NB: Though Qualisign gives Sweetest Scoundrel a B as a standalone, she gives it an A- if being read as part of the Maiden Lane series. For the second year in a row, I have misread the date for the first of my two RITA reviews and have had to play catch up after the rest of the participants in this section have sent in their reviews. From the wrong side of the missed deadline, I can only … Continue reading Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt →
It Started With A Scandal is the tenth in the Pennyroyal Green series. If you have read the previous nine books in the series, you will have no trouble with the references to Colin Eversea and the ballad featuring him (volume one) You will be familiar with the fact that there is a mystery attached to Olivia Eversea and Lyon Redmond, alluded to throughout several volumes of the series until it is all cleared up in … Continue reading It Started with a Scandal by Julie Anne Long →
While I’ve always enjoyed romantic storylines (hey fellow fanfic readers: we read a lot of romance), I rarely read actual romance novels before 2014. Julia Quinn was one of the first authors people suggested I’d like and every last one of you wonderful recommenders were right. I devoured her entire back catalog over the past year and a half. I also jumped at the chance to read and review her RITA-nominated novel from 2015. The … Continue reading The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy by Julia Quinn →
I love Tessa Dare. I’ve read a lot of her books and loved them all. Years ago when I first picked up one of her books, she quickly went from the standard ‘author I would read if I like the tropes’ to ‘author I trust to make the tropes I don’t like work.’ Which is why I was so surprised when I found this book kind of…meh. It’s not a bad book. I’ve certainly read … Continue reading Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare →
After many season pass her by without the hint of actual love, the super wealthy Minerva Dodger embraces her spinsterhood. But the idea of a club called The Nightingale might be a way to blow off some steam. She can mask her identity while getting some much needed pleasure…based solely on desire, not her dowry. Meanwhile, the Duke of Ashebury (called Ashe), a worldly adventurer and photographer (read: sexy rake) is there. He will do … Continue reading Falling into Bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath →
I think almost everyone has felt to be the outsider at some point in their lives and I think everyone would love a second chance. In Secrets of a Scandalous Heiress, Theresa Romain brings together two outsiders who live in the shadows of the glittering ton during the Regency and gives them the opportunity for second chances. At the beginning of the story, heiress Augusta Meredith is posing as a cheerful and not wealthy widow … Continue reading Secrets of a Scandalous Heiress by Theresa Romain →
The issue with Sweetest Scoundrel is that while it is well-written and has generally likeable characters who behave honorably, it was colossally boring. Eve Dinwoody is a quiet person with an unattractive face who enjoys being alone. She is prim and proper and she paints miniatures. Her half brother asks her to oversee an investment he’s made, so she ends up crossing paths with Asa Makepeace, the roguish proprietor of Harte’s Folly – a pleasure … Continue reading Sweetest Scoundrel by Elizabeth Hoyt →
I love the Pennyroyal Green series by Julie Anne Long. The fictional village in Sussex is one of those places I firmly believe really exists (or I really want to believe exists) and her books have a standing place on my “fibro sucks” reading shelf. When It Started with a Scandal came out I was super excited. I really enjoyed the story, but unfortunately, I felt that a lot of the actual development in the … Continue reading It Started with a Scandal by Julie Anne Long →
Confession time: I have never read a Lorraine Heath book until Falling Into Bed With a Duke. Clearly this was a mistake on my part. When I picked up this book, I wanted something that would pull me out of crappy day and the dead mouse smell that we couldn’t pinpoint in the office. So I took this book to the coffee shop, grabbed a cup of English breakfast, and proceeded to get lost in the … Continue reading Falling Into Bed With a Duke by Lorraine Heath →
I had a raging head cold and cough when I read Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare. I think under normal circumstances it might have ventured into “too cute” territory for me, but since I was feeling like absolute crap, it was just what the doctor ordered. Clio Whitmore has been waiting eight years for her betrothed, Piers Brandon, to return from his foreign posting to marry her. She’s tired of feeling like the … Continue reading Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare →
There’s been quite a few people asking for non-noble, non-titled heroes, and then Romain gives us a “non-titled, poorish Anglo-Indian” hero who is a little bit snarky and long suffering. This was delightful. Augusta Meredith is the heiress to a beauty products company, and she’s got more than two braincells to rub together, and she uses them to get her company board to do what she wants them to do, all while making them think … Continue reading Secrets of a Scandalous Heiress by Theresa Romain →
