked Scotsman by Samantha James

 

First line:  From out of the mists and magic steeped in time came a myth-a myth that was born on the lands of the people who came to be called the Clan McDonough.

 

The title of this book is a little misleading, but in an entertaining sense of misguidance.  The heroine’s father sees an article in the newspaper regarding the Black Scotsman being nearby, and dies! 

She is Irish and he is Scot.  So, of course, they have nicknames they call each other:  Irish and Scotsman.  She has to find a way into his home where she can search for the Circle of Light that had been stolen from her family generations before to lift a curse on his family he never knew existed.

Setting him up at a masked ball, she drugs him and makes him think he took her virginity.  He is furious, because he is forced to marry her.  Only it’s a fake marriage (but he doesn’t know that).  Pretty inventive, I must say.  And entertaining.

You know he thinks she’s married him for his title and money, but then he’s confused when she won’t take anything from him (well, except for the silver she’s stolen to send back to her home to help feed her clan.  Oh, and the money he’s told her about stashed in the bottom drawer of the desk. 

Intrigued yet?  You should be.

For:  Readers who want a stubborn heroine who turns the head of a hot-headed Scots with no holds barred. -   Kathy Wheeler

Buy it at Amazon.

 

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The Sins of Lord Easterbrook

February 19th, 2009

The Sins of Lord Easterbrook by Madeline Hunter

First line:  ”Silence.  A dark, calm center absorbing chaos into its stillness.”

Madeline Hunter happens to be one of my favorite all time Historical Romance authors.  And she does not disappoint with The Sins of Lord Easterbrook.  This is the third in a series of three brothers.  Lord Easterbrook makes appearances in the two previous books.  What impresses me most about Ms. Hunter is her ability to maintain the character’s personas throughout all three.

Lord Easterbrook is a most odd character.  Rude, eccentric, harsh, insightful to the point he thinks he is cursed with bad blood.  In this story, we find out why.  Lord Easterbrook is a tough man, whose insecurities lie deep. 

Her heroines, by the same token, are strong, keeping true to themselves to the very last page.  This young woman is out to avenge her father’s death.  But life is not always what it seems.

The intrigue with this book is most unusual for a Regency Historical, touching on the East India monopolies and the smuggling of opium.  Without giving too much away, I highly recommend this book.  When you read one Madeline Hunter, without a doubt you will be searching high and low for everyone of her others.

For:  Readers who want a gripping suspense and love story where both the hero and heroine have life-changing decisions to make.  -  Kathy Wheeler

Buy it at Amazon

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When A Stranger Loves Me

February 11th, 2009

When A Stranger Loves Me by Julianne MacLean

First line:  ”The thunderous boom from a cannon shook the ground beneath his nude body and mumbled through the foggy haze in his head.”

This story has an interesting prologue: the hero is washed ashore with no recollection of how he came to be where he’d landed (in a cave), what he had been doing, or who he is. 

Chapter one introduces a heroine who has been exiled due to a scandal some seven years prior.  She appears perfectly content with her situation until he arrives on the scene.  Her brother has been married for ten years, but a child has not yet been conceived in all this time.  So their mother starts demanding the daughter to marry.  Not only a man twice her age, but a cousin, as well, out of duty to keep the bloodline direct from their deceased father. 

Deciding to use the hero as a stud service, without his knowledge to get pregnant, does not sit too well with the hero.  Doubly so, because if/when she conceives she conspires to give a child to her brother and sister-in-law. 

I don’t believe I’ve read a story where the daughter was expected to marry because an heir had not yet been provided.  We later find that the mother had married for a title, was very unhappy, and pushed the same on her daughter, which makes more sense.

I found the motives for the hero believable in a sense, because according to his family who finally locate him, he’d always been the responsible one, always trying to do right by the family.  With his anger having been suppressed for most of his life, it starts coming through and he is frustrated because he doesn’t understand why.

This kept my interest, though I regret to say, the emotion throughout the book was weak.

For:  Readers who want an interesting psychological twist with internal conflict.  - Kathy Wheeler

Buy it at Amazon.

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Her Secret Lover

November 18th, 2008

Her Secret Lover by Sara Bennett

First line:  ”Antoinette Dupre closed her eyes behind her spectacles, shielding them from flickering light as the sun dipped lower through the trees.”

In Her Secret Lover, Anoinette is on her way to the depths of Dover, far removed from London.  An unsavory friend of her late father’s has taken it upon himself to force her into marriage because he needs her fortune.  He set her up in a compromising position to force her hand.  But she is stubborn.  Unfortunately, she has a sister he is threatening her with, which ups the stakes. 

On the way to the depths of Dover, a highwayman holds up her carriage.  You see, she has a letter she believes can destroy the man.  The highwayman knows about the letter and wants it.  The unsavory man is vengeful and has taken the highwayman’s rightful home and future inheritance.  He knows she has it hidden and rips her dress – in the front!  When she finally gets to the manor house she believes all the servants are loyal to the unsavory subject. 

Unfortunately,  I was somewhat put off by an almost rape scene in the beginning when desire, rather than fear/anger hit both parties, which I found not so believable.   However, I liked the characters as they were mostly consistent throughout the story.  Thankfully,the villain did get what was coming to him which, of course makes it okay in the end.

For:   Readers who want something to pass the time.  The heroine’s stubborn nature makes it a fun read.  -Kathy Wheeler

Buy it at Amazon.

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Like No Other Lover

October 27th, 2008

Like No Other Lover – Julie Anne Long

 

First line:  “You’ve gone an alarming shade of russet in the face, Redmond.”

 

I only have one complaint in this book, and that is I had to try to figure out who said what throughout.  But let me be clear on one thing.  IT IS A GREAT READ.  The heroine is beautiful and broke.  But she is also feisty in a way you don’t see in a lot of historical novels.  She is after a title and money and she makes no bones about it.  And why shouldn’t she be?  She grew up poor and has no one.   She is a little self centered and has to look after herself.  In fact, at one point she suggests a drinking game to some house party guests at the expense of another guest that was a little mean spirited.  Yes, she felt bad afterward, but….. well, you get the picture.

The hero has money – though he’s not titled.  His father had disinherited his older brother because he married someone unsuitable and ran away.  So the father spoke with our hero about his future bride.  No problems there, until the house party was under way and he cannot resist the heroine.  He’s always been so dependable. » Read more: Like No Other Lover

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Passion and Pleasure in London

October 22nd, 2008

Passion and Pleasure in London by Melody Thomas

First line:  Temptation came in many forms.

I’ve never read Melody Thomas before this book, but since reading this one, I’ve bought the rest of hers. (Expensive find when you find an author you love.) The intrigue is intense – up to the very last page.  The hero and heroine have so much to overcome, even after they’ve declared their love, it’s wrenching.

Our heroine is a thief, but for good cause, of course.  A Regency Robinhoodess, so to speak.  She steals from the noble and gives to the needy.  Her uncle is rich but she lives in a cottage on the edges of the estate.  Why does she not live in his home, under his protection?  There is a very good reason, I assure you.  (You’ll have to read it to find out)  The Duke in the area is almost destitute, so the people suffer (the needy).

Our hero, the grandson of the Duke, long lost, I should add, returns, mostly to thumb his nose up to the old geezer.  But blood, it turns out, is definitely thicker than water.  He finds he cannot just walk away.

When the heroine steals the hero’s purse, he starts after her.  But her two protectors (her ten year old brother and his friend) startle his horse.  A gun shot is fired.  The hero is hit but because of the diversion he is not killed, but very badly hurt.

As I mentioned before, and feel it is worth repeating, the action and suspense are taken to the very last page.  I could not put this book down.  My advice – Read it.

For: Readers who want suspense, action, tension and love to the very last page.   -Kathy Wheeler

Buy it at Amazon.

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Before the Scandal

August 1st, 2008

 

Before the Scandal by Suzanne Enoch

First line:  Lieutenant Colonel Phineas Bromley didn’t expect paradise.

Suzanne Enoch has a true knack for historical intrigue.  Her cast of characters is wide and varied.  In her newest book, Before the Scandal, Lieutenant Bromley has not been home for ten years because he is running from himself.  Having caused his elder brother’s accident in which he would never again walk, Bromley joins the effort to quash the Bonaparte and the French.  But his younger sister sends him a letter begging his return before it’s too late to see his brother on his deathbed.  His childhood friend Alyse, thrown in the mix by her cousin to entice Bromley, is the only one he can trust.

For: Women who want a book that you cannot put down for turning the pages, Suzanne Enoch never fails in her efforts.  -Kathy Wheeler

Buy it at Amazon.

 

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