The Duke's Sweet Revenge

The Duke's Sweet Revenge by Jamie Salisbury

George Stoddard, future Duke of Sussex, refuses to believe his father when he claims that Lady Jane Campbell is bad news, but is confronted painfully with his father's truth when he discovers that Jane and his brother Jonathan, conspired to kill the Duke and frame George for the murder. Years later George returns to England, determined to stop Jonathan's marriage to Lady Sarah Davies, whose supposed fortune will prop up the Sussex coffers, as George holds the loans on the Sussex estate. Sarah is in her own financial straights after her father's bad investments and her brother's memory problems, and she is marrying Jonathan so that her vast dowry can pay off the Davies' debt. George kidnaps Sarah on the way to the wedding, planning to hold her only until after the wedding. For the week she is his captive, Sarah falls for the handsome highwayman who goes by "my lord." Her attempts to escape him, including drugging him, bashing him over the head, and escaping out the window in the rain, ignite his temper, but he never loses it with her and he refuses to allow his desire for her get in the way of his mission, even while unable to resist a passionate kiss.

When the date of the wedding passes, George lets Jane go, but not before warning her about Jonathan's true intentions. Jane calls of the wedding with Jonathan, but agrees to pretend things are still find to placate society. Meanwhile Jane discovers who George really is and George continues trying to gather evidence against his brother. He finds that he cannot stay away from Jane, even though he knows she deserves so much better than him and feels massive amounts of guilt over everything. Jane knows that she could make George back into the man he used to be and is determined to help him clear his name, even if it means making dangerous decisions. George is furious at himself, and at Jane for putting herself at risk and for continuing to go out into society even while he remains convinced that he will never marry her. Jonathan is becoming suspicious of Sarah asking questions and enlists the help of his henchmen to put a stop to it, by any means necessary. It will take the love of a good woman to help George work his way out of his conundrum and to feel like he belongs in real society and deserves a happy life.

Sarah is a likable heroine because of her dedication to her family, her love for her mentally disturbed brother, and for her common sense approach to most of her life. Unfortunately the one area of her life she doesn't approach with common sense is her relationship with George, because she falls, and succumbs to a man who treats her abysmally for much of the book. George's demons certainly excuse a fair amount of awful behavior, but his treatment of Sarah is reprehensible. He uses her like a whore at times, and then hugs her loves her which is something someone very manipulative would do. He accuses her of sleeping around and froths at the mouth at the thought of her marrying someone else even while insisting he will never marry her. What brought this book down an entire heart for me though was Sarah's completely stupid behavior with regards to her own safety. She knows that Jonathan is dangerous and possibly deadly and that someone is after her, and yet show ventures out on her own. I couldn't even excuse her because she was just trying to help George.

Their relationship was toxic for much of the book with George pushing him away because of his dangerous tendencies and past, punctuated with brief moments of passion that ended with him treating her poorly again. I just did not see how they would function normally as George spent the entire book worried about hurting her to the point that he hurt her even more. His obsession with how dangerous he was got old very quickly and ended up being next to nothing. Some of the more interesting parts of this book were told from Jonathan's, and other villains, point of view, but the ending to that subplot was abrupt and confusing. Supposedly Jonathan was caught red-handed, but I couldn't figure out how. There was a secondary romance involving a woman who eventually married Jonathan and another man, and she acted just as stupidly and naively as Sarah and I ended up disliking her quite a bit and wondering how pathetic a man would have to be to fall in love with someone that ridiculous.

Rating: Despite it's problems, I was prepared to give it 3 hearts, but the stupid decisions made by the heroine and other woman (repeatedly) dragged this book down to a VERY low 2 hearts.

Undone (A Fiery Tale)

Undone (A Fiery Tale) by Lila DiPasqua

Simon Boulenger is working as a privateer for France during the war against Spain and hoping that one day he will earn a knighthood and become a member of the aristocracy. Growing up dirt poor and alone left him desirous of a better future and he has worked his entire life to achieve a peerage. While in Italy he spies a beautiful woman singing an enchanting song and when he follows her to a convent he sees the Mother Superior abusing her. He quickly grabs her and her friend and whisks them back to his ship, determined to save her. But Angelica has no desire to be saved and is horrified when she discovers that she is on a boat back to her homeland. For years she has hidden in the convent from her stepfather, a French aristocrat placed high in the court of Louis XIV, who abused her horribly while she was in his charge. When she wakes up onboard a ship she knows she must hide her identity from the handsome captain who has kidnapped her, but she cannot resist the attraction that flares between them. Simon is taken in by Angelica's charms, but knowing that she is a virgin means he keeps his hands off of her even though he has never felt this way about a woman before.

Simon and his crew own an island in the Caribbean, Marguerite, and have formed a kind of commune there with Simon as their leader, where everyone lives in freedom and equality away from the strict hierarchy of the French court. He takes Angelica there and she quickly becomes popular with everyone in the community by taking on the role of teacher and winning the island beauty pageant. She decides that she will take advantage of the freedom and this brief chance of happiness and decides to seduce/ give into Simon and his seduction. Simon cannot help but feel guilty, but is surprised to find that Angelica is keeping a secret from him and when it is revealed he knows that he must avenge her and the wrong that her step father did. Simon has his own score to settle back in France with the King's finance minister and in one final act of gallantry he sets aside his own desires for the good of France and to make Angelica happy. Angelica knows that the only thing that matters is a life with Simon, aristocracy be damned, and together they forge a future on their tropical island paradise.

Angelica was a hard character for me to explore because she seemed completely unable to make up her own mind about what she was like. She ran away from her horrible situation and France and escaped to a convent where she planned to stay, hidden away from the world for the rest of her life and I could really not get behind that. She, like many romance novel heroines, had a magical touch with children and fancied herself their savior and was apparently able to take over a school at a moment's notice and win the hearts of all the previous little kids. As a teacher this annoys me. Unfortunately Simon was equally hard to like as a pirate and as a person obsessed with gaining a title even while creating his own little commune type paradise island. He was, of course, a womanizer, but he immediately gave up his ways after laying eyes on Angelica once. Together there was an immense sexual attraction that burned up the pages with the sizzle but was a bit of a let down towards the end once the relationship had been consummated as the sex didn't live up to expectations.

Their relationship was also hard to truly get behind as there was a lot of misunderstanding, a lot of holding something back from each other, and just generally a lot of brooding and frustration. I admired how Angelica was able to move past her attack and lead a full life and that Simon helped her through this and supported her once he realized what had happened. And I enjoyed reading a little bit about French history in a romance novel and, although much is fiction, it still provided a nice variation from my usual English books. There was the small bit of intrigue involving revenge against her step father and Simon's determination to bring down those close to the King who were out to do harm against the people. It was not overwhelming, but did seem to come up at weird moments throughout the book before finally being solved quite neatly at the end. The island commune was absolutely laughable and I rolled my eyes every time the magical Marguerite was mentioned.

Rating: An interesting book but not for the romance or the characters, but for the historical information and back ground.

The Seduction of Scandal

The Seduction of Scandal by Cathy Maxwell 1016

Lady Corinne's father, the Duke of Banfield, has ordered her to marry Freddie Sherwin, heir to the Earl of Bossley, despite Corinne's numerous objections because he believes that the Earl will one day be prime minister and wishes to maintain strong connections to power. Corinne is determined to avoid marriage to the odious man so she runs away by hiding in the Earl's undercarriage. She is very surprised when the carriage is held up by the highwayman who has been haunting Bossley's land, The Thorn. The Reverend Will Norwich is Bossley's foster son, rescued from a life on the streets of Barbardos, so he owes Bossley his allegiance, but he could not stand by while the Earl robbed his tenants and threatened their livelihood. He disguises himself as the Thorn to steel back the money that Bossley has stolen and gives it back to those it belongs to. But on that fateful night his trip out leaves him in possession of a box full of French coins, proof that Bossley is a traitor, and Lady Corinne, who was accidentally shot by Bossley's men during the nighttime scuffle.

Corinne thinks this new development is perfect and he wants to hide out with Will in the rectory until the wedding date is past so that she can avoid marriage. Will is not so keen on the idea because he worries that Corinne showing up as his cousin will spur questions he is not willing and unable to answer and because of the attraction he has had for Corinne since he first saw her at a dance years ago. Corinne admires Will's passion for life, his dedication to serving the people in Ferris, and his determination to right the vast wrongs he sees in the world. Will is surprised that Corinne is not the spoiled aristocrat he had assumed; she mixes well with the common people and so obviously cares about those around her and she admires his work on behalf of the people. But her parents and the Earl are still expecting her to marry Freddy and their is the question of why the Earl of Bossley decided to adopt a random orphan. The most important thing for both of them is to never lose faith in the other and to trust that their love, and the help of their friends, will see them through and end with their happily ever after.

Corinne was certainly self assured and determined to take her life into her own hands, which I appreciated, but I appreciated even more that she went about it in a manner that seemed on track with a woman of her era. She had no choice but to escape and, while recognizing her options were limited, she took what she saw as the only way out of a bad situation. I liked how she felt that something was missing from her life because that is a feeling I could relate to and how she found meaning through helping others and being a part of something larger than herself. Will was a perfect foil for this because he had a greater purpose in life and it was wonderful reading about how she supported and worked with him doing something that was so important to him and how it became important for her. I liked that he was torn over what he was doing because of his relationship with Bossley but that he did what he knew was the right thing. I especially liked that he wasn't a typical heroine because although he was handsome, he was rather awkward and gawky at times and not always confident.

I really enjoyed their relationship and how it progressed throughout the novel from mere acquaintances to annoyances to respecting the others decisions and choices to falling in love. It went rather slowly, but that was in comparison with the book which moved incredibly fast and they didn't really get to know each other until the last half of the book and I felt like I spent a lot of time waiting for them to get together. There was very little lust or sexual tension between them which matched with the very little sex that was fairly lackluster and uninspiring. There was the huge mystery plot involving Lord Bossley and his treatment of his workers but it also extended beyond that to encompass treason and the search for the truth about Will's heritage. It was incredibly well done, integrated throughout the story and was exceedingly important for the development of their relationship and did not take away from the romance at all. Secondary characters throughout the novel were well written and as usual Maxwell's writing is fast, fun, and easy to read.

Rating: Maxwell writes two fun to read characters with a great mystery surrounding them and while I liked that they had a solid relationship I wish it hadn't been so slow to develop and there had been more lust.

The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton

The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton by Miranda Neville 730

Celia Seaton finds herself locked in an attic in nothing but her night shift after being kidnapped by a man in a cart. She manages to find her way down out of her prison only to come face to face with her enemy, Tarquin Compton, who had humiliated her in front of the ton. Celia is by no means wealthy, but was presented with a brief opportunity to come out in the ton, but it was brutally ended when Tarquin, the arbiter of ton fashion, compared her to a cauliflower. She had taken up employment as a governess before becoming engaged to the master of the household who had kicked her out when a strange man was found breaking into her room. Tarquin had been hit over the head by her own kidnapper and when he regains consciousness he has severe memory loss and, hoping to get a bit of revenge and hoping he will help her, she tells him his name is Terrance Fish and that the two of them are engaged. They begin a journey hiding from the man chasing him, sleeping outside in the air, fishing barehanded in streams, and Celia falls in love with this new man.

Only after they have seduced each other does Tarquin remember who, and what, he is and he escorts Celia to his estate in Yorkshire where his dragon of an aunt finds her announces an engagement between them. Tarquin is furious to have been tricked, but he cannot get Celia out of his mind, even as he recognizes that she is completely wrong for him. With the help of his close friends, the Iverleys, he devises a plan to keep Celia safe from those who kidnapped her and it is only a coincidence if it means that she spends more time in his company. She is hidden away at a house party that his friends invite him too, where it is more apparent than ever that Celia will not fit into his world. But when her room is again invaded, Tarquin is there to rescue her and they must work together to figure out who is after her and what they want. Secrets about Celia's past are revealed and she fears more than ever that she will lose Tarquin, but pretending to be Terrance Fish has changed him and he has learned that he wants different things in his life, especially the beautiful and unconventional woman he loves.

This book started in an awkward manner because I felt like I had missed a first chapter because it was the middle of a kidnapping and it took awhile for all of the characters' backstories to be explained. It was an interesting, and new, approach for me, as I feel many authors really start with an explanation and since I'm used to that it just sat oddly with me. Celia's background was intriguing and I really liked the brief glimpses into her past that we got and, although I wish we had gotten more, I really felt like it contributed to making her the person she was. I especially liked how accepted Tarquin was of it and how he encouraged her to be more open with herself about how important her past was. I love that she had a sense of humor about her situation and looked out for her best interests, while still caring about other people. I'm used to reading about maids or titled ladies, so I was also intrigued that she was somewhere in between, but I never completely got into her character and it might come back, again, to the fact that I felt like I missed the beginning of the story that wasn't written.

Tarquin really surprised me because most romance novels heroes make fun of the dandies, but he was actually a dandy himself! However, I guess because Neville didn't want to offend the readers sense of masculinity, he was a dandy who apparently only dressed in black and white. Make of that what you will. I will admit his obsession with fashion was a turn off for me, say what you will, even though it was explained during the course of the book as his reaction to being a lost little boy. It took him a long time to "grow up" and realize what he wanted in his life and came across as rather immature. The kidnapping and side plot took up a large part of this book and, although it did not overwhelm the plot, I still felt like it was too much. I did not really get into it but I will admit that there were some interesting twists and turns that I was definitely not expecting. I also enjoyed the brief glimpses we got of Sebastian and Diana, from one of my favorite romance novels, The Dangerous Viscount, which were fun and totally in keeping with both of their characters.

Rating: A fun little book, with a heroine I came to find interesting, but far from Neville's best work with some plot problems that I didn't really like.

A Duke's Temptation

A Duke's Temptation by Jillian Hunter 509

Lily Boscastle is in London for the first time and plans to enjoy herself as she is accompanied by her cousin, Chloe, and her fiance, Jonathan Grace. Together they all attend a literary masquerade where Chloe encourages her to be a little dangerous and flirt with the handsome Samuel Charles Aubrey St. Aldwyn, Duke of Gravenhurst. Samuel finds Lily beautiful and enjoys their flirtation in the garden and decides that he would like to see much more of Lily, especially when he discovers she is a huge fan of the Wickbury novels. The Wickbury novels are immensely popular throughout London for their good versus evil and the beautiful heroine at the center of everything, but what no one knows is that Samuel is actually the author. He is upset to discover later that Lily is already engaged and finds that he cannot get her off his mind. Shortly before her wedding Lily accompanies Jonathan to a party and witnesses him shooting a man and while everyone believes she is imaging things, she calls off the wedding and decides to enter service. Samuel has not been able to get Lily out of his mind so he is, of course, the aristocrat who offered her a place to work.

He decides to play the part of one of his characters and "kidnaps" her on a wild carriage ride across the moors, and is genuinely shocked that she does not appreciate his acting out of her favorite novels. Once at his house Lily discovers that Samuel keeps a very odd residence, with a very private East wing that no one is allowed to enter and very friendly servants who have no qualms telling their master what is what. Lily fits right in and the more time they spend together, Samuel reaffirms that Lily is the woman for him and decides that he should let her know his big secret. Once he tells her that he is Lord Anonymous, Lily wonders why it took her so long to figure out and she is more than happy to help him and his servants act out scenes and work through his writer's block. It helps that he finally has her in his bed where he has wanted her since they first met. Things begin to be so clear for both of them until someone involved in the shooting that Lily witnessed, resurfaces and begins making threats. Samuel is terrified that something will happen to Lily and he will do anything to protect her. Their happily ever after will come with a price and though things may never be perfect they will work together to make anything possible.

I know that I said I would never read another Jillian Hunter after the disasters of her last two books, but she is so convenient to buy and I always look at how short her books are and think that I should give it a try since it won't waste too much of my time. I did like Lily at first because she was the naive country relation who was looking for a good time in London and she certainly succeeded in finding it. Over time she began to wear on me because it seemed like she could never decide what she wanted, her mind changed constantly, and she did nothing for me. I could not understand how she was able to be a housekeeper with no training and no experience, even in such an eclectic household. Samuel was another blah, except he was an insane blah because there were times that he did not seem to distinguish himself from one of his characters. It was one thing to act out what he had written, or do a little fantasy role play, but sometimes he really did genuinely believe that he was his characters or he at least got far too into the pretend play. Maybe I am more interested in female writers, but I had no interest whatsoever in his writing and it seemed like his novel played a more important role than their relationship.

Their relationship progressed awkwardly from the party where they met to him almost immediately deciding that she was the one and deciding that hiring her as a housekeeper would be a good idea. They did not really spend much time together, or at least not much time I considered quality time. There was a lot of chatter about nothing important, talking around important issues, and weird "banter" about his books both before and after she knew he was the author. Suddenly he knew he wanted to marry her and she agreed, and while he saw her as the person who would be both his muse and his reality check, I did not really see what she saw in him except for his writing. I also had issues with the fact that she accepted that there would be times when he abandoned her for his writing and indeed, in the brief epilogue, we got a little taste of this. There was plenty of sex between them, but it was not hot at all, and was often filled with play from his stories which I definitely did not like. The bizarre little plot where she witnessed a murder had potential but ended up completely fizzling and being ridiculously easily solved. I was hoping for some jealousy/ angst between Samuel and her former fiance but none was forthcoming.

Rating: Another stinker from Hunter with interesting, if not entirely likable characters, and craziness that I just could not enjoy in the book. At least it was short.