At the Duke's Wedding

At the Duke's Wedding R

"That Rogue Jack" by Maya Rodale
Jack Willoughby is a unrepentant and irresponsible rake while Miss Henrietta Black is the penniless and far too proper companion to cantankerous old Lady Sonophria. Jack has been tasked with bringing the family heirloom ring to the Duke of Wessex's wedding and the Duchess has been pressuring Henrietta to ensure its' safety. When she realizes Jack has lost the ring, she is furious, but the two embark on an adventure to find it. While the females are busy planning the wedding, and the men are busy admiring Jack's new pheaton, Henrietta and Jack, are trying to piece together his memories of his trip to Kingstag Castle in an attempt to locate the ring. Jack's happy attitude helps Henrietta loosen the constraints she has placed on herself. Luckily the two find the ring just in the nick of time, and in the process find that they are perfect for each other.

While I liked Henrietta finally coming into her own, I had a problem with the fact that her sense of responsibility was portrayed as something that needed to be fixed with the help of a very irresponsible man. Jack was just too much for me to handle because he didn't seem to care about anything and I could not really understand how he and Henrietta would really have a happy future together. They were too different, and he was so obviously not ready for a real relationship or anything that required him to focus and care about something than his own happiness. I would give this 2 hearts for funny times but an incomprehensible relationship.

"P.S. I Love You" by Miranda Neville
Frank Newnham enlists his cousin, Christian's, help in wooing lady Roseanne Lacy by letter as Frank is not precisely a wordsmith. As Christian and Roseanna exchange letters, Christian develops feelings for the intelligent and observant young lady and refuses to write more letters. Roseanne wonders what happened to the articulate and funny who wrote her letters when they became less interesting, but she hopes to find out at the Duke of Wessex's wedding. She is shocked when she finds herself far more interested in Frank's brooding cousin, but continues to be confused about what is happening. Christian is determined not to ruin his cousin's happiness, but it is increasingly clear that Roseanne is perfect for him.

I loved this case of mistaken identity and how Christian and Roseanne began their relationship via letters and fell in love that way. Christian was an amazing brooding hero, and the scarred face, made him positively swoon worthy, while his loyalty to his cousin was admirable. Although it took Roseanne a little long to figure everything else, I was rooting for these two from the beginning and liked reading every scene these two had together, including a very passionate kiss that burned up the pages. I would give this little short story 5 hearts and highly recommend this and other Neville books to anyone.

"When I Met My Duchess" by Caroline Linden
Gareth Cavendish, the Duke of Wessex, is preparing for his wedding to the beautiful and perfect bride, until he meets her vibrant and outspoken older sister and his plans are thrown on their head. Cleo Barrows is widowed and runs her husband's fabric shop while supporting her disapproving parents. Gareth knows he has made a mistake, but his honor demands he follow through on his promises, while Cleo would never do anything to hurt her sister. The two are thrown together during the preparation and it becomes harder for them to deny what is happening between them.

I loved this little short story as well; I think I just have a soft spot for stories where the characters have to risk hurting others to find love and find that it is worth it. Gareth was the wonderful, honorable, if not fully developed hero and Cleo was the outgoing and independent woman who is all wrong for him in the best possible way. The two aren't together that much, but what time they are together makes it clear that they are perfect for each other. The ending to this one was wonderful and of course everything turned out the only way it could have. I would rate this short story 4 hearts and really wish this had been a full length novel.

"How Angela Got Her Rogue Back" by Katharine Ashe
Angela Cowdrey is a graduate student in Michigan writing a baby about a huge scandal that took place in England 150 years ago and trying to figure out what caused a man to expose the huge secret he had been keeping. One day she falls into a lake and wakes up in England and meets a very handsome Lord Trent Ascot, whose own family is currently being sucked into the very scandal that Angela is investigating in the future. Angela confides in Trent and he reveals that he is a closeted artist and his pictures show a strong resemblance to ones Angela saw in a comic book shop. She simultaneously flirts with Trent and tries to do some investigating that will help her with her graduate paper. Unfortunately once her mystery is solved she is transported back to the future and despite her best efforts she can't seem to return to the past and to Trent. Finally Trent remembers that it was his drawing that helped Angela find him so he takes up a pen and begins to draw and once again Angela is in his arms.

This was a time traveling modern/ historical romance which is definitely not my cup of tea, but I still enjoyed reading it. I did not like that the book really seemed to be pushing the idea that Angela's life was not fulfilling despite all of her success and what she really needed to be happy was to go back to a "simpler" time and find a man. I was uninterested in the investigation she was involved in because it was ridiculous and sounded generally unimportant. I did enjoy the relationship between Angela and Trent and the relationships they both had with other characters; Trent's with his younger siblings and Angela's with other members of the wedding party. This story featured far more sex than the other stories in the book and it was fairly hot for such a short story. I rate this story 3 hearts because I did enjoy parts of it, but also had some difficulties with some of what the story seemed to be implying about Angela.

Seducing Mr. Knightly

Seducing Mr. Knightly by Maya Rodale L

Derek Knightly is the much loved, but illegitimate, oldest son of an Earl, and he has spent his life trying to prove himself to the half-brother who inherited their father's title and then threw him out of their father's funeral. He has amassed a newspaper empire, and tons of money, and one way he drew such a large readership is by featuring women writers. Annabelle has worked for the London Weekly for years, writing a popular advice column and earning the nickname, "Dear Annabelle." For just as long Annabelle has been in love with her boss but Mr. Knightly has been completely oblivious to Annabelle and she does have a tendancy to disappear in a crowd. Decided that she has had enough, Annabelle decides to enlist the help of her readers and asks them how to go about seducing a man. The column is widely popular as everyone in London wants to know what is going on with Dear Annabelle and the man they come to know as the "nodcock." Derek is excited about the surge in readership but the newspaper industry is in trouble as the influential Lord Marsden is leading an investigation into the industries investigation habits.

Marsden hopes to shut down the newspapers that are using questionable means to pry into the live's of the ton, but he makes it clear to Derek that he will look past the London Weekly if Derek marries his sister, Lady Lydia, who has the rumor of a recent scandal surrounding her. Annabelle follows much of the advice she is given, lowering her bodice, attempting flirtatious glances, and making Derek jealous with the help of her male colleagues. Derek is definitely beginning to take notice but can't believe that he could possible be the nodcock and he is trying to focus on winning over Lady Lydia who finally offers him the entre into high society he has been longing for and an escape from her brother's investigation. Annabelle is scared that she is losing her chance at happiness with Derek and decides to follow the most scandalous bit of advice and sneak into his bedchamber at night and make it clear that he is indeed the nodcock. With happiness just on the horizon they must face the consequences of angering Lord Marsden, but help shows up in the most unlikely of places, saving their newspaper, and their happily ever after.

I very much enjoyed reading Annabelle's transformation from naive and complacent, really almost a doormat, to daring and confident while still maintaining those little things that made her such a good person. I liked that she was independent and had a career but that did not jive with the woman who let her sister-in-law treat her like a common scullery maid and I found myself annoyed with her quite a bit. While some of the things she did in the name of love were out of character it worked with the story and with her development as she finally went after what she wanted. Derek was also a very well written character as he struggled to accept the life he was born into and find acceptance from his father's other family. This drove him to succeed at all costs and he was certainly driven to make lots of money in an attempt fit into the world of the ton. I could not really understand his inability to see Annabelle for three years as she was right under his nose and then suddenly find himself thinking of her constantly even if the duckling blossoming into a swan is a nice little fantasy.

Their relationship was incredibly slow in progressing as it took a very long time for Derek to notice Annabelle and it got rather boring to read about her infatuation with him while he was still hell bent on marrying the aristocracy. Even when it started to move forward it went at a snails pace with a couple of kisses leading up to one lukewarm sex scene. I was definitely rooting for them to get together and I could see that both of them were lovable/ likable people but I felt like it would have been difficult for the other to really know this as they weren't really together that much. I enjoyed the side plot involving the newspaper industry and the little bit of undercover work that was needed to uncover some very juicy gossip. It also raised some interesting issues about ethics in journalism and did a good job on portraying both sides of the story. I was also interested in the emotions surrounding his family situation and how he came to deal with that situation and would have liked more. The book was a little too cozy with other characters from the series and it got a little annoying. The writing was fast and fun, but really more fluff than I'm used to, even in romance novels.

Rating: Two well written characters, but a very slow romance that bordered on frustrating and a couple of interesting aspects that weren't romance related.