Complete Abandon

Complete Abandon by Julia Kent

Six months ago Laura gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and since then her life has centered around the baby, to the exclusion of all else, including her very handsome partners, Mike and Dylan. Mike and Dylan are frustrated at Laura's sudden lack of interest in anything sexual, despite their best attempts to get her hot and bothered. Laura's friend, Josie, recommends they check out her e-reader and they are stunned when they find that she's been reading tons of erotica, including some very kinky things. They decide to take Laura up to a ski "cabin" while Josie and her boyfriend Alex spend time with the baby. Alex hopes that this will convince Josie that she's ready for more in their relationship. Once at the cabin, Laura is hurt when she realizes that they've read her e-reader and continues to worry about her baby. Luckily, Mike and Dylan have come prepared with plenty of the gizmos and gadgets from her stories. Slowly, they break down Laura's reluctance and put her insecurities about her post-baby body to rest and break out quite a few of those toys they brought. Soon, Laura is back to her usual outgoing and adventurous self and Dylan and Mike are more than happy to reap the rewards of their work.

This was a sequel to a previous novel that I hadn't read, so I found myself with a complete lack of investment in any of the characters. That means I really didn't care about any of the characters at all and wasn't interested in their problems or what they were going through. The entire book was about sex from beginning to end, and I guess the relationship part of the story was covered in the previous book which meant that all this book was left with was horny people who wanted to have sex. This would have been somewhat acceptable if the sex had been any good, but it surprisingly wasn't. Besides one erotic scene between Alex and Josie, the rest was just blah, despite the use of sex toys and two hunky men. And call me a prude, but I felt it weird that in a threesome there was not any discussion at all of what the two men were thinking and how the whole situation really worked, but perhaps that was covered in the previous book. Overall this was a pretty awful story that may have been made better by reading the prequel, however I certainly don't feel inspired to do so after reading this.

Midnight Temptations with a Forbidden Lord

Midnight Temptations with a Forbidden Lord by Tiffany Clare R

Lady Charlotte Lynsday, daughter of the Earl of Ponsley, is unhappily engaged to be married to Mr. Warren, a political allay of her father. Mr. Warren is rude, judgmental, unkind, and downright awful to Charlotte, telling her he plans to leave her in the country to rusticate and he wants her as nothing more than a broodmare. She and her friend come up with a list of rogues to help her get out of her engagement and tops on her list is Tristan, Lord Castlereigh. Tristan has his own reasons to want Charlotte's engagement ended as Mr. Warren is set to inherit the estate and money that should have rightly gone to his friend Jezebel, the widow of the previous Earl Fallon and he knows that Mr. Warren isn't fit for any young lady. Charlotte approaches him at a dance and she makes it clear she wants out of her engagement and Tristan agrees to help her although neither of them know precisely how they will go about doing this. Both are intrigued by the other for more reasons than just the possible broken engagement and wonder if their friendship will lead to something more.

Meanwhile Charlotte's chaperone has found herself in a scandal and it forces Lord Ponsley to insist on moving up the wedding date and he is deaf to Charlotte's pleas to cancel the wedding or give her more time. She once again goes to Tristan and he asks Charlotte to marry him having decided that the two of them could make something out of their friendship. Charlotte is determined never to marry and turns him down, but days later with her wedding approaching she goes to his house and asks him to ruin her, still thinking that she will avoid marriage with anyone. Tristan is not about to let that happen and insists upon their marriage and while she is upset at being cornered like this, she knows that she does not really have much of a choice even though she knows her father would never turn her out. Their marriage proves that Tristan was right and the two get along well right from the start and Charlotte fits right into his family. Not everyone is happy about their marriage and it takes a brush with death for both of them to admit that they have fallen in love.

Wow. Lady Charlotte is one of the worst characters I have ever read in a romance novel. She is, at best naive, but I would really tend to call her stupid and she had absolutely no common sense. She had no idea how to go about getting out of her marriage even while it was the only thing she ever thought about and after she finally did have sex with Tristan she refused to marry him thinking that everything would be all right. She didn't think that no one would find out- she wanted people to find out so the wedding would be called off- but she just didn't think there would be lasting consequences. And I was not exaggerating when I said that getting out of her engagement was the only thing she ever thought about. For the first 2/3 of the book she literally doesn't do anything, say anything, or think anything that does not directly relate back to getting out of the engagement and this does not make for a very interesting character at all. She also came across as very selfish in the previous book in the series and in this one as she completely disregarded her chaperones feelings or concerns.

Tristan wasn't as unlikable and at least I better understood his motives, but perhaps the most baffling thing about him were his feelings towards Charlotte. He admirably took care of his illegitimate children but I could not really admire the way he was so adamant that his new wife accept them as her own. He also had ulterior motives for wanting to ruin Mr. Warren, some familial, and some because of his friend Jez. While I understood the familial motives, the revenge for Jez's sake that carried over from the previous novel is beyond old and tired by now and wasn't even that interesting or believable to begin with. Their relationship started off as friendship apparently but I really did not get that feeling at all and I didn't feel like there was any basis for a romance at all. There was very little sex and by the time it occurred I was so tired of their story I found myself skimming it. The writing was plodding and very slow moving and there were many sections in the beginning that felt like boring information dumps.

Rating: A terrible novel with a horrible romance featuring the worst heroine I've ever encountered.

The Vengeful Bridegroom

The Vengeful Bridegroom by Kit Donner 1011

Matthew Colgate is in trouble after agreeing to help the Count Taglioni so in order to try to make things right he places a wager that his sister, Madelene will marry within three days, through a medium, with plans to convince her to marry his homosexual friend, Beltrand, and make the money back. He tells her that the family fortune will be lost forever if she doesn't agree to the marriage and once more Madelene finds herself picking up after her older brother's mess and agrees to go along with the mad scheme. Gabriel Westcott has sworn revenge against the Colgate family after Matthew seduced his sister and abandoned her and her unborn child and he is back in England after taking his sister to Italy where she gave birth and died. He learns of Matthew's plan and realizes that marrying Madelene, ruining her, and then divorcing her after a year, will be the perfect revenge. He pretends to be Beltrand and takes Madelene away, only revealing his true identity after the marriage ceremony takes place.

Madelene is obviously upset over what has happened, but falls in stride with things fairly quickly when Matthew takes her to his country estate. She hires new staff and sets about getting the house in working order until her brother shows up and demands a knife that he had hidden away in her suitcase and had promised to the count. The knife is missing and the count will do anything to get it back and Matthew knows that he must convince Madelene of the seriousness of getting the knife back from her husband or her husband's "friend" Alec, a woman who dresses like a man and is the Count's niece. Both Madelene and Gabriel realize that their relationship has changed as they spend time together as man and wife and they get to see that the other is not "the enemy." But the Count's reappearance coincides with Gabriel's nephew, Matthew's son with his sister, comes to town and suddenly there is the possibility that the people who want the dagger will take drastic measures to get it back. Madelene is torn between her brother and the new man she loves and he is determined to protect his wife and their love.

The first thing that struck me about this book was Madelene's completely irrational love for her brother despite his incredibly awful actions and the unforgivable situation he places her in. This carries on throughout the book with him doing stupid and ridiculous and dangerous things that prove he has not a care in the world for anyone except for himself and Madelene is there every step of the way getting him out of scrapes. This made it very difficult for me to have any respect for Madelene or for me to admire her or find her at all likable. She did come across as capable but that was not enough to explain to me why someone fell in love with her. The best part was her secret side business designing fashions for the haut ton which was just a ridiculous way of making in to a well rounded character, but it failed miserably because it came up so sporadically and there were times I completely forgot about it. Gabriel was an ass for what he did to Madelene, but I was frustrated that he forgot about his plans for revenge so quickly because Madelene set about getting his house in order- I guess he just wanted a housekeeper?

Their relationship progressed slowly because not much happened and it was rather boring, but it also happened too fast because so little happened between them that I just couldn't understand how they were in love. I did appreciate some of the little scenes before them where they talked about loss but it was brushed over really quickly and it was just Donner telling us they talked about it, we didn't actually get to read their conversation. There was some sex between them, nothing particularly hot, more like barely lukewarm and I just didn't get any sort of heat between them in general so I didn't get too into the sex anyway. The plot with the dagger completely bored me and I just don't go for side plots or mysteries in my romances unless their incredibly well done and integrated into the story and this one certainly wasn't. There were like secrets built upon secrets with the baby, the count, the diamonds, Alec, and even the housekeeper so I got exasperated and just wanted it over more than I wanted to figure out what was happening.

Rating: A boring and very slow moving book with two characters I could not relate or like and a mystery plot that was just as uninteresting.

Swept Away by a Kiss

Swept Away by a Kiss by Katharine Ashe 1125

Lady Valerie Monroe was exiled to America by her father, the Earl of Alverton, for her flirtatious and scandalous behavior but upon his death she is called back to England. While at sea she meets Etienne, a French priest, whom she feels far from fatherly towards. When her ship is taken by pirates she and Etienne are brought on board the pirate ship by their crazy captain who wants her to be more experienced before he finally rapes her. He sets up scenarios that he thinks will test the religious man's will power and lead to Valerie's corruption, but Etienne has secrets of his own. He is in fact Viscount Stephen Ashford and the ship they are on is his own and he uses it to hunt slave traders and disrupt their business. He knows that Valerie is something special but he is destined to live his life alone so when he finally regains control of the ship he leaves her in London with no plans to see her ever again. Back in England Valerie tries to move on with her life but she cannot get the French priest out of her mind until a house party in the country.

Valerie attends a holiday party given by Lord and Lady March, Stephen's godparents, and the two once again come face to face. Both pretend that they do not know each other and watch with jealousy as they each flirty madly with the other members of their party. Valerie is horrified to think that Stephen was merely playing her and has no true feelings for her while Stephen regrets the way things has to be but thinks it is for Valerie's own good that he is doing all this. It isn't long before Valerie begins picking up on some of Stephen's going on and realizes that there is something that Stephen is hiding from her. When she discovers a servant rifling through her possessions she decides that she is going to take the initiative and discover for herself what is going on. She discovers what Stephen does and that he is attempted to dig up evidence on one of the other guests at the house party. Wanting to help him, Valerie puts her own safety at risk, angering Stephen, but also forcing him to realize that Valerie is something special and that, while he has always thought of himself as a lone wolf, she is worth taking a big risk and sharing himself with someone.

This book was incredibly gloomy. I cannot think of a single instance where either of these characters could be considered happy or excited. They both spent the entire time mired in depression and sad thoughts and it took no time at all for me to start completely hating this. Romance novels do not have to be endlessly cheery, but there is a limit to how much doom I can take in any book and this book definitely crossed it. And of course being constantly depressed made it impossible for me to figure how either of these two managed to fall in love with the other. Seriously, who falls in love with someone who never smiles? I will also say that the situation on board the pirate ship bordered on the ridiculous with an insane captain who tied her up and then left her for Stephen to untie, thinking that Stephen would eventually sleep with her. Supposedly they both were sexually excited by this and I just could not figure out how they could become aroused in such a horrific situation where both of them (should have been) worried for their lives. Both acted TSTL throughout the ordeal on the ship really.

I wanted to admire Valerie for her ability to use her feminine wiles to manipulate people, at least when it was for a good cause, but because she was so depressed and unhappy about the situation it went from admirable to blah. Stephen's drive to end slavery was only partly explained and I felt like it could have been done much better as obviously slavery is something that a person should have strong emotions about. The two spent barely any time together, less still when they weren't both worried about a madman, and absolutely no getting to know you or being happy together time. They were both very attracted to each other and there was gloomy sexual tension throughout the book but even the sex was overshadowed by depression and thoughts on the slavery plot so I really could not get into it. I was excited somewhat by the plot to stop the slave traders and I liked that Valerie was able to get involved in order to help the man she loved. There was some nice betrayal going on as well but the plot was not really developed enough to completely get into. There were no major side characters to distract from the lack of character coming from the two main protagonist.

Rating: Fairly obviously this book was a major failure on all levels and I was just completely overwhelmed by this downer of a book.

What Isabella Desires

What Isabella Desires by Anne Mallory 722

The widowed Lady Isabella Willouhby has harbored a secret love for Lord Marcus Stewart, Baron of Roth, for years, but she married sensibly instead. Her husband was ill for years before dying and she has spent the intervening years being prim and proper and she has just decided that it is time for hr to take some risks. She enlists the help of some friends, who shockingly happen to be married to Marcus's foreign office pals, to get her in to some very risque parties where other men flirt with her. It is there that Marcus's friends begin to confront him with the fact that he is insanely jealous of any men who happens to glance her way, despite his protestations to the contrary. Marcus knows he cannot marry because the men in his family have died young and some headaches have led him to believe he will eventually be going blind.

There are also bad men, who appear out of nowhere and with no explanation, are following Marcus and kidnapping and killing off the men who work for him. When these men who are after Marcus turns their eyes to Isabella he decides that the best solution would be to whisk her off the seaside where she can indulge in her feelings for him and he can keep her safe. But Isabella is disappointed when Marcus holds back from her in the bedroom and even more so when she discovers that he has been keeping secret from her. He does not want to get involved with her and he does not want to risk her life, but he is also unwilling to admit his feelings for her. In a fit of pique she runs back ton London and they both attempt to move on with their lives, but those men are still out there and Marcus needs to keep her safe. But in the end it is his fear of death that Marcus will have to overcome before he can end up with Isabella.

I was at first attracted to the idea of a repressed widow going after the bad guy rake that she wanted, but this book severely disappointed. Isabella was great by herself as she had genuine interests, she did go after what she wanted but she was also realistically scared and intimidated. Unfortunately Marcus was much less well done in general. He was a take charge kind of guy who was responsible for running Parliament apparently but we really did not see any examples of anything good he had done, although we did not get some great views of how he ruined guys who disagreed with him. Also I was very disappointed with his demons about dying early and going blind as not enough of the story was told from his point of view. While this could have been done at least fairly well there really was just not enough explanation and backstory to make this plot believable and it came across as just ridiculous and frustrating.

I sometimes complain about the murder/ mystery/ side-plot taking over the romance and the book, but in this case, although I felt the bizarre spy-whatever plot completely dominated the book, I wouldn't say that it overwhelmed as it did not end up taking up enough space in the book to really make any sense. Honestly I could not really figure out what the point of them wanting to hurt Marcus was or what he had really done to make them so mad at them. No one involved spent enough time reflecting on what was happening and to be honest I felt as though this part of the book was a carry over from other books in the series. Throughout the book I felt as though I was missing some very important backstory from these other books and things really seemed to pick up from where they left off in former books. In this same vein there were almost constant scenes where former love-birds showed up in the book and were just so gosh darn happy.

Rating: I really did not like this book at all except for how incredibly fast it went as both the romance and the side plot were underdone and almost everything was unexplained.

A Marriageable Miss

A Marriageable Miss by Dorothy Elbury 706

Helena Wheatley's father desperately wants her to marry a titled gentleman as he feels her rightful place is in the ton. Luckily he has plenty of money to lure a penniless lord, but so far all he's turned up are duds. Richard Standish, the Earl of Markfield, is one such penniless lord and he hopes that one day he can restore his family fortune's and bring back the legendary stud farm his family had once run. He calls on Helena, but stops short of signing the agreement her father presents because he feels his word should be good enough. He agrees to escort Helena around town to placate her father and so that word will spread that he is expecting an influx of money. Immediately the two feel as though they are each bungling all of their encounters with the other, and blame all the missteps in their relationship on the themselves. This goes hand in hand with their growing attraction for each other.

Richard is especially worried about the family doctor who obviously have feelings for her and he grows envious when he notices that every other man seems to have no trouble calling forth her brilliant smile. And Helena herself is worried when Richard's ex-mistress continually shows up at inopportune times. They each grow more and more worried that their feelings for the other are not returned, but when they are got alone together, they have no choice but to get married. Things do not get off to the best start as Helena is still worried that Richard has feeling's for his ex-mistress while Richard will do anything to keep from thinking about money and the fact that people think he married her for cash. But there is someone out there who wants to hurt Richard and so at the end Richard and Helena need to discover his identity and put a stop to his plans to separate them before they can truly make a marriage for themselves.

I really liked the plot of the book as it seemed as though it should be easily palatable, however I had a remarkably difficult time really getting into the story. It was certainly very wordy and sometimes it seemed as though the author went out of her way to use unrealistic language and words she found in the thesaurus. I felt as though there was not enough dialogue which contributed greatly to the slow going. I did like the jealousies and angst that accompanied them each believing they were messing up the relationship and the other didn't want them and that went along with them believing someone else might be the object of the other's affection. However, I had to admit it got a little annoying after awhile and there were some scenes where I just wanted them each to talk (dialogue!), or even yell, at the other about what they were thinking.

Helena and Richard worked well together overall and it was obvious from the beginning that both of them wanted something out of their relationship. I wish there had been some more scenes between them where they were both on the same page because the ones it did have were quite nice to read. I was incredibly disappointed that there was absolutely no sex in this book; a few rather tame kissing scenes and that was it. This was especially bad because she was so nervous about it and since it seemed like nothing else in their marriage worked, it would have been a nice little saver. I was also disappointed in the whole "someone is out to murder Richard" plot as it came completely out of the blue at the end and I was like, "huh?" Lastly I was annoyed by the tack the book came when dealing with ex-soldiers who couldn't find jobs. The people who went home and tried to get decent wages for themselves were "trouble-makers" and the ones who stayed in London, smiled, and blamed themselves for the trouble were noble. Gag me!

Rating: I did want to like it, but it was boring, there was no sex and far too little dialogue, and the murder plot was just ridiculous. Prob 1 1/2 hearts.

Mad About the Duke

Mad About the Duke by Elizabeth Boyle 1013 R

Elinor Sterling is the second widowed Lady Standon and when she sees James Tremont, the Duke of Parkerton, leaving the small house she and her fellow widows have been relegated too by the Duchess of Holindrake, she assumes that he is a solicitor. James is not quite sure what to make of this gorgeous woman who has no idea who he is and he is shocked to find himself agreeing to help her find a husband. Elinor needs to marry a many of very high social standing so that her stepfather, Lord Lewis, will not retain guardianship of her younger sister, Tia. Lewis is an evil man who had already sold Elinor into a loveless marriage to a man with homosexual tendencies, and she dreads to think what he will do to her sister. James' brother and sister are gravely concerned that he has begun behaving in a most improper manner and his servants worry that he has finally given in to the family "madness."

Her friends, the other widowed Lady Standon's who had once been her enemies but are now her close friends, are worried, but get into the spirit of things and hope that James can help her find that passion is more important than a ducal title. James knows he should tell Elinor the truth about who is but he wants her to fall in love with him, not just his title. Elinor begins to think that a passionate affair before marriage may be just the thing to prepare her for the life of duty she will lead with one of the two dukes on her list. James knows that neither of the dukes on her list, )and why is he not on there?) will be completely unsuitable and he sets about wooing her. Meanwhile her stepfather is up to his typically awful behaviors and James knows this is one thing he can give her- her sister's safety. But what will she do when she discovers who he really is: fall in love or run away?

Elinor and James worked together because they both wanted to be with each other and enjoyed time in each other's company. Unfortunately, that is as good as the book gets. Elinor was annoying for being far too practical and why did her evil ex-husband have to be gay? I guess from previous books I am supposed to know that James is typically staid and uptight, but because I have not read them it was hard to get behind the whole worry over him acting out of character. Maybe if the change had been gradual and spread throughout the current book- the one I was actually reading? There were a few sex scenes, not particularly hot and I ended up skipping through them really. I am not normally a fan of secret hidden identities because it's a big secret that causes horrible angst, but it really worked here because it didn't fall into the pitfalls that others do.

I absolutely hated the writing style in this book. It seemed to basically consist of everyone thinking it was so amusing that there was a secret, or thinking how clever they were for acting in such a supposedly "mad" manner when nothing was really amusing and nothing was particularly "mad." I think a good portion of the dialogue between Elinor and James could be classified as banter, but I am reluctant to give it that term as it seemed as if they were talking at cross purposes. Well this book is definitely one for referring back to previous characters in the series and several other related series. I spent the first 20 pages doing "What? Who is this?" over and over again. The book also assumes that I know information that I don't. I was also confused because normally authors would use this referring time to get me interested in the other books and it had the opposite effect: Felicity, Duchess of Holindrake, comes across as awful and I can't ever imagine reading about such a horrible heroine.

Rating: Really pretty awful all around and I don't think I'll buy another Elizabeth Boyle book, and I don't know how I got through it.

His Woman

His Woman by Diana Cosby 603

Three years ago Duncan MacGruder and Isabela Adair were madly in love and engaged to be married, but to settle some of her families gambling debts, and to keep Duncan safe, she agreed to become the Earl of Frasyer's mistress. Basically Frasyer told her if she didn't become his mistress he's kill Duncan, and if she told Duncan why she had become Frasyer's mistress, he'd kill him then too. So Duncan believed that Isabela had left him for Frasyer's money. When Frasyer catches her talking with her brother Symon, who is a rebel with William Wallace's forces, he kills Symon and threatens to kill her father if she does not tell him where Wallace's forces are. He takes her prisoner and with his last strength Symon pleads for Duncan to go save his sister. During their daring escape, Isabela pleads to find her mother's bible because her father led her to believe that the solution to their problems could be found there. Although injured, the two manage to make their way to Duncan's brother's house.

Neither of his brother's are happy to see her as they believe she is nothing but the whore who broke their brother's heart. However, as they see her nurse Duncan back to health, everyone realizes that what once existed between the two is far from gone. She still needs to retrieve the bible to prove her father's innocence and on the journey she and Duncan become quite close and he learns the truth about her relationship with Frasyer. Unforunately, the only thing the bible tells them is that Isabel is actually the Scottish rebel, William Wallace's, daughter and he and her other father had maneuvered her to be Frasyer's mistress to protect her. No one knew or suspected that he had a daughter but apparently they thought it was in her best interest to become a whore to a horrible man. But of course Frasyer is after them and together Isabel and Duncan need to hide the proof of her birth, and find a way for the two of them to move past what they had gone through before.

I had immense problems with really getting in to this book and the storyline because the characters were constantly behaving in ways and doing things that made absolutely no sense to me. They're being hunted by people and she has to stop and get her Bible, however when he finally does get hurt- that's when she realizes it's time to just get their asses out of there. Both of them were ridiculously eager to sacrifice their own safety in order to stop a perceived threat to the other, which while heroic, came across as just plain stupidity as often there was not an actual threat and it was just them putting themselves in danger for no reason. And seriously: they couldn't help themselves from admiring the other even while they were in such horrible danger and it was not all sexy- it was more that I wanted to slap them and tell them to move their asses. And of course the whole reason she became Frasyer's mistress and set up this horrible story was the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. The only saving grace is one fairly hot sex scene and boy that certainly is not enough.

There was not at all enough of the inner musings and thoughts that I love to read, and that really make the romance novel more enjoyable. All of her thoughts were of him and his were all of her, but not in a good way, more in a way that made me think these two had nothing else to think about. I realize that Frasyer only wanted Isabel as a trophy to show how much better he was than Duncan, but it did not make sense that he was not bedding her at all. Wouldn't that have made his triumph even better? And she was apparently attractive. It really came across as just a ridiculous way to keep her a virgin for her true love. It seems ridiculous that she was so eager to keep her secret from Duncan just because she worried he'd get hurt. Even after it was obvious that he was going to find out and/ or get hurt anyway she clung to that damn ridiculous secret as if it were a lifeline as if just telling him would cause Frasyer to jump out of the walls and kill Duncan. And it basically caused all of the problems between them. Also there was magic and that was ridiculous.

Rating: I cannot believe I actually managed to finish this book. I could't have cared less about the characters or anyone falling in love b/c I was so caught up in how ridiculous everything was.

The Elusive Bride

The Elusive Bride by Stephanie Laurens 526

Emily Ensworth is in India visiting her uncle when her party is attacked by members of the Black Cobra cult and Captain MacFalene entrusts her with an important document which she must deliver to Major Gareth Hamilton, before he sacrifices his life to save hers. She gets back to base and passes the document on to Gareth and the next day he and his friends all leave on separate ships. That brief encounter was enough for Emily to suspect that Gareth may be "her one," the one she is destined to end up with, so she too leaves with her own entourage in the hopes of catching up with Gareth. When she does Gareth is forced to admit that Emily is far from the wilting English flower he has come to expect: she is independent, intelligent, and trustworthy. So he confides in her that MacFalene had passed onto him a document pertaining to the leader of the Black Cobra cult that needed to be shown to higher ups in the English government. He and his friends made copies of the document and, with one of those copies, he is trying to be a cover for the real document.

He and Emily decide that the safest course of action would obviously be for them to travel together and it is not long before they are attacked by the cultists. Pretty much every city and every sea they travel in they are being watched and attacked. And then they're attacked some more- but no worries, because none of their own friends die. And then they travel some more. On the journey Emily's belief that Gareth is "her one" is fortified so she sets out to convince Gareth of the same fact. Unfortunately traveling does not really provide many opportunities for conversation so their time together is mainly spent in the bedroom. But now the cultists have taken their destruction as a personal project and it seems like every random Indian cult member has decided to travel and kill them. The two, with their friends, must work diligently to elude being killed, so that Gareth and Emily can finally live happily ever after with each other.

I know I have complained about Lauren's books following a formula and I now know why she has done that; because straying from said formula produces disastrous results. Seriously this book was awful, perhaps one of the worst I have ever read. The Black Cobra cult completely took over the book, but if it was good I might have been able to overlook the lack of real romance, however it was definitely not goodl. I kept wanting her to explain what this damn cult was! Why were there apparently thousand's of people willing to travel thousands of miles and risk their lives? I wanted some back ground into how this cult came to be, what it's purpose was, what it was about, and why I should give a crap about our hero trying to exterminate it. And damn- they were certainly willing to kill because I felt like every time I turned a page Emily and Gareth were being attacked by another group of cultists. There were also a ton of holes in this plot that made it even more ridiculous.

I really did not feel as though I got to learn anything about Gareth and Emily, of the people they really are outside of escaping dangerous people and killing. Of course Gareth was a great fighter. I did like that Emily not only fought, but she did so intelligently and wasn't just throwing herself into the fray willy nilly. However, Emily keeps a journal and she either restates what we already read or she comes across as a teenager in love. Their romance was almost non-existant and I found it really just awful that the two agree that they want a marriage just like two other couples Lauren's had written about in previous books. Seriously- she has to resort to mentioning more developed books. And a surprise here- the sex was few and pretty terrible. A lot of the book took place while the party was traveling and I really wish their had been a map because I really did not know where some of the places were. Mention was made of other books in this series and from what I can glean they're about as awful as this one.

Rating: Non existent romance with basically non-existant characters with a terrible murder/ villain plot. Definitely one of the worst books I have ever read.

The Highlander's Bride

The Highlander's Bride by Michele Sinclair 415

Laurel Cordell is running away from the crazy Douglas clan after they had kidnapped her while she was on the way to go live with her grandfather in Scotland. Although Laurel is English, her heart has always been in Scotland and after both her parents have died, she wastes no time leaving her cold hearted brother and returning there. She runs straight into a group of warriors from the McTiernay clan, including Conor, who is their big fierce giant of a leader. Immediately upon seeing Laurel all the men in the group are entranced by her angel-like appearance and want to claim her for their own. Unfortunately, everyone believes that Conor has already claimed her, even though he wastes no time in making sure everyone, including Laurel, knows that he will never marry. He had at one point wanted love in his life, but after being chased for his title by conniving women, he has sworn off matrimony forever. However, he is still drawn to this English beauty and vows that he will protect her. Laurel is also very attracted to this man, but believes that getting involved with someone will bring the Douglass Clan's wrath down on her loved ones.

When he leaves her alone in the castle to go on a journey she decides to get her revenge by taking over his castle and cleaning it up. Somehow while doing this she comes to deeply respect the man in charge and the devotion he garners from his underlings. When he returns he is furious that she disobeyed his wishes and wants to sternly scold her, but somehow all of their arguments end with the two of them kissing and desperately wanting each other. Conor realizes that he needs Laurel in his life and that without her he will turn into a bitter, lonely man, but Laurel is still wary of marrying a man who seeks to control everything she does. Together these two very strong willed character must learn to compromise for the sake of their relationship and for the good of the clan. Just when things look to be going well, problems come from an unexpected source, as Laurel's grandfather comes charging in to rescue her from the man he believes kidnapped his granddaughter. However, when the evil Douglass clan finally does decide to have their revenge on Laurel, it will take all of them to defeat them.

Note: My summary actually makes the book sound interesting- do not be fooled! Laurel is definitely not a very nuanced character: she is either super feisty and take charge as she is ordering people around and getting her hands dirty helping fix up the castle, or she is losing her temper at everything that Conor says. Basically she loses her temper quite a lot in this book and Conor is not any different. He is constantly angry that: someone may be looking at her, someone may think that he is going to marry her, she is doing something he has not specifically told her to do, she is looking at another man or talking about another man. his jealousy and worry over her know absolutely no bounds and it gets tired incredibly quickly. They spend almost every second together arguing over her doing something he deems unsafe and then they both end up blowing up at each other. And to make it worse both of them, and everyone else, regards this as a sign of how strong their relationship is. Wha? I feel like this is a sign of an immature writer to be unable to show passion between her characters unless they are arguing.

His views on marriage are a staple of romance novels heroes who spurn marriage and yet, because we don't actually see any scenes where he has dealings with these women who are supposedly throwing themselves at him for his title, they seem even more ridiculous than usual. And did Scottish "lairds" really have a recognized title? This brings me to another point: this book takes place in 1307 but there is absolutely no evidence of this at all in the book. He lives in a keep, but really this book could have taken place anytime between 1200 and 1850 as far as I could tell. One scene in particular made me want to just choke everyone involved and although it is a spoiler I will not cover it b/c I do NOT want you to read this book. Laurel is 9 months pregnant, but Conor, for some odd reason, has to pretend that he does not love her when the Douglass' come for her, so he locks her in a tower and doesn't see her for like two weeks. Supposedly he had to wait for reinforcements, but then they only ended up using 12 men in the battle. So... he treated his pregnant wife like crap for nothing. And she understood why he had to do it.

Rating: I hated this book. I hated the writing, I hated the characters (especially their interactions with each other), and I thought it was overall a horrible book.

The Wicked Duke Takes a Wife

The Wicked Duke Takes a Wife by Jillian Hunter 227

Harriet Gardner was rescued from the streets by the Boscastle family after being discovered attempting to rob the Duchess of Sedgecroft's closet. They took her in, trained her to behave like a lady and gave her a job at their finishing school for young ladies. Lord Griffin Boscastle is the newly minted Duke of Glenmorgan and he is also the newly minted guardian of his late brother's illegitimate daughter Edlyn. When he takes her to the finishing school he and Harriet make quite the impression on each other as Harriet almost sets him on fire and he rattles her very precarious composure. When his old Aunt Prowlis decides that she wants Harriet to be her companion she debates it but decides to go. Griffin is worried that he won't be able to keep his hands off her, but he is determined that he, or his Aunt's crazy actions, can eventually convince her to quit and leave. Unfortunately Griffin still feels a major sense of obligation towards his brother's fiance and everyone believes that he should court her and fulfill the marriage contract.

Upon meeting Lady Constance no one is very happy: she is selfish, cold, and incredibly boring. Aunt Prowlis and Harriet agree that she is not at all appropriate for Griffin and despite the fact that it is also obvious that Griffin has no interest in her, they engage in a minor ridiculous plot to cinvince him not to marry her. When Griffin and Harriet succumb to passion at a garden party some very racy sketches appear in all the gossip rags and Aunt Prowlis is upset that he is ruining her companion's reputation. Harriet and Griffin begin to sneak away whenever possible to make love but Harriet does have plans to eventually leave. When Edlyn is kidnapped everyone's plans are thrown up in the air and everyone is distraught. Griffin enlists the help of Bow Street while Harriet revisits her former friends in London's underworld and soon everyone is out looking for the lost teenager. It is Harriet's own father back from the dead that finally solves this little mystery and Harriet and Griffin can go on with their lives and live happily ever after like the rest of the Boscastle's.

I mentioned in my previous review of Hunter's book that she has taken to writing oddly emotionless romances. Really there is no other way to describe her writing as there seemed to be nothing between these characters. She did not compensate for this by doing an amazing job of having the characters think endlessly of what the other will look like naked. Despite the lack of good ruminations and build up that usually lead to good sex scenes this book very much surprised me by having some really quite delicious sex scenes. I liked Harriet's character superficially as she was certainly interesting with quite the intriguing back ground, but she was definitely not developed enough. Griffin was really rather boring as he was not developed at all and I had no idea what he was thinking, despite the fact that a bit of the story is told from his P.O.V. There was a brief mention that Harriet fell in love with him because he was powerful and took such good care of his family but I was really hoping for a bit more in a romance novel. However I was happy she accepted his proposal the first time and it wasn't dragged on and on because she felt she wasn't worthy.

It is obvious that Aunt Primrose is supposed to be the eccentric and blunt yet lovable and fun crazy old lady of the story. Unfortunately she fails miserably on all accounts except for the bluntness and that really just makes her seem old, mean, and nasty. The big conflict in the story is supposedly that Harriet, and nasty Aunt Primrose, is worried that Griffin is going to marry horrid Lady Constance. However this is just absolute bull as from the very beginning he makes no bones about the fact that he cannot stand Constance so really there is no suspense in that direction. I was just so caught up in the fact that Harriet and Griffin were discussing marriage while Edlyn was missing that I didn't really have time to worry about what had happened to her. The dialogue was stilted at best and once again there were several instances where it was obvious Hunter thought she was writing fun banter, but it just came out flat and irritating. And have I mentioned how annoying Aunt Primrose's character was? Cause yea- I really hated her and she was such a nuisance.

Rating: Not entirely hate-able and at the very least it was short (although it was so boring it took me a week to read), but unless something very unexpected happens this is my last Jillian Hunter novel. Two atrocious books in a row definitely earns one heart.

Wild Heart

Wild Heart by Lori Brighton

Ella Finch is not at all pleased when she is tricked into becoming a governess for a fully grown man, but she agrees to it because she is promised a cottage for herself and her friend Fran at the end of six months. Leo Roberts is the heir to an earldom after recently returning to England. He had accompanied his parents on a tour of India and both parents had been killed when some of those they trusted turned on them. Leo and his friend, Ashkay, had hidden in the jungle for several years before Leo had ended up in Italy and learned to paint. Ella quickly discovers that Leo's animal like behavior is an act as when she tries to teach him how to dance and which utensils to use he already knows. Leo's grandfather holds out hope that Leo can be civilized because he responded far more positively to Ella than he had towards any other person. Ella has a "gift" that enables her to feel animals' emotions and also allows her to, in a sense, get in their mind, and influence their thoughts or calm them. Leo is the first person that Ella has been able to use her gift on and she knows that there is a special connection between the two.

Leo is back in England for one purpose only: he wants to find who killed his parents, exact his revenge, and then go back to Italy. Ella is definitely standing in his way and he finds himself desperately wanting this young lady and, despite his actions to the contrary, he does not want to hurt her. Leo and Ella try to repair his damaged reputation but his cousin, Henry, is working very hard to ensure this does not happen by baiting him into acting "uncivilized." But Leo cannot let go of his hatred for those who wronged him and it does not take long for those who hunted him in India to reappear in England. Soon the two of them are racing around the countryside, and back and forth to London, chasing down leads, and trying to discover the truth behind what happened to Leo's parents, and Ella's Uncle, and why it happened. Leo knows that the deaths had to do with a map, but he is unsure what or where this map is, until it is discovered that this map is linked to a statue that gives the possessor/s unlimited power. Leo and Ella are the key to this map/ statue and there are some very dangerous, and very close, people trying to get them to unlock this power- even if it means their deaths.

Ella was not entirely a likable character. There were many instances she tipped precariously close into TSTL land such as when she goes hiking through the forest by herself after someone has tried to kill her and then when she goes to her nasty, mean ex-employer for help. I found Ella's gift absolutely ridiculous. I assume we were supposed to get a sense of how mystical she is and how wonderful she is because all the little creatures in the forest love her. It does impact her interactions with Leo in that there are many times when she feels what he feels (this happens a lot during the steamy scenes), but it just seemed, if not pointless, then absurd. Leo is very attracted to her innocence, her complete naivete and lack of guile, and her big blue eyes that look up at him so attractively. Ella is attracted to Leo's loyalty, but the only loyalty I could find from Leo's character was his slightly crazy loyalty to his dead parents. He certainly doesn't have any loyalty to her as he constantly keeps her off balance, threatens to leave her, and purposely baits her by having her do things she doesn't want to do- like posing nude for a painting by promising he'll participate in lessons. It did not make him very likable either.

It was very difficult to be truly intrigued in a romance between two such dumb characters and it did not help that the main thing they had going for them as far as I could tell was their attraction for the other. Unfortunately they only had sex once and that was not all that steamy either. And of course the revenge/ murder/ attempted murder/ magic statue/ secret power stuff was... interesting. It actually was written very well and certainly did keep me interested and reading, but I was not expecting it at all. I also felt as though the whole thing could have been handled much better, and much faster as the book was over 400 pages, if either Ella or Leo had just had better sense. If Leo could have just pretended to adhere to the rules of English society, or Ella had not been so damn trusting of everybody despite the fact that someone was trying to kill her, it would have been a much better story. The magic/ mystical/ secret power part of the book I really just tried to ignore and push to the back as that sort of thing always takes me out of the story with a little jolt.

Rating: I did not like the characters and that inevitably made the romance very lacking. I did not mind the murder plot although it definitely took over the book and I really did not like that NO mention of it, or the magic/ statue/ secret power stuff, was made on the back blurb.

A Wild Pursuit

A Wild Pursuit by Eloisa James

A Wild Pursuit follows the antics of ... 3, 4... I don't know how many, different couples. Our setting is the house of the widowed Lady Esme Rawling who is her final month of confinement. An odd setting for a house party but she is indeed joined by her aunt Arebella, her lover, and several other parties. Our "main" couple, the one discussed on the back blurb, is Lady Beatrix Lennox and Mr. Stephen Fairfax-Lacey. Twenty-three year old Beatrix, Bea, is the disgraced daughter of a duke who had been kicked out of her father's house, and all respectable ton functions, after being found in a compromising position. Unlike other "compromising" positions this one was indeed compromising as our heroine is far from a virgin. She decks herself out in face paints, low cut and see through gowns and throws seductive glances at every man in her path. Stephen is 43 year-old member of the House of Commons whose dedication to the working man, despite being a Tory, has earned him a reputation as a completely respectable member of society as he is the heir to another dukedom. Upon first meeting Bea deems Stephen a "puritan" and he believes she is merely pretending to be a wanton and is hiding something he desperately wants to uncover. Both are wildly attracted to each other.

Our other characters include Esme, who is desperately trying to regain respectability through any means necessary, and the appearance of her lover, disguised as her estates gardner, is not helping matters. Neither is the fact that she is not 100% sure if Sebastian, Marquess of Bonnington, or her deceased husband Miles, is the father. And of course there is the fact that her husband died in a tuffle with Sebastian when he had snuck into Esme's bedchamber for a little tete-a-tete. They are joined by Lady Helene Godwin who had been kicked out her husband, Rees Earl of Godwin's, house and replaced by an opera singer in her husband's bed, mere months after their Gretna Green elopment. In an attempt to make her husband jealous she begins a fake affair with Stephen, but alas her husband has little reaction except to once again refuse her pleas for a divorce. And in a last ditch effort to keep Sebastian away from her, and protect her respectability, Esme claims to be engaged to Stephen. Neither the supposed affair or the supposed engagement make Bea happy, nor do Stephen's demands that she woo him instead of seduce him.

The most notable aspect of this book was the sheer amount of characters and "romances" involved. We got to read the story from the point of view of everyone involved and it certainly took skill on the part of Eloisa James that she was able to sympathetically portray not only our six heroes and heroines, but also different family members as well. But a 380 page book doesn't have room for 3 different romances and it shows. I was definitely left wishing I had learned more about Bea and Stephen and that their romance could have used quite a bit more fleshing out, especially in the bedroom. Both Esme and Sebastian and Helene and Rees' stories are obviously only partly explored in this book. There are numerous references to events that have happened in the past, presumably in previous books, and they will be continued in other books. While she certainly does a great job of providing enough back story that we are not left in the dark about events we haven't read about, it would have been nice to have read a whole romance from beginning to end. It was almost like she couldn't provide all the great things in a romance novel in one cople; we had sex between Sebastian and Esme, angst between Helene and Rees, and actual getting to know you and fall in love between Bea and Stephen. I also found it odd that so little mention was given to the 20 year age difference between Stephen and Bea except for him occasionally and briefly complaining about his age.

None of the couples provided much steam, although their bedroom antics were certainly laughable. My favorite is a scene where Helene throws herself at Stephen only to have both of them realize it's not what either of them want. A few allusion filled scenes between Sebastian and Esme are cut short before anything remotely exciting happens while the one (yes one) scene between Bea and Stephen is short, riddled with just plain odd happenings and is far from being steamy. I did like the way the author portrayed the relationship between Esme and her new son, William; she is overprotective after her younger brother died shortly after birth, and between Esme and her severely disapproving mother. And it was nice to read about so many fun women, with only a little in common, getting along so well and helping each other out, including Lady Bonnington reforming her prissish ways to help Esme through labor. Unfortunately Eloisa saved the best for the very end when both Bea and Esme decide it's time to declare their love and the epilogues were done very well.

Rating: I would have liked more of Bea and Stephen, less information from other romance novels and less setting up of her upcoming novels. I have given out quite a few 2 hearts recently and this isn't anywhere near as good as most of them.

To Romance a Charming Rogue

To Romance a Charming Rogue by Nicole Jordan

Years ago Eleanor Pierce broke off her engagement to Damon Stafford, Viscount Wrexham when she say him taking a carriage ride with his supposed former mistress. However she is unaware that Damon purposely created a situation he knew would cause Eleanor to break off their engagement when he realizes she expects her husband to love her. He is, of course, unable to return any loving feelings because he has shut himself off emotionally from other people ever since his twin brother died at sixteen of consumption and his parents both died in a tragic boating accident a few months later. He ran away to Italy, supposedly on a grand tour, but was actually there to open a sanitorium for those suffering from consumption. When he arrives back in England he discovers Eleanor engaged in a very promising courtship with Prince Lazarra from Italy and is determined to end their relationship through any means necessary and has no problem taking advantage of the overwhelming attraction between the two of them.

When Eleanor and Damon realize that Prince Lazarra's life is being threatened Damon accompanies them on their outings until a freak accident leads to Damon compromising Eleanor and being "forced" to marry her. Nobody is thrilled at this prospect except Damon who is still determined to guard his heart from Eleanor but is happy that at least her relationship with Lazarra is at an end. All the characters retreat to Eleanor's aunt's country estate for a house party where the "accident's" come to an abrupt end but the Bow Street Runners apparently continue their investigation- off scene. Meanwhile Eleanor engages the advice of a famous courtesan on how to win her husband's affections. She strings him along for awhile but ultimately fails in holding him off for long- as she is of course immensely attracted to him. I imagine our "climax" is supposed to be the juxtaposition of finding out the perpetrator of the attempts on Lazarra's life and the final confrontation between Eleanor and Damon over (the pathetic excuses on) why he refuses to give her his heart.

Like other Nicole Jordan books I have read, this one is crazy steamy- throughout the entire book we are titillated and briefly teased before consummation and it does not really let up for much of the book.Some of the most bizarre and, to be frank, poorly thought out and written, prose I have read. I dog-eared the pages where unbelievably unintentionally funny dialogue takes place, but had to stop halfway through as nearly every other page was bent. Favorites include; "My loins are full and aching for you," which is not at all sexy, and her assertion that she is saving herself until marriage which struck me as odd as all well-bred females in those days were supposed to do that. In addition the completely odd side-plot of attacks on Lazarra's life was ridiculous. It was not all that exciting to begin with as we barely cared for this character, but it did serve as an excuse for Damon to butt into Eleanor's life. But then it is dropped for nearly 150 pages until we discover that people have been covertly investigating and have discovered the (unsurprising) villian.

I have never been able to understand the immense appeal that "witty banter" holds for romance novel readers- at least I assume there is immense appeal seeing as how every romance novel is chock full of it. This one has enough for a dozen novels or more, and what is even more odd is that the characters actually acknowledge how much they like "sparring" with each other- referring to it as exhilarating. While I admit little jokey talk can be fun- if that is the only way two people ever seem to talk to each other it gets a little old and is certainly difficult to understand how they can even contemplate a life together. And unfortunately there is very little development of the romance between these characters so the author seems to revert to the romance novel staple (of poorly thought out books) that she JUST IS in love with him, which she realizes after much good sexin' of course, and he can't live without her vitality and zest for life.

Rating: Good sex does not make up for poorly written characters, dialogue, and ridiculous side-plot. I barely managed to keep myself from putting it down 200 pages (out of 400) in.

Simply Love

Simply Love by Mary Balogh

Simply Love is part of the "Simply" series centered around the teacher's of Miss Martin's School for Girls and is related to the Bedwyn series as well, making this the knockout of all allusion-laden [to the author's previous works] books. Anne Jewell is a teacher at Miss Martin's and the single, unwed, mother of nine-year old Davy while Sydnam Butler is the heavily scared steward of the Duke of Bewcastle's estate in Wales. She is, of course, angsty over her status as an unwed mother, the fact that she was raped, and over her family's basic abandonment of her when she announced she was pregnant. He is angsty because the entire right side of his body is covered in massive scars, including a missing eye and arm, and feels he needs to prove himself to everyone and believes he will always be lonely. The two meet when the cousin of Anne's rapist (who is a friend) invites Anne to join him, and his wife, Freyja- who is Bewcastle's sister, at the Welsh estate and the whole gang (every Bewcastle and every Bewcastle spouse) plots to matchmake for the two lonely souls.

Oblivious to the other's plotting, the two find themselves drawn to each other and engage in, what is called on the jacket "an afternoon of exquisite lovemaking," but is really just a passionless excuse to alleviate loneliness where only one of them is actually fulfilled, seeing as how Anne had flashbacks to her rapist. Orgasm notwithstanding, Anne becomes pregnant and she and Sydnam get married. David is angry because he wants a "whole" stepfather and is inordinately obsessed with his "real" father and his "real" father's family. Anne and Sydnam embark on a honeymoon journey (from hell?) to meet his family and then later they go on to hers. This makes it so that Anne and Sydnam are NEVER alone without either the Bewcastles, his family, or her family surrounding them. Her family, despite having "forgiven" her for being raped and getting pregnant, has never made any attempt to visit her, and includes her ex-fiance who dumped her and then married her sister/ best friend. At the end we are left with a roomful of screaming and laughing family members, which is just so incongruous with the rather muted plot and characters and was not at all subtly or realistically introduced into the plot.

There was a reason I did not choose to read one of the Bewcastle books I hadn't yet read; because I had read enough of them as was getting tired of them. I felt that this book was more of an epilogue to her Bewcastle books, and she just used Anne and Sydnam as an excuse when she realized there was a character (Sydnam) still out there who could easily be connected to them. We have Wulfric, Alleyne, Morgan, Freyja, and Aidan's, as well as that of Kit Butler, happiness, and potency, thrown in our faces in nearly half the pages of the book. And I was not happy with any of the other characters in the book either. Her son, David, who is supposed to be nine, acts like a four year-old: and I would know as I work with three and four year-olds all day. He is is constantly chattering about everything and flits from topic to topic, loves playing with other children- including younger children, and he lets adults hold his hand and even pick him up. I will refrain from going into detail, but the prose was absolutely dreadful as well; maudlin, overdrawn, and unrealistic dialgoue throughout. Including a line where Sydnam (a man) says to his employer, "The sight of the moon on the water like this makes me almost weep with awe."

Anne and Syd are the two most depressingly awful characters I've ever read. I cannot figure out if we are supposed to sympathasize with her about how everyone thinks they know better than her how her life shoudl be run or not- because she never stands up to anyone. Even the scenes where she supposedly does hold her own are rather pathetic and end up making me more mad at her. Especially the scene where she "confronts" her family- and that whole thing ends up disastrously. Syd is less annoying; I found myself incredibly thankful that didn't confront his French torturers and forgive them. The book seems to be intent on providing, not necessarily a happily-ever-after, but at least a peaceful, forgiveness-full ever after, even if it's not warranted. The only thing that seems to hold them together was their shared loneliness and their ability to be incredibly calm even when the situation would warrant real emotion.

Rating: Didn't like the book, didn't like the characters (any of them), and didn't like how the only focus of the book seemed to be getting every family member, and friend, ever mentioned in the entire book, into a ballroom at the end.

The Perfect Wife

The Perfect Wife by Victoria Alexander

Sabrina Winfield is the well-behaved, proper widow of Jack, the former Lord Stanford and the two of them had developed quite the reputation for recklessness until he dies while participating in said recklessness. When he died he left her no money and little choice but to turn to smuggling to earn enough money to support her daughter, Belinda. However she gives up her exciting life to ensure that no hint of scandal attaches itself to her daughter. Nicholas, Earl of Wyldewood, is the wealthy widowered father of Eric who quickly falls for Belinda. Nicholas had formerly worked for the crown attempting to capture smugglers but one mysterious lady smuggler had successfully escaped his clutches and haunted him for years.

Now perilously low on funds and with her daughter's marriage to Eric ensured, Sabrina decides to head off to Egypt in search of Napoleon's lost gold. She is possession of a map to said gold because her husband won it in a card came. Nicholas takes it into his head that Sabrina would be a Perfect Wife for him and decides to follow her and then Belinda and Eric, accompanied by Nicholas's spinster sister Wynne, conclude that Nicholas has kidnapped Sabrina and give chase. Eventually Nicholas, Sabrina, Eric, Wynne, and Belinda all join forces with Sabrina's old business partner Captain Jack in search of the gold. The gang is pursued by three of Sabrina's spurned suitors and much funny business in Egypt ensues.

Did you notice how there was almost no mention of anything romantic in my summary? Well, that is because there was very little romance in the book. There was so much plot, much of it far fetched, uninteresting, and poorly written, that it seems there was no space to write any romantic interludes between the two leads. I also cannot understand why either of these characters would be remotely interested in each other. Nicholas is boring and completely misjudges Sabrina, and it is his musjudgement of her character that causes him to fall in love with her. Belinda is the most horrid simpering character I have ever read and all I could think about whenever she was in scene was how badly I wanted Sabrina to slap her. How could I ever like a character who could allow her daughter to turn out so... awful.

There is a surprise twist at the ending that, despite poorly done foreshadowing, was still a complete shock to me and it's always interesting when a writer can do that. The experienced, worldly Captain Jack and the bluestocking Wynne develop a tendre for each other and that is an interesting side plot, although their are enough side plots in this novel to make an entirely different book. What sex there was was not at all interesting and there was far from enough, which was a shame as it could have been the glue that held this stretched thin book together. There was a nice, albeit much too short lived, bout of angst when the issue of Sabrina's past was brought up, but it was far too late to save this book.

I told myself I would reserve 1 star ratings for books I could not get through, but despite getting through this book I have to give it 1 star. I did not find any of the characters, even periphery characters likable, and the two protagonists were probably the worst of the bunch. I hated the plot, the sex, and the writing.