The Luckiest Lady in London

The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas

Felix, the Marques of Wrenworth, has buried his emotions and become the Idea Gentlemen by showing only his strengths to the rest of the world. Louisa Cantwell needs to marry a wealthy man as her mother's annuity will run out upon her death and she needs to provide for her other sister's, especially her youngest, Matilda, who is epileptic. She has narrowed her choices down to only a couple man, and has quite deliberately crossed Felix off of her list of choices because he is so far above her station and she does not waste her time. Felix notices right away that she has dismissed him and it is such a unique experience that he can't help but be both miffed and intrigued. He finagles his way into her company and while there is certainly a spark, he knows that she still veils her interest in him. He knows that his attraction for her won't be satisfied with mere friendship so he offers her the position of his mistress and then tells her unsavory details about the two different men she is currently thinking of marrying. Louisa wants Felix desperately but refuses to become his mistress, but just as she about to succumb to his unsavory proposition Felix decides that the only way to deal with his infatuation is to marry her.

Both Felix and Louisa look forward with great anticipation to the wedding night as their entire courtship had contained some barely veiled references to adventurous bed play. Felix's childhood was filled with his father's desperation over Felix's mother's inability to love and he has carried the fear of rejection with him ever since and wears his shield of strength against any signs of weaknesses, including love. When he discovers that he is indeed falling for her and that Louisa could use sex to control him and he starts to push her away. Louisa is heartbroken to realize that she has the marriage she had hoped to avoid, especially as Felix makes it clear that he does not care for her. It takes a house party to remind Felix why he wanted to marry her and to discover that falling in love can be the greatest sign of power and not the weakness he has always feared. Unfortunately Louisa discovers his nefarious plans to get her to become his mistress and she believes his protestations of love are selfish in nature. Felix will have to prove he can care about someone more than he cares about himself for Louisa to be able to admit her love for him in return.

Thomas' books are always a tad on the subdued side and have a lot of emotional upheavel that creates a lot of angst and second thoughts and passion. Her characters lend themselves to rocky relationships because of past hurts, both in previous relationships and in their current one. Louisa's cold and calculated method of going about finding a husband, instead of making me dislike her, made me admire her because of her confidence and her common sense in realizing what she needed to do to save herself and her family. I especially liked how open she was about her sexuality and her expectations about sex, and how she wasn't scared of admitting to her needs and desires, but only with Felix. It really showed that they were comfortable and trusting of each other. Felix's fear of love was understandable because of the incredible back ground and development Thomas did of his childhood, which was much more comprehensive than the typical hero back story and was done with Thomas' trademark thoroughness. It made my sympathasize with his fear instead of thinking him hardhearted.

Felix and Louisa spent a lot of time throughout the novel together; good times, bad times, and in between times. They flirted, they flirted some more, they moved in together and arranged a house party together, they gave each other the cold shoulder, they purposely tried to hurt each other, they called a truth and put on a happy face, they couldn't keep their hands off each other, they deal with betrayal, and they finally were able to recognize their own feelings for each other. It was a truly remarkable way of showing how well they would work together on a daily basis and how they would deal with the ups and downs of any relationship. The sex between them was hot and frequent and was both at times romantic, heart breaking, and sexy and it was a really nice way to bring together two people who were very sexually attracted to each other and very open about their sexual needs and wants. I really liked how the phrase "I Love You" didn't solve all of their problems and Louisa and Felix both demanded more from each other.

Rating: This book perfectly hit the spot for me and I loved both Louisa and Felix and found their relationship perfectly well written.

Midnight Scandals

Midnight Scandals

One Starlit Night by Carolyn Jewel

Portia Temple and Connor, now Viscount Northword, were once young lovers, but a tragic accident threw their relationship apart. Ten years later, they reunite at Doyle's Grange as her brother is hoping to become a vicar for the new Viscount, and all the feelings they had come rushing to the fore. Northword is now widowed and visiting his old friend, Portia's newly married brother, who he might make a vicar on his own estate. Unfortunately Portia is feeling like a third wheel and has agreed to marry a man whom everyone but her can see is completely unsuited for her. When her brother and sister-in-law enlist his help in preventing the marriage they find themselves spending a lot of time together and some startling revelations are made in how their relationship had ended so long ago. They must forgive and forget, let go of old problems, and find a way to love each other again.

I do so much like stories involving former lovers who reconnect after many years and this story really hit all of the checkmarks of what makes this particular sub genre so great. Portia and Connor were surprisingly well developed for such a short novella and I really felt like I could connect with both of their characters. Jewel's writing is a little slow at times and very introspective but it really worked here because of the situation between her two characters. There was a lot of history and heart break between these two characters that would have been too melancholy if it had lasted for a whole book so I really feel like it was much better suited to this smaller medium. There was quite a bit of sex for such a short book, but I really feel like it worked well here because they had been intimate before. All in all this was an enjoyable read and very well suited to this format.

What Happened at Midnight by Courtney Milan

Mary Chartley had lead a charmed life until everyone discovered that her father had embezzeled money from investors and so she runs away from London, leaving behind her fiance, John Mason. When John finds out that his nephew has been robbed of his inheritance by Mary's father he goes after her determined to get it back. He finds her serving as a lady's companion, being virtually controlled by her charge's husband, and is forced to reevaluate how he has thought of this woman. They begin to meet at midnight to discuss what happened and how they can fix things, both financially and between each other because neither wants to give up the feelings that were growing between them. Together they must discover what happened to the money, break the bonds that have been holding Mary and her charge captive, and repair their own broken relationship.

This book had a lot of substance to it and a lot of things to work out and Milan did an excellent job of solving all of these problems in a believable way without any letdown. Mary and John worked so well together and we could really see that during their little midnight jaunts and I enjoyed reading about the two of them rediscovering why they had fallen in love doing so all over again. There was no sex in this novel, but it worked fine for me and fit in with how the novel progressed and did not feel like anything was lacking. The romance was great but easily the most intriguing aspect of this story was the domineering husband/ employer who completely controlled his wife and even Mary once she began to work for him. I almost wished that this was a story in itself as his wife regained her confidence and her independence.

A Dance in Moonlight by Sherry Thomas

Isabelle Endleigh is heartbroken when the love of her life, Lord Fitzhugh, chooses his wife over her, and in her grief she mistakes Fitzwilliam for her lost love and passionately kisses him. She is horrified to discover it is not Fitz, but she asks him to pretend to be Fitz for one night and during that night she discovers that they have much in common. Suddenly her one night of pretending that Fitz loves her becomes so much more and the two write letters for several months and a genuine relationship develops. Her sister is convinced that Isabelle is just after Fitzwilliam because of his resemblance to Fitz, but she is able to prove to everyone that her feelings for him are much deeper and provide the backbone for a healthy relationship between them.

I did like this story and really felt like Thomas did a great job making it clear that, although Isabelle was initially drawn to Ftizwilliam because of his resemblance to Fitz, their relationship progressed beyond that and they really were well suited to one another. Their conversations and correspondence really showed how well suited they were for each other and we could see Isabelle getting over her infatuation with Fitz as she fell in love with Fitzwilliam. He was surprisingly unconcerned about the origins of their relationship which was probably the only weird part of the story for me as he should have been more worried that she only fell for him because of his looks. I felt like this was a great finish to Ravishing the Heiress and really showed a nice happy ending.

Ravishing the Heiress

Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas

Millicent, Millie Graves, has known her entire life that she is destined for an arranged marriage and has trained for it and accepted her lot in life. As the only heir to a very wealthy tinned food company she is sold off to a much older Lord, whose desperation for funds has led him to contract the marriage. When he dies, his much younger cousin becomes Earl Fitzhugh and though Fitz is in love with his sweetheart, Isabelle, crushing debt and a crumbling estate necessitate a speedy influx of cash. It takes only one meeting for Millie to fall desperately in love with her future husband, but it does not take her long to realize his love is reserved for someone else so proposes that they postpone consummating the marriage for 8 years, during which they can lead their own lives. Fitz says goodbye to Isabella and embarks on his marriage with despair while Millie is equally depressed at the thought of spending the rest of her life in love with a man who loves another woman.

Eight years later Millie and Fitz have built a life for themselves together and have become fast friends, when Isabella strolls back into town, newly widowed and wanting to reconnect with Fitz. Millie has hidden her feelings all these years and has no intention now of embarrassing herself and being rejected but inside it crushes her that Fitz wants to start a new life with Isabella. He and Isabella try to pick up where they left off 8 years ago but there is no denying that things have changed for Millie and Fitz. They have common interests and goals after having worked together to build up their estate and bring the Graves tinned food industry to immense profitability. Not wanting to leave Millie alone he decides to spend six months more with Millie in the hopes of giving her in a child and Fitz begins to realize that there is so much more to their relationship than he had thought. Millie knows that now is the time to lay her heart on the line and hope that Fitz realizes that what he has with Millie is more important than a childhood infatuation.

Millie was an enjoyable and relatable character to read about because of her unrequited love for Fitz but she was a little too controlled and in charge of emotions and so good at hiding herself. She was a good person though and she was an amazing friend to Fritz, even when it broke her heart and I enjoyed when we finally did get to see some real emotion from her. Fritz was a deeply flawed person and his flaws made him so real to me. He obviously idealized his relationship with Isabelle and held onto his vision so tightly that he couldn't see what was right in front of him. While I admit this was frustrating because I did want him to see how amazing Millie was, I could definitely understand what he was feeling and thinking. Thomas did a great job telling the story from both of their perspectives which was very important in a book like this which was so emotional. Her stories tend to be very emotional and wrenching and this book was no exception and in this instance I really enjoyed it and felt it suited the story well.

This book switched back and forth between the present and important events in their past, such as their wedding, their honeymoon, and various specific times when something happened in their relationship that illustrated how close they were going. Each section was sustained enough that I did not feel like the book was jumping and I never got confused about what was happening and when. I also appreciated it because I was glad we got to see them growing together instead of just being told they were good friends/ in love. I really felt like they had a strong relationship and that I was truly there, experiencing with them, all the pleasure and pains of discovering love. There was a little bit of sex between them, it was squashed toward the end, and it was fairly uninspiring and fast. The book was very short and I thought the end came rather abruptly and, while not precisely sure what I believe should have happened, I felt like so much angst and love deserved more than a two page quick I love you happy ending.

Rating: A very emotional book with a premise that grabbed my attention and never let go. A great relationship between two well written characters with a strong relationship.

Delicious

Delicious by Sherry Thomas 1127

Verity Durant is the most famous chef in England, both for her decadent food and for the affair she had with her employer, Bertie Somerset. At one time Verity had hoped to marry Bertie, but he believed he was too good for her and refused and she stayed on as his chef anyway. When Bertie dies, Stuart Somerset inherits the estate even though he had been born a bastard. His father had married his mother and he had become legitimate but his relationship with Bertie had been strained recently and Verity knew that they disliked each other. In flashbacks we learn that after Bertie refused to marry her, Verity decided to get back at him by engaging in an affair with his brother. But that one night turned into so much more and by the end of it Stuart knew he wanted to marry this woman whose name he didn't even know. Verity is shocked at how deep she has fallen and knows that if she cares for him she must leave him alone as marrying her will ruin his promising political career and the two don't meet again for ten years.

For ten years Stuart had been trying to forget the woman he spent one glorious night with and he finally decides it is time to marry a good young woman. But the first time he tastes the food that Verity prepares he is transported and he begins to think thoughts, lustful thoughts, he had never imagined thinking. Verity tries to hide her identity from Stuart and the two only meet in the dark or when a face is covered and it still so obvious that there is something amazing between the two. But there is still the difference in their station with her scandalous past and his future, and of course there is the problem of his fiance. Lily, Stuart's fiance, is spending more and more time with his secretary, the disowned son of a marquess, and the two of them have their own little fling going. Verity has a few dark secrets about her past and when Stuart finally discovers that she is the young woman from years ago he is horrified and despite his feelings for her he throws her out, determined to finally get her out of his mind. Of course that is impossible and he realizes that it is worth risking scandal, even his career, in order to be with the woman he loves- even if it means a few more secrets need to be revealed.

The first half of the book goes back and forth between the time around her first encounter with Stuart and when he inherits the estate and meets Verity again. In addition the book also has numerous references to things that had happened even before then and it takes a while to piece everything back together and really discover all the different secrets in the book. While at times I like to have everything just presented at once, Thomas is a master at weaving together intriguing time sequences and I liked slowly putting everything together until I had a complete picture. The secrets are also what make Verity such an interesting and enjoyable character to read about as she is older than the typical romance novel heroine and has quite a past. She is definitely not a virgin, definitely not naive or innocent, and yet she still holds out hope, even if she denies it, that one day a prince will come along who loves her. She is a superb cook and while normally descriptions about food (or clothing) don't really interest me, Thomas again blows me out of the water and made me really want to try the food. The food was really a character in itself and made the entire book very sensual in tone.

I also very much enjoyed Stuart's character and how he was trying so hard to fit into the elite political order at the expense of his own enjoyment of life and Verity is really the answer to that. It is her food that really brings him back to the living and causes him to rethink his priorities and believe that there is something worth more than becoming Prime Minister. Her whole life she had been thought of as unworthy by her family and Stuart came along and proved to her that she was special and he was willing to risk so much for her. The entire book was sensual even when nothing overtly sexual was occurring, but when there was it was almost explosive because it had been building up for so long. I really enjoyed the side romance between Stuart's assistant and his fiance because it was a good counterpoint to the complications surrounding Verity and Stuart's relationship. My biggest problem was the ending of the book because there had been so many problems about Verity and her family and yet in 15 pages or so everything was solved and made to rights. I felt like it didn't fit with what had happened in the story and made everything a little too perfect for the heartbreak that came before.

Rating: An amazing well written book with two mature and perfect for each other characters, that kind of went out with a spit at the end.

Private Arrangements

Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas 515

Phillippa, Gigi, Rowland has been raised her whole life to expect marriage to a Duke. Her parents are both in trade and she is extremely wealthy so it would not be unreasonable for her to snare a titled, but broke, gentleman. She succeeds when she catches the attention of Lord Tremaine, heir to the current Duke of Fairford. When he dies she is distraught but soon sets her sight on his cousin, Camden Saybrook, the new Lord of Tremaine and it is not long before the two have fallen for each other. Unfortunately Camden is already promised to another woman and although they are not engaged, he considers himself taken despite his feelings for Gigi. She decides to take care of the matter by forging a letter from this woman claiming to have already married and setting Camden free. He promptly proposes to Gigi, and both are secure in the knowledge that they will have a great marriage. But right before the wedding he discovers her deception and marries her with the intention of making her life miserable afterwards.

He succeeds admirably, turning her away whenever she tries to seduce him, belittling her, refusing to forgive her, and taking another woman to his bed, until she finally admits they will never have a marriage. Ten years later she wants to marry a sweet young man, Lord Freedie, and asks Camden for a divorce. He agrees on the condition that she provide him with an heir within the next year, but Gigi has no intention of becoming pregnant or divulging the truth of their relationship to Lord Freddie. Being together brings up all the happy memory of when they were together before the marriage and makes them remember all of the mistakes they had both made in the past about their relationship. They are both scared of getting hurt, afraid of making the same mistakes, afraid of putting themselves out on a limb for the other after everything that had happened. When both of them realize what is happening it is going to take both of them to gather their courage, take a leap, and start on a new life together.

Another book about a married couple who hates each other and causes each other endless amounts of misery over something really fairly miniscule. Is this a new trend in romance novels? I guess I am just naturally inclined to be more forgiving towards heroines than their male counterparts, and while I admit that what she did was certainly bad- to hold it over her head for over ten years was more than a tad much. He was unbearably cruel to her even after she apologized numerous times and even he admitted it tore him apart! I cannot understand why he just did not forgive her or at least try to make something more of their marriage. The book contains many flashbacks to their courtship/ early marriage and while it was nice to have such a rich back story I would really have preferred to see more of them in the present, getting OVER what had happened in the past. The flashbacks were very emotional and it was so sad to read about them going from the happy perfect couple to these two people who hated each other, especially about how mean Camden became towards Gigi.

I can see why Gigi would be a very unlikable character but I won't lie, I loved how honest she was about her expectations and what she wanted. She was brash, she was somewhat offensive, and she went after what she wanted. Yes- people got hurt, but it was certainly a strong heroine who remained likable despite that. I also loved that she admitted her mistake about the letter and worked so hard to bring her marriage back together. Camden was not so likable and I really wanted to slap him quite a bit and tell him to get over it. The sex was interesting because there were some scenes that were incredibly hot, some that merely stopped when things got good, and a couple that were a little squicky because they were just doing it to get pregnant. I didn't have a problem with the fact that they had each taken lovers, because they both did and, oddly enough, because there had not been feelings involved- to me that would be worse. I liked the very short romance between Gigi's mother and a younger Duke quite a bit- maybe more than the main story.

Rating: This book was too emotional for even me. I really think this book deserves about 2 1/2 because I don't imagine I'd recommend this to anyone, but I can see how some might like it.

Not Quite a Husband

Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas

Byrony Asquith married the young, charming, beautiful, and exceedingly well-liked Leo Marsden, brother to the Earl of Wyden, when she was 28 and already well established as a pioneer as one of the first female doctors. Their marriage quickly went south and when a streak of white appeared in her hair Byrony realized the marriage was doomed and asked for an annulment. Once the procedure was completed Byrony ran away to various remote corners of India where she planned never to see her ex-husband again until he comes to fetch her. Her sister, Calista, informed him that their father is dieing and sent him off to fetch Byrony back to England. As a young boy, literally, Leo was infatuated by the cool, self-possessed, girl/ young-woman whom he occassionally saw. Her proposal to him was the happiest moment of his life and he dreamed of making her lose her famous control, of making her his, of finally making her feel something fall in love with him. He was never quite sure what went wrong in their marriage but even while Byrony was contemplating asking him for an annulment he was still attempting to find ways to make her happy in their marriage. Despite the three years since the annulment he has never quite forgotten her and has in fact been following her around to different countries across the globe in different teaching positions.

He isn't happy to have been sent on this mission, but when a bout of malaria leaves them stranded for a week he takes the opportunity to discover what had gone wrong in the marriage. The two are both heartbroken to realize that neither was truly aware of the other's motives and at the realization that things might have been so different if either of them had bothered to truly talk to the other. Rumors are abounding that a mystic has been stirring an uprising in the countryside and on their journey they begin to run into large groups of people all dressed in white. When Leo wants the group to stop, Byrony insists that they carry on to the fort where it isn't long before the attack occurs. Since the fort is understaffed Byrony takes over as the surgeon and Leo takes up arms and in the heat of the fighting Leo and Byrony take immense comfort from each other and begin to rethink their annulment and the way things played out in their marriage. Byrony is the first to return to London where she is further forced to confront other demons for her past including her feelings for her father and how she has always blamed him for her unhappiness because of the way he left her with nannies when she was young. When Leo returns he finds a new and happier Byrony and both begin to realize that a new start is just what they need.

This book was just overwhelmingly bogged down in just "angsty" slightly melancholic emotions. There is no witty, fun banter until very near the end of the book and even the more loving feelings are tinted with the memories of what had gone wrong in the marriage and thus can't help but seem depressing. There was certainly plenty of angst on the part of both Byrony and Leo, especially during the beautiful scene where she reveals what she discovered about him before their marriage. At first the heavy emotions seemed to really hold back the book, but after awhile I got used to it and came to accept that it was just the way the characters really did live and feel their lives. Their wierdest part of this book involves the sex and the way that so much of it, including the sex that is referenced as having happened while the two were still married, begins while one of them is asleep. Leo started having sex with Byrony while she was asleep because when she was awake she wouldn't respond to him and then when the two reunite their are more scenes where it starts while one of them is asleep. Not exactly something I'm screaming about, but still rather odd to read about.

The author included quite a bit of historical detail in the book, and her note at the back points out that she did meticulous research so even some of the more bizarre stuff is apparently true, and it was definitely interesting to read a little bit of the British/ Indian history as a background to a story. What wasn't so interesting were the vast descriptions of Indian geography with seemingly endless lists of cities and mountain ranges and deserts that I promptly forget. The lists of ethnic/ religious groups was equally un-memorable although, I'm assuming, more important to the story than the geography, although I was able to enjoy the book without obsessing about who belonged to what group from what region. It was interesting to read about a female with a job, especially one so prestigious and unlikely for the time, and how accepting Leo is of his wife. Unfortunately neither of the characters is very well developed; Byrony seems mad at everyone from her past and Leo has apparently been "in love" with Byrony his whole life. Fortunately both undergo great amounts of introspection, confront their pasts and their feelings, and change for the better. I also liked how the book contained flashbacks to their marriage, both the happier and the sadder times and how Byrony is older (by 4 years) than Leo.

Rating: Although I did have problems with the book it was still enjoyable, not exactly fun, and a good read overall.