Seven Nights in a Rogue's Bed

Seven Night's in a Rogue Bed by Anna Campbell 1014

Jonas Merrick was born to the wealthy Viscount Redville and his beautiful foreign wife, but after her death the marriage certificate was lost and the Viscount's younger brother wasted no time in declaring Jonas a bastard. Depressed and lonely Redville retreated into himself and abandoned his son to the mercies of the very cruel world and Jonas grew up bitter and jealous that his cousin Williama would inherit all that should be his. As an adult he inherits his father's fortune, if not the title and estates, and wastes no time in shoving his cousin's nose in his wealth and William's own poor luck at investments. When the opportunity arises William tempts William's wife Roberta to the tables and she ends up losing badly; she promises him a week in his bed. Sidonie Forsythe has seen what marriage to the abusive William has done to her beautiful and vivacious older sister and has no intention of marrying anyone ever. She knows what will happen if William finds out what she has done so she agrees to take Roberta's place in Jonas's bed. She expects a monster, and though Jonas's face is scared, he is far more than she was expecting.

Jonas is not happy at this turn of events as he had hoped to get revenge on his cousin but he does begin to warm toward the idea of having the beautiful and kind Sidonie in his bed. But she is a challenge he was not expecting and warmed his heart in a way he had thought previously impossible. He agrees that he will not force her but will wait until she comes to his bed, however, he soon realizes that he does not want her under duress but of her own volition. With this he has proved to Sidonie that he is a worthy and caring gentleman with a soft spot no one else can see and the two tumble head first into a passionate affair. The term of their relationship was set for 7 days and all too soon their time comes to an end and Jonas knows that Sidonie is too good for him and believes himself unworthy, while Sidonie still believes she will never marry anyone and she knows that Jonas will not love her when she finally reveals the secret she has been keeping from him. The two have their pasts to muddle through before they can finally contemplate a happy future with each other.

Sidonie was, I suppose, noble for sacrificing herself to save herself, and while I recognized that her waffling was a part of her innocent allure, it was frustrating to read about her and Jonas circling each other so long and avoiding the whole reason they were there. I honestly felt like neither of them were very well developed with her being entirely concerned with her sister and finding out how good Jonas truly was behind his mask and him being obsessed with his being a bastard and not good enough for Sidonie. What did they enjoy doing? What made them real people? I just feel like I don't know. They spent a lot of time together obviously but it seemed like purposeless time with not much getting accomplished and there were only so many times I could be interested in her revelations that he was wounded and had been hiding his good self from everyone. The sex, when it finally came surprisingly late in the book considering that was what brought them together, was lukewarm and incredibly dragged out and just too much for me to find exciting. I believe the story of his scars was supposed to be an interesting little side mystery and while Sidonie apparently found it fascinating I found it to be much ado about very little.

Anna Campbell's novels are always very emotionally draining and very exhuastively detailed about the characters often angsty and mournful feelings despite the happier cover this book was no different. Both of them had so much to worry about and while I found some of it legitimate obstacles to their happiness together, such as her keeping a certain secret from him, others I found just too drawn out, such as his fear that he is too ugly and her fear of marriage. Both were understandable but if they were so all-encompassing as to stand in the way for so long it did not make sense that they would just crumble so quickly. That type of emotion also makes me question how the relationship can survive with so much... darkness (for lack of a better word) behind them. They have no experience being happy and loving with each other without all the other stuff hanging over their heads. I did find Campbell's portrayal of Roberta as the abused wife very well written as she fully developed her as a complex character with her own faults and strengths and not just a victim and I was truly impressed with her.

Rating: Far too emotional with two undeveloped characters who couldn't possibly end up having a happy relationship together.

Valentine

Valentine by Jane Feather 1227

Sylvester Gilbraith is heir to the Earl of Stonebridge but generations ago the Stonebridge family suffered a schism and since then the Gilbraith's had not been accepted, acknowledged, or even tolerated by the Earls. Sylvester had served in the army and during a battle he surrendered to the French and spent time in a French prison, but because he was hit with a bayonet he cannot remember the circumstances of his surrender. People in England believed he had surrendered unnecessarily because his friend was right behind him with reinforcements and he was prosecuted for cowardly behavior and even though he was acquitted most of London society has turned their back on him. His grandfather had no choice but to leave Stonebridge estate to Sylvester but a codicile in the will places a restriction on him; he must marry one of the old earl's beloved granddaughter's if he wants any of the Stonebridge fortune, otherwise it will be divided among the women of the family. Upon arrival at Stonebridge estates he quickly realizes that the only one of the young women who suits him is the spirited, and young, Theodora, Theo.

Theo has no intention of marrying a hated Gilbraith, but she cannot deny her attraction to Sylvester and she desperately wants to continue as master of the Stonebridge estate. Sylvester uses her attraction and her love for the land and its' people to convince her to marry him and promises that he will not continue to be a manipulative husband. Unfortunately for him Theo is incredibly headstrong and incapable of reigning in her controlling nature and wants to be involved in everything, including Sylvester's problems. She is hurt when she discovers that Sylvester kept the circumstances surrounding their marriage a secret but she still wants to make the marriage work, something she is finding more and more difficult as Sylvester continues to hide his life from her. When they go to London his past is right there confronting them and it becomes obvious that someone is trying to keep the truth about the battle hidden and Sylvester is determined to clear his name. Theo wants to help but doing so puts her in danger and Sylvester will put his own good name second after saving the life of the woman he loves.

Theo was great at running the estate and cared about her tenants and their well being but she was incredibly young, incredibly naive, and just a little too much for me. She threw little hissy fits about things that seemed inconsequential and then forgave him for his "betrayal" of not telling her about their marriage so easily. But the worst was when she was trying to figure out who wanted to harm him and did some amazingly dangerous things. Things that definitely crossed in to too stupid to live territory and made me lose whatever respect I had for her estate running abilities. Sylvester was manipulative and did lie to Theo and I felt like his attitude toward her were very paternalistic like he did not believe she could make decisions for herself. He was withdrawn but I admired his recognition that Theo's help would be really welcome on the estate. There relationship was heavily influenced by the age difference between them, she was 20 and he was 35 and it made for a rather awkward romance in my opinion. I wanted some times between them where they were working on the same level; working together.

There was some sex between them but it was annoying because all of the "affectionate" love making where they did it for mutual pleasure were just flowered over and the times when he was using it to manipulate her went into more detail. I found myself wondering several times throughout the book how much a character's realization that they are doing something wrong make up for them actually doing something wrong. Sylvester used sex several times throughout the book to end an argument or distract Theo and he knew he was doing it and promised not to do it again so I found his self-reflection nice, but it was not an admirable trait. Theo knew she was meddling and that it wasn't always the right thing to do but she continued to do it and for both characters I could not figure out why they continued to do things like this. The plot about Sylvester's cowardice charges was really interesting and I was really drawn into it and really wanted to discover what was going on. It wasn't a mystery because we were given insights into the villain's mind and I enjoyed that and felt like this aspect of the book was well done.

Rating: A not quite romantic relationship between them and I wish they'd worked better together with an interesting mystery/ side-plot.

Highland Master

Highland Master by Amanda Scott 629

The Cameron and the Chattan clans have been feuding for centuries and the cruel Duke of Albany, brother to the King of Scotland, decides that they should have a great battle to finalize everything. At the end Sir Finlagh is the only member of his clan who is left and, at the encouragement of a Cameron friend, he jumps into the river and escapes certain death. Four years later, Catriona Mackintosh finds Fin wounded in the forest and takes him back to her castle where he learns that she is the granddaughter of the leader of the Chattan Clan, the Mackintosh. Her father had lead the Chattan clan during the great battle and Fin had sworn to his father right before his father died that he would kill him. But the Mackintosh family takes him in and he realizes that he cannot kill his own host, or do that to Catriona, whom he is quickly coming to respect and like. Catriona has a reputation in her family of being a wildcat who acts and talks before she thinks and it does not take her long to discover that Fin will not stand for her losing her temper with him.

However, danger lurks in the form of the Duke of Albany and Fin is actually working for the future King of Scotland in an attempt to form an alliance with the Mackintosh. When Davy Stewart shows up he immediately begins flirting with Catriona and this makes Fin very nervous, and quite jealous but there is little he can do because Davy is royalty. The leader of a neighboring clan, the Comryns, also has his eye on Catriona and is determined to make life difficult for everyone until Catriona agrees to marry him. The meeting between Davy and the Mackintosh, and several other clan leaders, doesn't go precisely as planned and there is quite a bit of bickering. Things calm down temporarily when a misunderstanding leads Davy to insist on Catriona and Fin getting married and they are both worried about the other's feelings for them. Albany has one last trick up his sleeve and pulls out all the stops in a move that could threaten the Chattans, the Camerons, and all of Scotland. Catriona and Fin must work together to put an end to the threat and then admit their feelings for each other.

When I read a romance novel I like having some historical elements thrown in, especially when they are true and it's history I am interested in, but it is really important for the romance and the relationship between the main characters to be the central focus. Everything else to me should be in the background and should serve as a backdrop or an impetus to speed things along, but either way it should not overwhelm or take over from the next story. This book really suffered because the focus of the book was on the history and the suspense surrounding the Duke of Albany and the alliance between the Mackintosh and Davy Stewart. I felt like the romance was not even the secondary element, but more like the fourth and their relationship/ their meeting was merely the impetus for getting Fin to converse/ form an alliance with the Mackintosh and, just as bad, a way for the reader to learn more about the feuding between the two different clans. Catriona and Fin were rarely alone, had far too little quality time, and when they were together they were dealing with the other elements of the plot.

Catriona started as a likable character because she was independent and caring but as the book progressed she got incredibly annoying. It started with everyone talking about what a firecracker she was and although she eventually did show that she had a temper, by almost slapping someone who insulted her and then talking loudly without thinking (gasp!), it came across as incredibly condescending on everyone's part and made her almost childlike. Fin was one of those condescending people so it was difficult to like him and, aside from his loyalty to Davy Stewart, whom I did not think deserved it, he didn't really seem to have anything going for him. His guilt over what happened during the clan battle was ridiculous and obviously meant to flesh him out, but it failed miserably. They were apparently very attracted to each other, but absolutely nothing happened until near the very end and, without going into details, there was one scene that rather repulsed me in it's abruptness.

Rating: The book was far too long and far too little of that was on the relationship. I did not like the book, but I appreciated the writing style and the historical elements to some extent.