What the Duke Desires

What the Duke Desires by Sabrina Jeffries

Maximillian Cale, the Duke of Lyons, is stunned to receive a note claiming that his long lost brother, whom has been presumed dead for years, is alive and well. The note leads him back to a private detective agency of Dominic Manton, where he runs into Lisette Bonnaud, Dominic's illegitimate half-sister. Lisette is the daughter of an Earl and his mistress and when her father died, his heir and Lisette's other half-brother, cast off Dominic, Lisette, and her full sibling Tristan and then accused Tristan of stealing a horse so he has been living in exile for years. She is frustrated that Dominic won't let her help with the investigations so when Max shows up she offers to help him find his brother, claiming to have information. Max is skeptical but he knows that only way to possibly find his brother is to go with the beautiful young lady. The two masquerade as a married couple and go to France where Tristan has been living and where Lisette has her own connections amid the French spying agency.

Pretending to pose as husband and wife brings the two into very close contact for long periods of time. Lisette has always harbored a grudge against the aristocracy because of her father and half-brother but Max is quickly teaching her that her judgments are wrong. She finds herself falling for him and it is her own insecurities that stand in the way of her reaching out and grabbing what she wants. Max has his own family secrets involving madness and he is terrified that he will go mad and does not want to put any woman through that. The more he likes Lisette the more he is convinced that shackling her to a madman is something he could never do. The two finally go back to London where they are confronted with reality and with every member of their family. When they are both backed into a corner they say things they regret and their future is uncertain until they decide that nothing else matters but finding happiness together.

Jeffries writing is very readable and her stories always flow so well and her books manage to be both fast reads and enjoyable. Lisette's story is interesting and I am a sucker for romances with such a vast difference in social stations even if it is horribly unrealistic. I loved how her experience as illegitimate colors her view of those around her and how those views were challenged and changed throughout the novel as she saw more of the world and got to know Lyon. Max's fear of madness is understandable but is quickly starting to become overdone in romances even while I understand there really is a limited pool of "demons to haunt the hero" shticks. However, it was done the right way because, even while still wondering about this, he came to realize that there were more important things in life. It is always a mark of a good romance when both characters change for the better because of the other and this romance had that.

The two worked wonderfully well together but there was not enough sex at all and the book wasn't really all that steamy to begin with and I didn't really get the sexual tension that was supposedly simmering between them. The plot involving the lost brother, while not really touched upon in my summary, really made up the bulk of the story and I believe that was to its' detriment. The plot brought them together and was the reason they stayed together, but I quickly lost interest in it because it dragged on for so long and really distracted from the romance between them. The truth was certainly interesting and came together in a big reveal at the end but by then I had moved on and was just waiting for the story to end. The book also very nicely sets up the next book in the series and I definitely plan on reading it.

Rating: An enjoyable read with a likable romance but the secondary plot took over and distracted from the story.

Stroke of Midnight

Stroke of Midnight by Olivia Drake

Laura Faulkner finds her life shattered when a piece of jewelry stolen from a prominent woman of society is found in her father's desk. Laura and her father escape after she stabs Alexander Ross, the Earl of Copley, in the face with a letter opener, and they live in hiding for years on the continent. Laura had fancied herself in love with Alex but when he refused to listen to her about her father's innocence she realized he had probably only been courting her because he suspected her father's involvement in the theft of his god mother's jewels. Years later Laura comes back to London after her father dies while on a visit in the city and through a bizarre string of incidents finds herself employed as a companion to a friendly, if absentminded, elderly woman named Lady Josephine who happens to be Alex's aunt. Alex recognizes Laura immediately and all the old feelings he had for her come rushing back to him. He has never questioned her father's guilt but he knows that if he wants to get in her good graces, and thus his aunt's, he must humor her in her attempts to discover who really stole the jewels.

Laura's attempts to find the true thief involve attending a lot of social functions as Lady Josephine's companion in order to listen in on people's conversations and snoop in private areas of houses. Since he truly believes her father is guilty, and knows that her father was in massive debt, Alex does not really throw himself into helping Laura. She believes that the culprit is the father of the woman who competed with her for Alex's affections and that he had been having an affair with the victim of the jewel theft. She manages to confront him and when he lays out the truth about her father, she is forced to realize that she didn't know her father as well as she had thought, but she still knows that he would never have stolen those jewels. As she gets closer to finding the true thief, and closer to Alex, it scares the culprit and he takes drastic measures to ensure his crime does not come to light and it is up to Alex to save the woman he loves and clear her father's name.

This book was part of a series that had a very loose basis on classic fairy tales and this one was Cinderella as Laura was given a pair of red slippers that she wore a couple times during the book and I suppose it could be said that exciting things happened at those times, but the shoes weren't really all that special and the fairy tale thing just seemed like a gimmick. Laura was smart, determined, and obviously a very loving and dedicated daughter, but I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her attempts to discover the truth. Snooping and eaves dropping? I guess since it did bring out the culprit in the end that it could be termed a success, but she really had not been all that close to discovering the truth or even suspecting the thief. Alex was a rather boring lord who apparently investigated crimes on the sly and his most redeeming quality was his obvious love for his aging aunt. He refused to accept any other explanation for the jewels being in Laura's father's desk even while claiming he loved her and did not really help her at all in her "investigation."

The jewel theft was definitely the main theme going through this book and provided the impetus for most of the meetings, discussions, arguments, etc... between Laura and Alex. I found it interesting enough, but would really have liked more of a romance between them, absent any investigation, especially since they didn't really connect over it as they were kind of working at cross purposes, with her trying to uncover the truth and him trying to protect his godmother and prove her father's guilt. He did not come across well in these circumstances. The eventual ending to this story was predictable as every romance with a mystery and a bad guy will end with someone being kidnapped and the other coming to the rescue at the nick of time. There was definitely an attraction between the two of them and quite a lot of sexual tension that didn't really lead to too much excitement in the end. The writing was fast and engaging, which was needed in a book that I found to be difficult to relate to.

Rating: Two people who disagreed and worked at cross purposes for two long and I just never got the feeling that they belonged together.

The Handbook for Handling His Lordship

The Handbook for Handling His Lordship by Suzanne Enoch R

Nathaniel Stokes, Earl of Westfall, retired from his job as a spy for Wellington when he inherited his title unexpectedly upon his cousin's death. He finds that he cannot adapt to the lifestyle of a do nothing lordling so he decides to help other members of the peerage find items that have gone missing such as jewelry. He is enlisted by Lord Ebberling to find Rachel Newbury, his son's former governess, who went missing with a valuable diamond necklace the day his wife was murdered. Nate has no leads since the disappearance was years ago but when his young brother, Lawrence who is home after being suspended from Oxford, suggests a visit to the infamous Tantalous Club he realizes it might be the perfect place for a genteel young lady of education to hide in plain sight. Emily Portsman has been working for the Tantalous Club for three years and has taken pains to hide her true identity. When Lord Westfall shows up and his brother makes it clear that Westfall might be looking for someone she decides to figure out who he is searching for, but her interrogation turns into a night of passion.

Emily intrigues Nate and while he wants discover who she really is he cannot deny that there is something so much more than that that makes him want to get to know her. Emily is terrified that Westfall will discover who she is and that her past will finally catch up to her, but she cannot deny that she doesn't really want to avoid her. Luckily she has made quite a few friends in the last few years and she enlists their help in finding ways around Westfall's investigation. For the first time in years she leaves the gambling club and finds that time with him is quite enjoyable and that she might have finally found someone to trust. but it is still inevitable that he will realize who she is. Once he does his focus is on learning the truth and determining how best to protect Emily from the man who is obviously determined to do her harm. Together they must find a way to thwart Lord Ebberling and a way for them to reconcile the differences in their station. It takes big risks and a big sacrifice before Emily and Nate find their happily ever after.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed to find out this was a Tantalous Club book as I am getting a little tired of the gambling club trend in romance novels lately. I also did not appreciate that there were so many appearances by previous characters from other books, especially toward the end when they were present as often as the main characters of this story. Emily was a difficult character to understand as she seemed to be changing so often throughout the book, however I did admire how she took herself from poacher's daughter to an exalted position in a Lord's house through sheer force of will. Her running away from her past was understandable but considering where she ran to also rather stupid and her actions after Westfall appeared were not those of someone who was truly terrified as she should have been, and claimed to be. Westfall was a humorous character to me because of the actions he took to hide his own past as a spy from the world and I admired his determination to find out the truth about Emily and his willingness to rethink his opinions and trust her.

Nate and Emily worked very well together and I appreciated the few moments we did get to see them enjoying themselves. Unfortunately most of those moments were about both of them trying to investigate each other's motives or, later on, trying to find away to get Lord Ebberling. That part of the story was really the main focus of the novel and really a big part of their relationship as well, so while it worked and was engrossing enough, I didn't particularly get into the story or the relationship because of it. There was plenty of sex between them but it was very short and perfunctory and really not exciting at all. The Lord Ebberling plot took over and dragged on in my opinion for far too long and then ended in a completely unbelievable and ridiculous way that had me rolling my eyes. The ending of the novel itself was really interesting and the way that Nate and Emily chose to overcome the difference in their stations and avoid a complete scandal completely shocked me, but was much closer to realism than many other romances end. The writing was, as expected from Enoch, fun and fast and very well done.

Rating: A fun, fast read with two fun characters it was easy to admire and while they worked together I wish the relationship had taken more of a central role in the novel.

The Conquest of Lady Cassandra

The Conquest of Lady Cassandra by Madeline Hunter

When Lady Cassandra Verhan was caught alone with a man, society expected her to marry him, but she shocked the ton when she refused and has since been living a life of scandal and notoriety. Operating on the fringes of society she lives with her Aunt Sophia, an absentminded lady with a scandalous past of her own, but manages to maintain friendships with some of the most well connected ladies of the ton. Yates Ellison, Viscount Ambury, was friends with the man who ruined Cassandra and who was recently killed in a due, presumably over Cassandra, so he has no kind feelings towards her. However, he does find that he is very attracted to her and is interested in discovering more about a necklace he recently purchased from her at an auction. Ambury is looking into the necklace at the behest of his dying father who believes that it was stolen, but Ambury does not want Sophia to know the truth so he asks her to look into the origins of the necklace before he pays for. Cassandra is desperate for the money as her brother, Gerald, is threatening to have Aunt Sophia placed in a home and Cassandra is determined to find a safe haven for herself and her aunt.

The investigation finds Cassandra and Ambury spending more time together than usual and neither can deny the sexual tension between them, and being more progressive adults than most of their peers, they give into their mutual desire. Ambury worries he is betraying his former friend, believing that she is responsible for his friend's ruined reputation and subsequent death during a duel, and even Cassandra because he has an ulterior motive. Cassandra is concerned about letting somebody close to her after the tumultuous life she has had but recognizes that she can use all the help she can find to get her aunt to safety. And she is beginning to wonder if Ambury is right about the origin of Aunt Sophia's necklace, and the rest of the jewelry in her possession. To keep Cassandra and her aunt safe, Ambury marries Cassandra, and together they must work to save Aunt Sophia and discover the secrets behind her jewels and in the process discover a whole lot of love.

There was a lot of back story in this novel that it was important to know and there were times that I wondered if I had accidentally skipped one of Hunter's stories. It was a stand alone for sure, but I definitely got the feeling that I would have been a little less loss if I had read this missing piece. Plus the background of the characters and how they had known each other was a little confusing and seemed like an attempt to cause some drama between the characters and there was already enough of that with the necklace plot. Cassandra was interesting, if not entirely relatable because the reader didn't really learn the entire truth of her situation until near the end and while I understand the author wanted the reader to be drawn in it just annoyed me. She was strong and independent and I very much admired her for that and her vulnerability when it came to her past made her more enjoyable and realistic. Ambury was cloaked in secrets and incredibly judgmental of Cassandra and refused to see the truth of what had happened with her and his friend until the very end which made him more than a little unlikable.

Ambury and Cassandra had a deep attraction for each other, we are told, but I really did not feel the sexual tension which surprised me as Hunter is usually adept at writing this. I did not like that they had already known each other and had an unpleasant past between them because it really was not resolved to my satisfaction. They didn't get to know each other again and forgive, it was more like they moved on without any true resolution of the past. There was enough sex in the book but I wasn't blown away by it and I would have liked more of a build up of their relationship. The plot involving the necklace was very interested and I found myself drawn in to what was going to happen to Aunt Sophia and how they would thwart Gerald. Some truly astounding discoveries were made surrounding this and I was completely blown away and surprised so that is always a nice way to end a story. The writing style flowed nicely and the book was an easy read.

Rating: A book that had potential but the side plots quickly took over the book and my interest since the relationship did not draw me in.

A WInter's Scandal

A Winter's Scandal by Candace Camp 1207

Thea Bainbridge has never thought she needed more in her life than being sister to the local village vicar and helping him write sermons and help run the town as needed. But when she learns that Gabriel, Lord Morecombe, has suddenly become a landowner in the area and moved into his new house she can't help but remember their brief kiss nearly a decade ago when she had been in London for her sister's come out. Thea herself had never had a come out and had thus been relegated to spinsterhood, but she is still embarrassed and upset that Gabriel does not even recognize her. Gabriel has relocated to the country with the company of several of his friends, including Thea's cousin, Ian who is eager to escape his new wife, Emily, for the holiday season. While readying the church for the nativity scene Thea discovers a baby in the manger and, after seeing a brooch with the Morecombe crest, immediately assumes that he is Gabriel's son and wastes no time in confronting Gabriel and in the ensuing argument her hurt over their forgotten kiss is exposed.

Gabriel recognizes the brooch as belonging to his sister, Jocelyn, who absconded from her fiance, Lord Rawdon, a year ago and has not been heard from since. He teams up with Thea to help discover who left the baby in the manger, who the parents are, and where Jocelyn is. Matthew is an easy child and it does not take long for both Thea and Gabriel to fall in love with the cutie and they find themselves in each other's company quite a bit. Gabriel does remember Thea and cannot figure out how she could ever think she was forgettable and he has every intention of making sure she knows precisely how unforgettable she is and how much he desires her. When Matthew is kidnaped they have to race to save him from the kidnapper and a night spent alone in a cabin brings them even closer together. Even as they raise Matthew and work to find out what is happening, Thea believes that she will never be anything more than a distraction. When all is said and done they are left together to discover how they will make a life together work so that they can share their love with everyone, including Matthew.

Spinster sister's of vicars have been appearing a lot lately in romances I feel like and I admit that I don't really have a problem with it because I like the idea of a woman who has had responsibilities and work to do, finally finding love with a man who is equal to her and who appreciates her even while she has gone unnoticed for so long. Thea was intelligent and polite and respected by her community and wanted a family but had convinced herself she was fine with her life because she didn't believe she had a chance for anything more. She had built up the kiss between her and Gabriel because it was the closest she had come to intimacy and she was crushed when he did not remember it. She was obviously very caring because she took in Matthew and wanted what was best for him even if it meant she would have to give him up to his biological family. Gabriel was a town rake although we didn't really get too much evidence of this, which is fine with me, but he proved himself with his dedication to Matthew and his sister and with the way he treated and behaved so lovingly to Thea.

Their relationship was very well established as they spent a lot of time together and got to know each other and proved that they would work so well together. I really enjoyed reading about them together because there were just so many little moments that all added up to a really compatible couple who belonged together. They complimented each other very nicely as she grounded him and brought out the best in him and he gave her confidence in her own numerous abilities. There was some sex, not too much, but enough to give some much needed steam and establish some serious physical connection between them and I felt like it was a really important part of their relationship. The baby plot was a very important part of the story and was well blended with the romance but I did not get the sense that it was taking over and overshadowing the romance at all. It was a huge mystery and they just built on each other until I was very much confused but I really liked that I could not guess right away what was going on and the resolution was a complete shock to me.

Rating: A very enjoyable book with two compatible characters and a great mystery plot that was near perfect if it had been a little more fun or sexy.

Marrying the Marquis

Marrying the Marquis by Patricia Grasso 906

Blaze Flambeau is one of seven illegitimate daughters of the Duke of Inverary and his longtime mistress and her step-mother, the new duchess, is determined to see her and all of her sister's married off. However, Blaze is different than most of the young women of the ton because she has a connection with animals and can communicate with them. Not only is she a vegetarian (who eats eggs and butter and drinks milk) but she holds funerals for her step-mother's furs. The duchess invites 3 young men to a dinner/ party to meet Blaze; Ross, the Marquis of Awe, Ross's older half-brother, Dirk Stanley, an Earl in his own right, and Prince Lykos Kazanov and the Duke holds no doubt that Ross is the one who is meant for his daughter. Ross discovers that Blaze is just as into horse racing as he is and decides that the best way to win her heart is to help her prepare her filly, Pegasus, for upcoming races in order for her to win a Crown. Pegasus' problem is that she doesn't like to ride between two horses but because the horse race is so soon they agree that Blaze will ride her because of the telepathy.

Throughout all of this the Duke is trying to discover who murdered his horse jockey and he enlists the help of Blaze to spy on Ross, who is a possible suspect, and another daughter, Raven, who has the ability to "sense" things when she touches objects. Luckily Blaze is doing splendidly as a horse jockey, even though she has to pretend to be a man, but in an attempt to get closer to Blaze, Ross blackmails her into being intimate with him, even while ensuring that she was willing, about her participation in the race. During a second race someone attempts to poison her and suddenly everyone recognizes that there is a mad man out there trying to do away with people working with the jockey club. People also discover that Blaze is pregnant and suddenly both Blaze and Ross have a way to get what they want, marriage to each other, even while neither will admit it to the other and Ross' mother makes it clear that she does not want Blaze in her family. The race is on to discover who wants to hurt Blaze and the other people and horses in the jockey club and only then can Blaze and Ross settle in to a life of happiness and love.

I am not, nor have I ever been, a fan of paranormal romances or where there are completely unrealistic/ ridiculous little bits thrown in and her ability to commune with animals was just something that I do not want to read in my romances. Perhaps because there's always a certain amount of belief that needs to be suspended to enjoy a historical romance and ghosts and animal talking just means I need to suspend all belief and just give up and think of it all as just made up fluff. What irritates me the most about this though is that the book gives away none of this on the back blurb and was just left as an unpleasant surprise for me. Even aside from her unbelievable abilities, Blaze continued to push the boundaries of realism because of her complete lack of any of the sensibilities a woman, or even a person, in the 19th century would possess. She got away with ruining costly possessions, riding a horse in a horse race, interrupting her father's business meetings, and interfering in jockey club business. While I found her love of animals a fun character quirk, it was just done too oddly, unlike Kleypas' Love in the Afternoon.

Ross was another unexciting romance novel hero, with a take charge personality, a wealth of information on a very manly topic and a desire to protect the heroine. His desire to marry Blaze surfaced very abruptly when all he seemed to know about her was her ability to communicate with animals, which doesn't seem like the basis for a strong relationship. And his ploy to get her into bed was not only ridiculous, but also made me feel a little icky even while he "made sure" that she was willing. Sadly enough, the most interesting part of this book was the horse racing that occurred in the first half, which is not a good sign since I don't even like horse racing. The mystery over what was happening to the jockeys and the horses was interesting enough because it contained quite a lot of clues and twist and turns and, while not a complete surprise, was enough of a shock to be satisfying. I just wish it had not been so overwhelming and taken over for the romance, even if that was lackluster. I also did not like how the book so obviously sets up the next book in the series, especially since I'm not interested in them.

Rating: Two characters who were mediocre at best and ridiculous at worst with bizarre fantasy thrown in and a good mystery where the best going for it was horse racing- my least favorite "sport."

An Affair Without End

An Affair Without End by Candace Camp 528

Lady Vivian Carlyle enjoys her life; she is unmarried and while she pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable in an unmarried lady she is invited to all the right parties and everyone wants to socialize with her. She has accepted responsibility for introducing Camellia and Lily Bascombe out into society as a special favor for her friend Oliver, Earl of Stewkesbury. Oliver is proper, staid, and regarded as one of society's most upright citizens and he and Vivian have always rubbed each other the wrong way. While they were nothing more than neighbors they were able to avoid too much contact with each other, but with his cousins requiring more attention from Vivian, the two of them are thrown together quite a bit. When a friend of Vivian's enlists her help in finding a missing brooch, Oliver appoints himself Vivian's protector to ensure that she does not get into too much trouble. At first Vivian regards Oliver's attention as obnoxious, but it is not long before both of them are learning that there is far more to their relationship than they had believed.

The two become more engrossed in the search for the jewels and connect this particular missing jewel to a series of jewel thieves that have been operating in the ton for months. Their search leads them to a country estate where they are stranded for the night and after a few too many drinks Oliver finds himself giving into temptation and into Vivian. He is horrified about what happened because it goes against his code as a gentleman but Vivian has no regrets and boldly suggests that they become lovers for real. While he can't imagine actually marrying Vivian, he also can't imagine spending the rest of his life without her. Vivian realizes that underneath his proper exterior is a man that makes her life special, a man she is quickly coming to love. But the jewel thieves are still out there and are more determined than ever to protect their business, whatever the cost. When they threaten Vivian, Oliver must put aside all of his "gentleman-ly" tactics in order to save the woman he loves, put aside their past differences, and create a happy future for both of them.

An Affair Without End is the conclusion to the Willowmere series which I have enjoyed immensely and both the previous books have been building to the finale featuring Vivian and Oliver. The classic mismatched couple that complements each other perfectly, this book did not break any new ground when it came to heroes and heroines, but Camp is such a skilled author that she does manage to make her book seem new and interesting. I enjoyed Vivian because she was a social butterfly who liked the endless social whirl of the season and doing the social niceties with the ton. A lot of authors, in an attempt to be different make their heroines country mice who prefer horses and small groups, and in doing so those heroines become typical and the social butterflies are more original. So I liked that and the fact that Vivian was an older unmarried lady, 28 is not so old but is practically ancient in romances, and while she enjoyed her unmarried state, there wasn't a huge deal made about it. She was fun and friendly, but I did kind of enjoy when she learned that there was only so much she could push society.

Oliver was also the typical proper hero and I did not find quite as much fun or interesting about him as I did with Vivian, but I guess I'm never going to get tired of reading about these kinds of heroes so I liked him as much as I like most romance novel males. Their relationship went smoothly, if typically, and the sex was enjoyable if not exactly hot or inventive. I enjoyed their interactions together, especially when they were not dealing with the jewel ring. The jewel thief plot line was really intense and took up a lot of room and while it did not overwhelm the story, I did not really enjoy it at all. I was bored and just really wanted it to end, but I did like that I was surprised by what happened by the time it was revealed who the big bad guy was. I really enjoyed the side romance featuring Camellia and Vivian's brother Gregory, because it was sweet and really did feature two original characters and they worked together so incredibly well. There were a few moments in the book that featured female characters doing TSTL things and that irritated me a little.

Rating: A fairly unoriginal, yet well written, romance with two characters who had a really strong relationship, but I was unimpressed with the jewel side plot.

Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right

Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right by Kieran Kramer 327

Lady Poppy Smith- Barnes has been deflected suitors for years by claiming to be in love with the Duke of Drummond, a character made up by her chef. She is a member of the Spinsters Club and all the members have taken an oath only to marry for love and Poppy is in love with Sergei, a Russian Prince, and she has been using Drummond as an excuse. Nicholas Staunton is the newly appointed Duke of Drummond since his uncle disappeared years ago and left him the title no one has heard of. He is also a member of The Service, a government organization dedicated to seeking out spies and protecting classified information. His commanding officer, Group, has deemed that it is time for Nicholas to give up his debauched ways and succumb to his Inevitable Fate by marrying and no one is more perfect than Poppy- the woman who everyone already believes is in love with him. When Sergei and his twin sister, Natasha, comes to town, Poppy sees it as the perfect opportunity to rekindle their romance and she is horrified when Drummond appears at a party.

Nicholas is very pleased to find that his future wife-to-be is so pretty, spirited, and intelligent, and believes they will suit very well if he can make Poppy agree to the match. The two are just pretending to be in love, but she does intend to call it off even while he has no plans to agree to this arrangement. The more time Poppy spends with Sergei, the more she is beginning to realize that he is spoiled, selfish, and completely inappropriate. Surprisingly it is Nicholas she is intrigued by; she wants to spend more time with him, wants to find out what he is so secretive about, and she definitely wants more of his kisses. Meanwhile Nicholas and Poppy join forces to try to steal back the "Pink Lady" painting, which is in Sergei's possession, because it is supposed to reveal the identity of a British spy. But unfortunately Sergei's twin sister wants Nicholas, and the painting for herself, and she has trick or two up her sleeve. Poppy and Nicholas' happy ending is not a sure thing and will take a lot of trust, a lot of love, and a lot of intrigue before the two of them get their happily ever after.

Every book that features a heroine who is originally in love with another man has to carefully work around a big issue: the heroine is in love with someone, but we need her to fall out of love with him for some reason, without making her look like an idiot for falling in love with him in the first place. This book skirts that issue almost cleanly by making her very young when she fell in love, but then I found her ridiculous for falling in love so young and nurturing her love for so long even with no encouragement from him. But Poppy was still likable, especially in how eager to jump into the midst of anything without coming across as overeager or risking her life to no purpose. Nicholas was enjoyable in the way every romance novel hero is; he's strong, protective, intelligent, rich, and a member of a secret organization. Poppy and Nicholas worked well together, as evidenced by their partnership in getting back the painting, and I can see them having a happy marriage. Despite the large amounts of steam prevalent throughout the book the eventual sex scene was lackluster and faaaarrrr too late in the book.

I will admit that basically every non-romance aspect of this book was completely ridiculous and so far-fetched that the book was almost camp. The Service was confusing in that I couldn't figure out what it's mission was or why it was founded or how they had gotten all these high ranking Lords involved in it. The painting was also comical because I cannot imagine why a painter would have painted a spy's identity into a painting instead of just sending it in a note. At least in a note one could use code, instead of having an actual person painted in there. I did like that the painting turned out to be a memory of Poppy's mother and that it lead to a really great scene between Poppy and her father. Poppy and her father's relationship in general was a high point in this book because she was like a little girl desperately seeking her father's love and approval, and while he did love her he just didn't know how to show it. The Russian twins were hilarious in a very ha-ha way and nearly every scene where they were featured made me laugh as they were just so over the top.

Rating: Better than her previous effort in my opinion, with some enjoyable elements, but the book has to be read with a sense of humor. Between 3 and 4 hearts.

The Heiress

The Heiress by Lynsay Sands 320

Suzette believes that in order to save her family from ruin, she must marry as soon as possible. Her father has once again gambled his fortune away and while last time her older sister, Christiana, married a horrible man, it is her turn to find someone penniless who will allow her to use some of her dowry to pay off the debt and then leave her in peace. She and her younger sister, Lisa, head to London to find Christiana when their friend tells them that she may be trapped in a loveless marriage, and there are some interesting developments with Christiana's husband. While her husband is dead, his twin brother, who is the real Earl, is still alive and the girls must contend with him and this possible new scandal. Meanwhile the Earl's friend, Daniel Woodrow, is quite taken with Suzette when he first meets her, but when he thinks she is a fortune hunter he is disappointed to have misjudged her and claims to be broke. This works perfectly with what Suzette wants and she immediately proposes to Daniel, startling him and making him wonder if it is possible he does want to give up his bachelorhood and marry her.

Daniel, Richard, and the sisters must work hard to find out who had killed Christiana's husband and if they are now making attempts on Richard and Christiana's lives. Meanwhile Daniel and Suzette find themselves alone quite a lot and take advantage of every opportunity to make out and engage in other activities, but he holds back from taking her virginity. He worries that once he tells her that he is not really in desperate need for her money she will refuse to marry him so he swears everyone to secrecy about his financial situation. Unfortunately even after the murder is solved it does not explain away the murder attempts and which of Dickie's friends had been planning to marry Suzette. Daniel decides to take Suzette to Gretna Green before she finds out about his riches and her entire family accompany them.  He has realized that he desperately needs Suzette in his life and does not want to risk losing her and her marriage of convenience has quickly turned into a love match for her as well. However, there is still someone out there who wants Suzette for himself and he will use whatever means at his disposal to keep them apart. Suzette must take a leap of faith and Daniel must take a chance on Suzette in order for them to find their happily ever after.

I loved Suzette as a heroine because she was funny, confident, and her decision to sacrifice herself for her family was noble and oddly enough made sense for the circumstance she was presented with. I liked her relationship with her father and her sisters and I liked that she went for what she wanted when she met with Daniel. Daniel was also great, partly because I loved the way he and Suzette interacted with each other. He hadn't been born into wealth, but had had to earn it, and he had a normal relationship with his mother which I found refreshing in a romance novel. Suzette and Daniel worked so perfectly together- from helping to solve Dickie's murder, to finding their own way out of scrapes, to the more steamy aspect of their relationship. Although things are taken "slowly" for the majority of the book there is still a lot of steam going on and I am liking the new trend of having romance novel heroines be comfortable with their sexuality even if they are virginal and sheltered. There was a moment where I was a little upset with the lack of faith Suzette had in Daniel, but when I thought more about it I realized that it actually really made sense because of the relationship they had. I was really rooting for them to have their happily ever after and they were really great together.

The plot involving Dickie's murder was really well written and developed nicely in this book as we got to look at it from another side. The new plot involving this other man who wants to marry Suzette was really great because it was very subtle and unexpected and served as a great catalyst for their relationship. I also liked how, while Christiana and Richard were featured, the book did not focus on their relationship. There are a lot of complaints that this book is just a repeat of The Countess, the previous book in the series that features Suzette's sister, Christiana, and her husband, Richard Fairgrave. I will not lie; this book covers an immense amount of the same territory and about 2/3 of the book overlaps in the timeline. However, I disagree with the critics because I felt like it was different enough to warrant a separate book and that events from the previous books were not completely re-done. I do not believe that a reader could appreciate this book without having read the previous book because it does not really go into detail about what happened and really focuses only on what Suzette and Daniel are going through. I also liked that it solved a couple of the loose ends that were left at the end of The Countess and set up the last sister's book very nicely.

Rating: Another fun book by Sands, but it was not quite as good as The Countess. I liked the characters, the plot, and the pace.

Never Trust a Rogue

Never Trust a Rogue by Olivia Drake 308

Lindsey Crompton is the season's richest heiress and her mother is determined to see her middle daughter married off to a wealthy member of the ton after her eldest daughter made a disappointing match. But Lindsey has no intention of marrying a duke, or anyone for that matter, as she wants to open up a detective agency and help people investigate crimes and other problems. Thane Parker, the Earl of Mansfield, was orphaned and raised by his coldly judgmental uncle, who was never pleased by anything Thane did. Eschewing his responsibilities to his title he joined the army and made a name for himself as a war hero and when he returns to London he is toasted by all... except Lindsey. Lindsey does not buy into the hype surrounding Lord Thane, especially when she sees him sneaking around with a serving maid. When a serial killer begins targeting servant girls and leaving their bodies in Hyde Park, and then she finds out that one of the maids in his house has gone missing, Lindsey can't help but wonder if Thane is the killer. However, her fears about his past times don't prevent her from being attracted to the handsome earl.

What she does not know is that Thane is helping Bow Street investigate the murders and that all of his suspicious behavior is easily explained away. His chief suspect in the case, Lord Wrayford, is courting Lindsey, with her mother's whole hearted approval, and this worries Thane. Lindsey is outspoken and makes no pretense towards liking Thane, but he is drawn to her and can't stand the idea of something happening to her if Wrayford is indeed the murderer. He blackmails her into agreeing to an engagement with him in one months time; she is not happy at all as she suspects he is the murderer, but he believes it's the only way to keep her safe from Wrayford. She quickly realizes that the rumors of Thane's dissolute behavior have been much exaggerated and the more time she spends with him, the more she thinks that there is no way he could possibly be the murderer. But time is running out as more servants go missing and as Lindsey's mother becomes more determined than ever to make her daughter a duchess. Thane and Lindsey must discover who the real murderer and circumvent her mother's machination in order to be together.

I liked Lindsey however I couldn't help but view her desire to open up a detective agency to be rather childish and way inappropriate. A woman running a business in those days was almost unheard of and a detective agency would have been nearly impossible. Anyone who didn't know this had some major growing up to do, and Lindsey was not even a very good detective to begin with and it struck me as a little girl who wants to be a ballerina when she grows up; very immature. However, I was still disappointed at the speed with which she gave up this grand dream and did not really fight at all once she realized she was in love with Thane. Her investigative attempts came across as amateurish at best and rather ridiculous at worst. Thane was a more interesting character because he had a really past and life experience that made him more realistic in his expectations. His involvement in the murder was also hard to believe as I can't imagine an earl would have ever volunteered for such a task. The two spent plenty of time together, enough to make their relationship believable and for me to really get a sense that they worked well as a couple and that they really were in love.

There was very little steam in the book and some brief sex near the end of the book that was just rather bland. The strangling murder was a little overdrawn and rather superficial even though it took up quite a lot of the space I did not feel like it was overwhelming the love story. Lindsey and Thane had some great time together that dealt with the crime, but it was not the only thing they had in common. I am not going to give anything away, but I will say that I enjoyed never being really sure who the murderer was and being surprised by the resolution. I loved the relationship these two had with their family members. Lindsey's mother was the hatable matchmaking mamma who would stop at nothing to ensure a member of the ton for her daughter. For some reason I always like these type of women as they really add some tension to a book, while at the same time being likable because they're just doing what they think is best for their daughter. Thane also had an interesting relationship with his family members and I liked to read about his feelings about them evolved and Olivia's influence over these changes. The writing was incredibly fast and easy and I got through the book really quickly.

Rating: A decent book that was fun and easy and had a nice little mystery, but really nothing special in any sense.

The Year of Living Scandalously

The Year of Living Scandalously by Julia London 1128

When Lily Boudine discovers that she is the new Countess of Ashwood she does not want to go and dredge up painful old memories of when she accused the town carpenter of stealing the Ashwood jewels, so she sends her cousin, Keira Hannigan in her place. Keira plans on just making sure everything is all set up right for when Lily finally comes, but things quickly become complicated when the real countess is needed to sign off on documents and try to keep Ashwood from going bankrupt. So Keira pretends to be Lily and everything goes along swimmingly until Declan O'Connor, Earl of Donnelly, comes to Hadley on the Green. Declan has known Keira her whole life so he knows perfectly well that the new countess is a fraud, but he agrees to keep her secret for now. Declan has not entirely forgiven Keira for the role she played in the rape and suicide of another young girl as she was with her beforehand and provided an alibi that prevented the townspeople from searching for her so their relationship is testy at best. Nonetheless neither of them can seem to stay away from each other or deny their physical attraction.

To make matters more complicated for Keira she begins to suspect that the carpenter who was hung for thievery may have been her aunt's lover and that her aunt's death may have been a suicide. She enlists Declan's help and the two of them begin to question those who knew her aunt and the carpenter and it becomes apparent that people who scared into secrecy at the time of the trial and that a grave miscarriage of justice occurred. On top of that a Danish lord has bought the plot of land adjacent to Ashwood and is threatening to take over the most profitable part of Ashwood and open up a competing mill that would ruin the estate. Everyone in town regards both Declan and Keira (whom they think is Lily) as very eligible and try to set them up with their own eligible relatives and it drives each of them insane with jealousy. Declan has always prided himself on his freedom and he has always regarded marriage as a threat to that freedom. Keira has loved Declan for years, but she does not want to be the person who takes away his freedom. But when her secret comes out, it is Declan who comes to her rescue and who realizes that marriage to Keira would be freedom in its' own right.

Keira and Declan had a history before this story began and there were existing feelings between them, however those were mainly rather frustrating feelings and through the course of the story it was the more loving feelings that we got to read about developing. Granted, the two still did spend quite a bit of time at each other's throats and rather angry with each other. Keira was strong, capable, and incredibly smart really and it was great that she had someone to lean on in Declan who served as her helper throughout a lot of this book. Declan's desire for freedom was a little overblown and came up as a random road block and I definitely wanted him to get over it a lot quicker. The two spent an adequate amount of time together for feelings to develop, but for such a long book (423 small-type pages) I felt like it should have been much more. I did like that we got both of their perspectives throughout the book and a fairly equal amount of page space to each of them. There were a couple of sex scenes, but they mainly sprang up from arguments that the two of them were having and out of anger really.

The book was incredibly dense and long and things beside the romance took up quite a lot of the page space, which was nice because they were well done, but as usual I would have preferred more about the romance. From the beginning it is clear that the jewel theft will pay a major role in this story and it does throughout the book. It was incredibly sad and I admired Keira's determination to see things set to rights and discover the truth about what had happened, both with the carpenter and regarding her aunt's death. I felt like this plot took up a little too much of the story and did, at times, take over from the romance and while I enjoyed this plot I found it a little overwhelming for a romance. The plot with the Danish lord played a fairly minor role (that will become much bigger in the next novel in the series) but it was really well done as it showed how capable Keira was and how she dealt with pressure. It also served as a nice method for Declan to come to her aid and comfort her when she was not feeling well. As usual London populates her novel with wonderful secondary characters and while there was no one major, everyone was well developed and they served as great accompaniments to Declan and Keira.

Rating: I did enjoy this book but felt like it was too long, there was a little too much going on, and that Declan and Keira spent too much time angry at each other.

Mistress by Midnight

Mistress by Midnight by Nicola Cornick 1204

Merryn Fenner holds Garrick, Duke of Farne, responsible for her brother Stephen's death after Garrick shot him in a duel. Garrick's wife had been having an affair with Stephen and Merryn believes that in a fit of jealousy, Garrick shot him and then paid for a massive cover up. She works for Tom Bradshaw, a detective, and in her capacity as investigator she tries to dig up information about Garrick. Garrick has only recently returned to England after her inheriting the Dukedom and when he discovers that his father had bought up the Fenner estate once the line had died out. He is determined to make things as right as possible even though he doesn't expect his guilt over Stephen's death to heal itself. Merryn does not want to accept the money but her sisters, the wealthy widow Tess and Joanna Grant, agree to accept the money. Both of them were older and wiser when Stephen was killed and they don't harbor the same illusions and hero worship of him as Merryn does.

Garrick knows that Merryn is determined to bring him down but that does not stop him from being attracted to her or from feeling a deep connection between the two of them. And while Merryn wants to hate Garrick, she senses that he is truly honorable and begins to suspect that she may have misinterpreting things and that their is a deeper truth about the duel that no one has discovered. She is correct on this front as their indeed a secret about Stephen and Kitty and about the duel that resulted in Stephen's death and while Garrick thinks Merryn deserves to know he has been sworn to secrecy. One day the two are in the midst of an argument when a local brewing tank breaks and London is flooded, forcing the two of them into a derelict house for refuge. In the dark, alone for two days, Garrick and Merryn cannot maintain distance between them and by the time they are rescued they have no choice but to marry. While both admit they are in love with other to themselves, there are secrets to be revealed before either can trust the love they feel for each other.

As the completion of a series which I had heretofore loved I had high hopes for this novel, and while I did enjoy reading it, it did not live up to his predecessors. Merryn was far more irritating than either Joanna or Lottie and came across as remarkably immature in her hatred for Garrick and her inability to see anything bad about her older brother. She was also far too trusting and I found it her search for justice more rash than noble and her attempts to make things better often seemed to backfire in completely predictable ways. While I normally like bluestocking heroines as, let's be honest I would probably be one if I lived in those days, I felt like her intellectual capabilities were more for show than genuine interest and she went out of her way to be interested only in completely uninteresting topics. I did like that at the end she was wiling to use her sexuality to try to fix what she saw as problems in her relationship with Garrick and that when she did realize she loved him she wanted to get rid of any impediment in order to have a happily ever after with him.

Garrick was slightly more interesting, but still remained in my opinion, remarkably underdeveloped. He was a little too noble, a little too willing to keep his deep secret even when no one would have been hurt and so many would have benefited if he had simply told everyone. Far too much was made of this secret, and while it certainly was interesting, it spent far too long as an impediment to their relationship. As usual in books where the protagonists are feuding, I felt like these two did not spend enough time together where they were not arguing and really just talking in a congenial setting. There was quite a bit of sex throughout the book and it was very well written and very steamy and overall very obvious that these two connected on a very physical level. But it was also obvious that these two were connected on an emotional level as well and they both did want to have a healthy relationship. Joanna and Alex played an important role in this book, but it was nothing overwhelming.

Rating: Not quite as good as her previous two because Merryn was annoying, but still an interesting and worthwhile read.