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.

The Importance of Being Wicked

The Importance of Being Wicked by Miranda Neville

Lady Caroline Townsend shocked society, and her very uptight family, when she eloped with the notorious Robert Townsend. Their marriage was full of adventure and laughter and friends, but was marred by Robert's addiction to gambling and booze and his passion for expensive art- even when they could ill afford it. Caro is now barely scraping by, trying to pay off Robert's debts, and still finding a way to feed and house various starving artists and friends at fabulous parties. Thomas, the Duke of Castleton, is stuffy and pretentious; the complete opposite of the carefree Caro, nonetheless the two are smitten with each other at first sight. He originally plans to court her cousin, the very wealthy Anne, because it is a family tradition and his own parents love match ended poorly. But he cannot contemplate marrying anyone else when the only thing he can think about is Caro. Caro wants to get underneath "Lord Stuffy's" stuffy exterior, but he is far too noble to engage in the affair that she desires. When he proposes she is initially reluctant, but agrees because she does like him and because she imagines a life where she no longer has to worry about money.

Their marriage is founded on lies as Thomas is actually having money problems of his own because of some poor investments his father made. Caro is hiding a very valuable Titian painting that Robert bought and continues to go around with her wild friends, whom Thomas disapproves of, and who relentlessly make fun of her new husband. Thomas is remarkably good natured about everything because he quickly finds himself in love with the vibrant woman he has married. Caro is more reserved, because she cannot trust anyone after her marriage even while refusing to admit how truly awful her marriage was. She takes Thomas in hand, helping him learn how to please a lady in bed, but refuses to give up her wild lifestyle. A tragic accident has Thomas taking Caro to his estate to recooperates and in the glow of family and love they find a way to make their relationship with as Caro realizes she truly loves the amazing man she has married and lets go of her past.

Caro was a heroine who brought up a lot of contradictory feelings from me. I admired her carefree and lively spirit, her independence, and her refusal to conform to society's norms or her husbands orders. However, I feel like so much of what she did was just beyond stupid, was rude to the man who pledged his love and life to her, and was done purely to cause a stir. She continued to flirt and support people who were rude to her husband and who openly tried to seduce her. She refused to admit to herself for the longest time that her marriage to Robert had been unhappy and focused on the things about him she had liked and the reasons she had run away with him in the first place. She was drowning in debt and continued supporting random people and held onto a valuable painting that could have solved her problems. Her inability to admit her feelings for Thomas were bewildering because she simultaneously didn't want to make herself vulnerable to hurt like she had with Robert, but she also refused to admit that Robert had ever really hurt her (even though he SO obviously had).

I liked Thomas, pretty much except for his relationship with Caro because he was such a wet blanket. He just nodded and took her to bed when her friends mocked him and she laughed. He had a modicum of anger when he found out she'd gone horseback riding without him (she wasn't good and it was dangerous) and with a notorious rake who hid in their closet and listened to them have sex. I feel like they were so mismatched that there was no way their relationship could ever survive. There were a few sex scenes between them, mostly just kisses and then fade to next scene. I liked that Caro was the more experienced of the two and had to help him learn, but unfortunately she didn't shy away from talking about her deceased husband while with Thomas. How did he not just walk out? And why did she harbor this mythical love for the horrible Robert? I feel like so much of what she did was to get back at her overly controlling parents, which makes sense for a teenage, but when you're a grown woman still pulling that gimmic it's just ridiculous.

Rating: I could not stand Caro and thought that Thomas was a fool for imagining himself in love with her and I can't believe two such mismatched people could ever be happy.

Confessions from an Arranged Marriage

Confessions from an Arranged Marriage by Miranda Neville

Minerva Montrose is a promising young debutante with high ambitions for herself and a determination to marry an intelligent future politician who she can help in his chosen career with her own knowledge and strength. Lord Blakeney comes from just such a political family as his father, a Duke, is head of their reform party and is very influential in those circles. Unfortunately Blakeney does not fit in well with his family, barely scraping by in school and spending his life in dissolution until the Duke is forced to cut him off and Blakeney heads to the country to learn how to run an estate and to avoid scandal. Upon his return he comes face to face with society's disapproval and in a drunken stupor mistakes Minerva for a far more scandalous woman and the compromising position they find themselves in forces marriage. Minerva is horrified but believes that with the connections of her new father-in-law she can turn Blakeney into a politician and possible create the life she had always hoped to live. Blakeney is upset at the way that things have turned out and does not know how he can ever live up to his new wife's expectations.

However he harbors a major secret that prevents him from ever moving in the circles that Minerva expects; he is dyslexic at a time when the disorder is not recognized and sufferers are treated as imbeciles. He has worked hard to cover up his inabilities and the only person who he has told is his former friend Gideon, who has since come to blackmail him into keeping his silence. Minerva cannot understand how her husband, who she is quickly coming to see possesses far more intelligence and charm than he has let anyone guess, could be so uninterested in the world around him and on the political influence that his father could pass on to him. He is convinced that if she were to learn the truth about him the trust and the feelings that have grown between them will end but he underestimates his wife and before he is even aware she knows she is out defending him and doing all she can to help the man she loves. Blakeney had never imagined that a woman could love him like Minerva and suddenly he sees a real future for himself- a future with Minerva by his side.

I really liked a politically active heroine, especially at a time when females were not really that involved in politics and that she had causes and knew what she was talking about and didn't just give lip service. I liked that she had expectations for herself and wanted a certain life and was not ashamed of it. She was incredibly intelligent, she was dedicated but I wish we had seen more of her from a non-political, non- scheming perspective. Blakeney was completely un-political and I couldn't help but wonder if I should disrespect a grown man, with so much power to wield, could ignore the well being of his country. His dyslexia was really well integrated into the story and explained a lot about how he operated and I really liked that it was explored early on and not a big startling reveal at the end. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to have something like dyslexia before it was diagnosed and the stigma that came with it and I think Neville did an incredible job of realistically exploring how someone in Blakeney's position would have responded to his predicament.

I really enjoyed how much time Blakeney and Minerva were together and I would say the majority of the book was about them and their relationship even when it did not seem like it. They spent a lot of time together and I liked reading about how their mutual feelings of mild dislike progressed to respect and love through getting to know each other and they each opened the other up to new possibilities. I really felt like this was two amazing people who together became even more amazing thanks to the other and that makes for the best kind of romance novel. There was a decent amount of sex in the book, they were very attracted to each other, and there was a really nice sexual tension throughout the book and it was fairly hot if not scorching. There was a blackmail plot that kind of made random appearances and I felt like it was rather awkwardly done but it did not take away from the story at all and showed how great Minerva and Blakeney worked together as a team.

Rating: Another knock out book from Neville who has a talent for writing characters and romances that I fall in love with.

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.

Never Resist Temptation

Never Resist Temptation by Miranda Neville 1226

Jacobin le Chastelux is furious when she discovers that her uncle has gambled her away in card game to the Earl of Storrington. She runs away with the pastry cook and takes a job in the Prince Regent's Brighton kitchens where she pretends to be a man. Anthony, the earl of Storrington, has been trying to ruin Candover since his own father revealed on his death bed that Candover had had an affair with Anthony's mother and eventually driven her to her death. He hoped that winning Jacobin would accomplish this, but instead he is left with no recourse but to hire the greatest pastry chef he can find in the hopes of luring Candover into another card game. He knows he must get the Regent's pastry chef and is stunned to discover that he is actually a woman! When Candover is poisoned by food she made Jacobin tells Storrington that she is Jane Castle and neglects to mention any relation to Candover before accepting the position as his pastry chef.

She is stunned to discover that Anthony actually has no need of a pastry chef as he doesn't quite like pastries. She is then horrified when she realizes that Anthony is letting his thirst for revenge control his life. It does not take Anthony long to find out who "Jane Castle" is and that she is very eligible and someone he could see spending his life with. Meanwhile Bow Street is still searching for the chef they believe poisoned Candover and Jacobin and Anthony decide that it would be good for them to do a little investigating of their own. Working with Anthony and seeing how honest and noble he is, makes it easy for her to succumb when he asks her to become his mistress. But when he reveals that he has known who she is all along, she is furious and refuses to have anything more to do with him. Anthony, however, is not going to lose the woman he is coming to love, even if it means moving beyond his obsession for revenge. Bow Street comes calling and it is up to Anthony to save Jacobin from jail and let go of old hate so that his new love can flourish.

It took me a while to get a feel for Jacobin and I could not figure out if it was because I felt like I had absolutely nothing in common with her, or if it was just that I found her cooking abilities completely unrealistic. I don't need to feel like I'm a twin with the heroine, but I felt almost no connection with Jacobin at all and I would have liked something to hold on to. I can say that she was a very intelligent, very capable woman who avoided being sassy or fiery while still holding her own with Anthony. I liked Anthony more than Jacobin as his thirst for revenge was a wonderful weakness that set his eventual change so much more wonderful. There was a lot of interaction in between the two of them and they ran the full gauntlet of happy to angry to scared and I really enjoy that in a book because it shows how well the two work together. Their relationship progressed very well and I could really sense that these two were beginning to fall in love and that it was genuine. The sex between them was really hot and I wish there had been more of it.

I really enjoyed the plot surrounding Candover and the supposed affair that he had been having with Anthony's mother. It was very well written, it was interesting and ended with a very nice and interesting little twist, and it provided an opportunity for Anthony to show how much he cared about Jacobin. Candover was a great villain and I like how his hatred of Anthony and Jacobin was explained at the end and that I was kept wondering about his motives. I was a little bit food-ed out after reading Delicious by Sherry Thomas, but was pleasantly surprised to find that food played a much less important role in the story, while still being well described and quite delicious sounding. I especially enjoyed the old fashioned recipes and historical details the author added through the food and the research she must have done. I also really liked the little extra bit about the marital problems between Anthony's sister and her husband and it lead to some nice family time where Anthony confronted his own issues with his mother, but I wish there had been more of it.

Rating: A very interesting book with a fairly strong relationship and well written characters with a wonderful mystery and great side plots and secondary characters.

The Dangerous Viscount

The Dangerous Viscount by Miranda Neville 1025

All her life Lady Diana Fanshawe wanted to marry Lord Blakeney, but her families eccentricities and her mother's lack of social grace left her with no choice but to marry the elderly Lord Fanshawe. He was a wonderful man but upon his death she is determined to make a happier, more passionate marriage- preferably with Blakeney. But when she meets Sebastian Iverley, Blakeney's cousin, at a house party she enters into a wager with Blakeney that she can get the somewhat cold and very awkward Sebastian to kiss her. Sebastian has always disliked his cousin for the cruel way he was treated and he is excited that such a beautiful and amazing woman has taken an interest in him, even contemplating marriage. When he finds out the motive behind Diana's kiss he is devastated but wants his revenge. He inherits his uncle's title and becomes Viscount Iverley and gains a little town polish and sets out.

The new polished Sebastian catches Diana's eye but at the same time she misses the old Sebastian and especially does not like the way he is suddenly so much more suave with the other ladies. Sebastian is trying to make Diana jealous and it works but at the same time he begins to think he cannot go through with his revenge. Diana realizes that she wants so much more from Sebastian and this time it is her contemplating marriage. But Sebastian has trouble letting go of past hurts and Diana is crushed when he reveals he knows about the kissing bet and that he only slept with her revenge. But circumstances arise that continue to throw them together and this time it is both of them that want more than they believe the other is willing to give. It takes work and time and lots of caring for them to work out that they love each other and are perfect for each other despite any problems they may have had in the past.

So now I get to go through and detail every sing thing about this book that I loved and I'll start with what made this book so great, and so different from many other romances; the characters. Diana is simply amazing as she is not a simpering virgin, she didn't have a horrible marriage, and she is more experienced sexually than Sebastian. Her desire to marry Blakeney makes sense and I loved reading about her realizing that Sebastian was the man she wanted to be with and how she loved him. Sebastian was even better as he miles apart from the typical romance novel hero as he was a virgin (!!), he was awkward socially and just did not have the confidence and lady killer attitude of so many, and I loved that so much. He is suffering from so many past hurts with what he went through and it really effects his relationship with Diana, but he is able to get through it with her help.

Diana and Sebastian went together very well and really complemented each other perfectly as she had the confidence and he really needed her push to get the ball rolling for them. He did take his revenge a little too far obviously and it really hurt her, but it was all made okay because as their relationship progressed they both realized they had made mistakes and wanted to move past them so they could be with the other. The sex was amazing and super hot, even his first time and when done for revenge purposes, and I enjoyed reading about these two getting together. Diana's obsession with marrying Blakeney in the beginning may seem ridiculous but when taken into account with her having no choice during her first season it made sense to me that she kind of reverted back to her childhood crush and was rather blind to his faults. Secondary characters were a treat as usual, especially Diana's eccentric family.

Rating: Absolutely amazing! I knew I was going to like it right away because Sebastian was just so different from the usual hero and it continually got better.

The Wild Marquis

The Wild Marquis by Miranda Neville 425

Juliana Merton is recently widowed and took over the running of her late husband's bookshop, although she has noted a marked decrease in purchases since a woman gained control. She desperately wants in to the auction of Lord Tarleton as it is expected to be quite amazing; and she wants the opportunity to buy back the folio of "Romeo and Juliet" that had once belonged to her mother before being "stolen." Cain, the Marquess of Cain, is just as eager to attend, not for any deep love of books, but because he wants to regain his family's copy of The Hours, which mysteriously disappeared from the collection around the same time Cain's saintly father kicked him out of the family. Cain engages the help of Juliana to aid him at the auction, and it is not long before he realizes he wants quite a bit more from her than help with musty old books. Juliana harbors secrets of her own as her parents were never married and she had been thrown out by her grandfather's heir as soon as he inherited.

Juliana suspects someone has been coming into his her shop and messing around with things but she cannot prove it. She and Cain finally give in to their mutual passion for each other, but Juliana is too proud to be his mistress and she does not think he can give up his philandering ways. When she discovers some inconsistencies in the books for sale at the auction, Chase begins to suspect that Juliana was born legitimately and that someone is desperately trying to cover it. A wrench is thrown into things when Cain's sister shows up in an attempt to get away from their incredibly religious and probably insane mother who wants to marry her off to a middle aged clergyman. Cain knows that if he wants to gain guardianship of his sister he needs to marry well and he is even more determined to prove that Juliana is legitimate. But there is still someone out there, the person who killed Julianna's husband and covered it up as a robbery, who is trying to protect a deep dark secret. Juliana and Cain must work together to discover Juliana's past and try to bury Cain's own dark secrets to make a life together.

These were two great characters who were meant to be together. Juliana is perfect as the tradewoman who is struggling to make ends meet and trying to forge a name for herself in a very male dominated field of book selling and purchasing. There was one odd scene where she regarded a different tradesman with quite a bit of distaste because of his very middle-class back ground which I found very odd though. Cain was much more interesting to me because I always like stories that involve religion driving someone to madness or at least to do some incredibly horrific things and that was certainly the case in his family. He was also great because he was genuinely interesting in and wanted to help the women of the country try to improve their lots and he was certainly a lot more progressive about equality between the sexes than most of his peers (even some people today, really). Cain and Juliana worked very well together and they had some absolutely great moments. The sex was very hot although I wish there had been quite a bit more of it.

I won't lie: I admired the author's attempt to think of a new and interesting way to bring intrigue into a romance novel, but I just found it very difficult to care about these books. I guess there's a reason author's usually turn to spies and treason and not rich men stealing very old books from each other. It did get more interesting as we learned that there was some real intrigue going on as we had to discover who wanted to cover up Juliana's legitimacy, where the proof of said legitimacy was, and how exactly Cain's father had been blackmailed into giving up his copy of that devotional work. But the books themselves, although I have great love for them, did not really do it for me. In addition it was very difficult for me to keep all of the character's straight and they really seemed to blend into each other. I had to be introduced to someone several times before I remembered who he was and why/ if he was important, and some of them I still am unsure about. I also liked the little side plot involving Cain's father's madness and the secrets he was hiding as it was resolved, but did not end in a happily ever after and ruin the realism of it.

Rating: Above average book, but there was not all that much to distinguish it in the romance department, only a very well written mystery plot (or two).