Midnight Scandals

Midnight Scandals

One Starlit Night by Carolyn Jewel

Portia Temple and Connor, now Viscount Northword, were once young lovers, but a tragic accident threw their relationship apart. Ten years later, they reunite at Doyle's Grange as her brother is hoping to become a vicar for the new Viscount, and all the feelings they had come rushing to the fore. Northword is now widowed and visiting his old friend, Portia's newly married brother, who he might make a vicar on his own estate. Unfortunately Portia is feeling like a third wheel and has agreed to marry a man whom everyone but her can see is completely unsuited for her. When her brother and sister-in-law enlist his help in preventing the marriage they find themselves spending a lot of time together and some startling revelations are made in how their relationship had ended so long ago. They must forgive and forget, let go of old problems, and find a way to love each other again.

I do so much like stories involving former lovers who reconnect after many years and this story really hit all of the checkmarks of what makes this particular sub genre so great. Portia and Connor were surprisingly well developed for such a short novella and I really felt like I could connect with both of their characters. Jewel's writing is a little slow at times and very introspective but it really worked here because of the situation between her two characters. There was a lot of history and heart break between these two characters that would have been too melancholy if it had lasted for a whole book so I really feel like it was much better suited to this smaller medium. There was quite a bit of sex for such a short book, but I really feel like it worked well here because they had been intimate before. All in all this was an enjoyable read and very well suited to this format.

What Happened at Midnight by Courtney Milan

Mary Chartley had lead a charmed life until everyone discovered that her father had embezzeled money from investors and so she runs away from London, leaving behind her fiance, John Mason. When John finds out that his nephew has been robbed of his inheritance by Mary's father he goes after her determined to get it back. He finds her serving as a lady's companion, being virtually controlled by her charge's husband, and is forced to reevaluate how he has thought of this woman. They begin to meet at midnight to discuss what happened and how they can fix things, both financially and between each other because neither wants to give up the feelings that were growing between them. Together they must discover what happened to the money, break the bonds that have been holding Mary and her charge captive, and repair their own broken relationship.

This book had a lot of substance to it and a lot of things to work out and Milan did an excellent job of solving all of these problems in a believable way without any letdown. Mary and John worked so well together and we could really see that during their little midnight jaunts and I enjoyed reading about the two of them rediscovering why they had fallen in love doing so all over again. There was no sex in this novel, but it worked fine for me and fit in with how the novel progressed and did not feel like anything was lacking. The romance was great but easily the most intriguing aspect of this story was the domineering husband/ employer who completely controlled his wife and even Mary once she began to work for him. I almost wished that this was a story in itself as his wife regained her confidence and her independence.

A Dance in Moonlight by Sherry Thomas

Isabelle Endleigh is heartbroken when the love of her life, Lord Fitzhugh, chooses his wife over her, and in her grief she mistakes Fitzwilliam for her lost love and passionately kisses him. She is horrified to discover it is not Fitz, but she asks him to pretend to be Fitz for one night and during that night she discovers that they have much in common. Suddenly her one night of pretending that Fitz loves her becomes so much more and the two write letters for several months and a genuine relationship develops. Her sister is convinced that Isabelle is just after Fitzwilliam because of his resemblance to Fitz, but she is able to prove to everyone that her feelings for him are much deeper and provide the backbone for a healthy relationship between them.

I did like this story and really felt like Thomas did a great job making it clear that, although Isabelle was initially drawn to Ftizwilliam because of his resemblance to Fitz, their relationship progressed beyond that and they really were well suited to one another. Their conversations and correspondence really showed how well suited they were for each other and we could see Isabelle getting over her infatuation with Fitz as she fell in love with Fitzwilliam. He was surprisingly unconcerned about the origins of their relationship which was probably the only weird part of the story for me as he should have been more worried that she only fell for him because of his looks. I felt like this was a great finish to Ravishing the Heiress and really showed a nice happy ending.

Not Proper Enough

Not Proper Enough by Carolyn Jewel 1017

When Lady Eugenia made her debut in London society after her brother had become the Earl of Mountjoy, she charmed everyone with her country ways and joyful spirit. But the one who caught her fancy was the brilliant and eccentric Lord Robert, even if he was physically handicapped and they fell madly in love with each other. Lord Robert's friend, Lord Fenris, was also charmed by Lady Eugenia and upset both that she had chosen Robert over him and believing her not good enough for his friend, he was cruel and unkind to her. His friendship with Robert ended and Lady Eugenia vowed nothing more to do with the spoiled and selfish aristocrat. Years later, when Robert has left her a widow after a very brief but very happy and fulfilling marriage, she returns to society to introduce Lady Hester into society and comes face to face with Lord Fenris and his cronies. Fenris is determined to make up for the pain and suffering he caused Lady Eugenia and to show respect to his friend by ensuring his widow is happy. But spending time with Lady Eugenia brings back all the feelings he had hidden for so long and suddenly the idea of making her happy means marrying her himself.

He throws himself in her path, not so hard as he is a wealthy and very eligible bachelor and she is trying to find a husband for her young charge. While Hester shows more interest in discussing botany with Fenris's father, the Duke, the two amuse each other on non plant discussions. Eugenia is confused by the feelings she is having for Fenris and even while she enjoys joking and laughing with him, she cannot forget the pain he caused her and Robert and has no plans for anything more. But she cannot hide her loneliness and she misses having a man share her bed and with the gorgeous Lord Fenris doing his utmost to seduce her she decides to take something for herself. Their affair is passionate but Fenris does not know how he can convince Eugenia that what they have is more than physical or how to convince her that their relationship is not a betrayal of her late husband. Eugenia is fighting her own growing feelings and she will need Fenris to help her over her fears and worries and show her that they can have a real marriage based on trust and lots of love.

Eugenia was a very well developed character and I really felt like she was very realistically portrayed for a woman in her circumstances and I could understand her motives and what she was going through. She had loved her husband dearly and now was struggling to come to grips with her new relationship with the man she had always loathed. It was a slow going, as it should have been, but I really came to see how she could be falling for Fenris and the guilt and excitement she was feeling over this. Fenris was also very well done and I liked reading about him doing his utmost to convince Eugenia that they were meant for each other. He was certainly flawed but he owned up to his problems and he learned from his mistakes and genuinely tried to make up for the damage he had caused. The two spent a lot of time together certainly and that provided the means by which they were able to move beyond their past and I could truly feel like a real romantic relationship was growing between them. There was plenty of sex and it was pretty steamy and I enjoyed that it featured two very sexually confident characters who had no moral qualms about seeing to their own sexual pleasure and that of their partners.

I am a fan of romances where one character has carried a a hidden tendre for the other for years and have really come to appreciate one of the characters having to make up for being cruel to the other years ago. This romance has all of those things but also skirts over them rather haphazardly as their past together is really almost glossed over and though I was able to understand the gist of what had happened I really felt like they could have used a big conversation about it and a flashback to some of the pertinent issues. Their past played a big part in their current relationship and was a huge obstacle that they had to surmount and it would have been nice to understand why a little more. I especially would have been interested in learning more about Robert because while I liked that he was not demonized as the deceased spouse I would have liked to know more about what made him such a paragon. I very much enjoyed the little side romance between Hester and the Duke and how subtly it came about but I think I would have preferred more from it. While I liked that it did not take away from the main romance, since it was part of the book they should have made it more fleshed out.

Rating: A very well written book featuring two well developed characters who clearly had a strong relationship with each other, but it lacked some back story that would have fleshed it out more.

Scandal

Scandal by Carolyn Jewel 306

The Earl of Banallt is easily the most notorious rake in the ton when he makes friends with Tommy Evans and meets Tommy's wife. Sophie Evans is not his usual type, but immediately Banallt knows that she is something special and his life changes in an instant. He wants Sophie desperately and though she refuses him, he cannot get her out of his head. Sophie Mercer Evans fancied herself in love with Tommy when they eloped years ago, only to discover that he was only after her money. She knows Banallt is the same type of man as Tommy, but that does not stop her from becoming his friend. She feels safe enough with him to reveal that she is a published author of adventure romances and he reveals that he loves his wife, but does not remain faithful to her, and that he his daughter is the light of his life. But both of them are married and nothing can come of their attraction. Tragedy strikes both of them and in one moment of hurt and despair their friendship is shattered, but neither forgets the other. Banallt changes his ways and Sophie moves in with her brother and makes a life for herself, determined to keep her independence and never fall prey to a man's machinations again.

When the two meet again Banallt is more determined then ever to make Sophie his; he needs her in his life, he loves her, and he will do anything to make her fall in love with him again. Her brother is protective of her and warns Banallt away, but nothing will stand in his way this time. He slowly sets about becoming Sophie's friend again by talking with her about her writing, helping her navigate her way in a society she never experienced before she married as a young girl. Through it all Sophie can find herself falling under Banallt's spell, but she is terrified of making another mistake and refuses to believe that Banallt could ever have changed. But despite her beliefs about Banallt, Sophie wants to experience passion, wants to finally feel like she is desired, so she agrees to an affair with Banallt that is everything either of them dreamed, but so much less than what they want. When tragedy once again enters their life, it has the potential to drive them apart for good, but instead Banallt steps in to save the day with an offer of marriage. Sophie has no choice but to accept, but it will take a huge leap of faith and trust for her to finally acknowledge that Banallt has changed and that he loves her as much as she loves him.

This book has received very mixed reviews as it is quite different from most romance novels. For the most part it is chronological, but it does jump around quite a bit from when they first met, to when they were renewing their friendship, to when their friendship was originally blossoming, but it was fairly easy to keep straight. Banallt is a typical rake when the story starts out and is really quite unforgivable; he cheats on his wife, he tries to seduce his friends' wife, and he cavorts around town. He was never completely black hearted as he was a loving father so we knew it possible for the love of the right woman to save him. He falls hard for Sophie, unbelievably hard for someone who has never appreciated a woman and it is a tad unbelievable that he is so hung up on her. However unbelievable, he definitely does change and his love for Sophie is impossible to deny. Sohpie's fear of committing herself to a man with Banallt's reputation is completely understandable, but I never felt like it was overblown. I just could not understand why she had married her first husband to begin with and felt like this really should have been explained more in the book as it played such a large part in who she would become.

The romance does move rather slowly, but that is in keeping with who these two are and makes sense on the whole because Sophie just cannot bring herself to completely trust Banallt. The main focus of this book is the romance, but there is still a lot going on, especially with Sophie and her inability to truly appreciate Banallt's change. The relationship between them was quite all encompassing and progressed very slowly and methodically throughout the book. I like that we got the back story about what happened and how their friendship progressed because it made it believable that they were in love, and I liked that they were friends first. Really it was just clear that they were each what the other needed; Sohpie needed someone to be there for her who truly appreciated him, and Banallt needed someone who would expect more out of him than what he had been before. Sophie's brother is in love with Banallt's ward, Fidelia, and that is an interesting little side story. There is a lot of tragedy in this book and I will simultaneously give Jewel props for being brave enough to write something so out of the norm for a romance novel I was also rather horrified by it.

Rating: A very character and romance driven novel that was all about the relationship, which I enjoyed, but it did move slow and was somewhat of a downer. 3 1/2 hearts.

Lord Ruin

Lord Ruin by Carolyn Jewel 1002

Anne Sinclair is excited about visiting her sister Mary and her new husband because she hopes she can reconnect with Devon, the man who her father had turned away years ago. But she hurts her ankle and is forced to stay in the absent Duke of Cynssyr's room as he has been delayed in London. When Ruan, also known as Lord Ruin, shows up in the middle of the night he thinks the young lady in his bed is a prostitute his friend Devon hired for him. She is passionate and dream-like and he is immensely aroused by her and the two make love while she is under the influence of laudanum. When the two of them are discovered they agree to marry her, mainly to save his reputation as everyone knows that she was partly conscious. He is at first upset but after the passion they shared he believes they can make something of their marriage and she too is resolved to make the best of things.

It starts out as purely physical reaction to Anne as he cannot keep his hands off of her and it becomes an obsession as he wants her to become bound to him. He worries that she will leave and is jealous when any other man is with her and he wonders how it is he had previously overlooked her. Anne is scared that she will fall in love with him and he will love up to his reputation and end up breaking her heart. But they manage to work together to help Ruan and his friends find the men who have been kidnapping and assaulting women around London. Ruan has his own list of suspects and he listens to Anne as she believes that he is wrong about some of them. Ruan can't deny his feelings for her anymore and he admits he wants Anne by his side always, but the murderers are on to him and they have targeted her as their next victim so he will have to rescue the woman he loves.

This book reminds me quite a bit of Mary Balogh's writing style is it rather sedate and calm with no big blow ups or screaming. However, this book differs from Balogh in the most important ways; it's exciting, the characters actually have a real personality and I liked them, and I cared about what was happening. The opening scene in the book basically set up the rest of the book and, while it probably could be technically dubbed with the R-word, I hesitate to use it as that connotes a certain ugliness which this book, and Ruan, lacked. Others might label it rape and they would also be correct as she was drugged so if that's a turn off then don't read. Despite being calm characters both Ruan and Anne were very well written and it was easy to like both of them, especially because there was so much emotion running throughout the book, and it was so beautiful to read them falling in love with each other.

I loved reading about Ruan falling in love and how it just came over it and I know I liked it because he was a rake who was reforming with the love of a good woman. There was plenty of sex and aside from the first time it was entirely consensual even if sometimes it was unclear as to whether she enjoyed it as much as he did. I liked that he desperately wanted her and was so incredibly attracted to her that he could barely keep his hands off her. I loved knowing exactly why he was falling for her because she was really a great wife, but it wasn't quite as clear why she was so in love with him. He was a great guy and a fairly good husband, but it seemed more like she loved him because he loved her so much. The murder plot got confusing at times and I didn't quite understand what was happening through much of it but it did provide a wonderful opportunity for him to rescue her and I liked the way that was written in this book.

Rating: I liked this book a lot because it was more sedate and he was so in love with her, but I was sometimes a little overwhelmed with the murder plot near the end.

Indiscreet

Indiscreet by Carolyn Jewel

Sabine Godard has lived with her scholarly uncle, Henry, for years before they are forced to leave England when vicious rumors surface that she had slept with the Earl of Crosshaven. It turns out these rumors were merely an attempt to distract the Edward, the Marquess of Foye, from the fact that Crosshaven was secretly courting Edward's fiance Rosaline. When his wedding is called off, because of Rosaline running away with Crosshaven. Edward decides to travel far away and ends up in modern day Turkey/ Syria area and finds that Sabine and her uncle are also traveling in the area working on Henry's book. Despite the fact that Sabine is not stereotypically pretty Foye knows that there is something special about her; she is one of those mystical women that men are just "drawn" too. She is immensely intelligent, she is incredibly well read, she speaks many languages, and despite her small statue she is quite curvy. Foye is over a foot taller than Sabine, and although he is in very good shape his face is certainly not pretty and there is also a fifteen year age difference between the two.

Foye's blue eyes speak to Sabine and being with him makes her feel safe and cherished while Foye finds Sabine to be the most fascinating woman he has ever met. The two spend quite a bit of time together, but it is not long before Henry wants to move on and Sabine has to go with him. Foye makes it only a couple weeks before going after her and when he arrives at the Nazim Pasha's palace he discovers that Henry has died and that the Pasha is holding Sabine prisoner. He demands a ransom of Foye or else he will add Sabine to his harem or send him to the Sultan. Under cover of darkness Foye manages to disguise Sabine as a young male servant and Sabine travels with Foye as his dragomann as Foye travels to the English consulate. It is in these circumstances, as Foye and Sabine are stressed over being found and exhausted from the long, hot, and very dangerous journey that Sabine realizes how strong and reliable Foye is and both discover that they want to spend the rest of their lives together. But the Nazim Pasha has been following for quite some time, trying to discover Sabine's whereabouts and they must make it to the capital before he does and marry, or else Sabine could be at the mercy of the Pasha's whims.

I am always skeptical of books where the characters are "drawn" to each other and this book was quite a culprit here. Apparently all men wanted to be with Sabine because she had some indefinable quality that men can sense. As the book went on Foye did learn all of the amazing qualities that did make him fall in love with her, such as her intelligence, her loyalty to her uncle, her strength during extremely stressful situations, and the way she makes him feel like he is as beautiful as she is. I liked that the heroine was so intelligent, but it was a little too amazing that she was a fabulous artist, she spoke at least five different languages, and was just so attractive to men. Foye was just as unreadable as Sabine in the beginning with Sabine feeling this immense connection to him even though it is not until later that she learns of his commanding presence, his dedication to his loved ones, and that he makes her feel cherished. Jewel dealt with the age difference between the two very skillfully and she writes some very impressive sex scenes. They were very steamy, if not quite plentiful, but the attractin Sabine and Foye feel for each other is felt throughout the book.

I did spend quite a bit of the novel not quite so impressed with the location of this novel and there was quite a bit of talk about the different rulers and sub-rulers throughout the area. It was not hard to guess that a book that took place in Asia Minor would contain some sub-plot involving a man in authority wanting to add our heroine to his harem. Despite the fact that I knew it was coming I was very intrigued by the way Jewel pulled it off and I liked that the book did not contain vast descriptions of said harem. It was very interested, provided quite a bit of titillation, and served the story very well. Jewel also starts off certain chapters of her books with a little "introduction" that states the date, the location, the characters, and some brief information about what is going on. I did not find them particularly necessary, unless a large amount of time had gone by, and the information would be learned by reading the chapter anyway, but I did not mind them and they were certainly something new and unexpected. The book was rather slow paced with lots of descriptions that I felt went on a tad too long and not enough dialogue and there were very few parts that I found amusing (as in funny).

Rating: The book was not precisely fun but I really did find myself enjoying this book immensely. I definitely had some problems with it, but despite these I would recommend this book.