The Bed and the Bachelor

The Bed and the Bachelor by Tracy Anne Warren 831

Lord Drake Byron is more concerned with his mathematical theorems and scientific experiments than about women or his house so when his housekeeper abruptly quits he needs to find a new one quick. Anne Greenway is young and beautiful, but she has all the credentials and Drake convinces himself that he will avoid her and not act on the attraction he feels for her. But Anne is actually Sebastianne and has been placed in Drake's home by a French agent in order to find the mathematical cipher that Drake designed for the English army to communicate in code. Her "handler" Vacheau has made it clear that if she fails, her two younger brother and her scientist father will suffer, so Anne agrees to the mission even though she does not like the idea of spying or of betraying anyone. Unused to her new housekeeper duties Anne relies on the help of the other servants in the house, who are far nicer and more accommodating than she had expected and makes her upcoming betrayal even harder to contemplate. And her attraction to Drake proceeds to get in the way of everything.

Drake has the best of intentions but Anne's scent lingers throughout his house and he cannot get his mind off of her. In an attempt to get the key to his safe that he wears around his neck she gives him a sleeping potion, but when she goes to retrieve it he wakes up in a daze and, in the haze of sleep and lust, they mutually seduce each other. Drake knows that there is something special with Anne and although she refuses to become his mistress, he accepts her becoming his secret lover. Anne wants nothing more than to continue this new idyll, but Vacheau is hounding her to get the cipher and she knows her newfound love is destined to end horribly. She knows what she must do, even if it leaves her heartbroken and Drake hating her, but she holds something back from Vacheau to use as leverage. Drake too has been falling in love and he realizes that he needs Anne in his life, so he is horrified to find that she has left him and then determined to get her back. He is willing to risk everything to find her and will do anything to save the woman he loves and bring her back into his life forever.

I have found the previous books in the Byron series enjoyable, if rather bland, and I expected this to be about the same and for the most part it was, except I found it lacking in some of the elements I have come to expect from Warren. Having Anne be a spy for the French was certainly a surprising change to the book and I was torn between liking her for being different and being annoyed at the copout explanation we were given to explain her actions. While I found her dedication to her family and her willingness to do anything, to protect him, I was confused as to why she was even asked to perform this task as she seemed like just a random person in France. Aside from her spying, which was not really done in a heart-racing manner, there wasn't much about Anne that set her apart and I felt like she was rather bland as a character in general which I know is weird to say about a spy, but is indeed true. Drake was a great mathematician and while I like the idea of a handsome and studious hero, he also fell rather flat to me and I just didn't get any feeling that he was a something special.

I have problems when the author has to tell the reader how attracted the characters are to each other because it does not come across naturally in the book, and this was the case here. I definitely feel the lust or steam and even when they (fairly early on) consummated their relationship, I felt like it was rather lackluster and altogether unimpressive. Their relationship never picked up momentum in my opinion; it just dragged on and on and on with very little being accomplished. Suddenly she was in love with him and he was giving up his bachelorhood to marry a woman he barely knew. It did not make any sense to me because they spent so little time together, just learning about each other in their relationship as master and servant which isn't appropriate. The spy sup-plot took over the book to me and took over the romance and I felt like the author wanted to write a mystery and threw a romance in there only because it was expected. As usual Warren's writing style is superb and I enjoyed the flow of the novel, but I did not like the numerous appearances by previous characters to let us know how happy everyone was.

Rating: Two uninteresting characters engaging in a slow and sedate romance with a side-plot I did not enjoy, but the book was readable and I did find moments that I liked.

Wicked Delights of a Bridal Bed

Wicked Delights of a Bridal Bed by Tracy Anne Warren 915

A year ago Mallory Byron learned that her fiance, Michael Hargreave, was killed in battle and has been in semi-mourning ever since. Her family has begun to worry about her and hope that she will manage to become a little more like her lively self for the house party their family is hosting. Her brothers friend Adam, Lord Gresham, will be there and he has always been able to bring Mallory out of her doldrums. Years ago Adam had discovered that he loved Mallory but because of his penniless state he backed off and it broke his heart to see her become engaged to another man. Although he regrets that Michael died he has no intention of backing off Mallory this time and he intends to win Mallory's love and marry her. Mallory does not know how she will ever get over Michael as she loved him, but spending time with the fun and very caring Adam helps quite a bit.

One night she has a nightmare about Michael and when Adam goes to her bedroom to comfort her the two are discovered and are forced into a marriage. Although this was not what Michael wanted he is still determined he can make her love him and sets about doing everything in his power to make her happy. Mallory is surprised but delighted at how happy she is in her marriage and it is not long before she is falling in love with him. Before she can tell him her feelings Michael reappears back from the dead and wants to get back with Mallory. Adam is furious and after catching them in a compromising position he forbids Mallory from ever seeing Michael again. Although Mallory agrees initially she knows that something is not right in her marriage if Adam cannot trust her and when she goes against his wishes they are both confronted with the fact that life without the other is not worth living.

I've read all of the books so far in the Byron series by Tracy Anne Warren and they have all been satisfying reads if not precisely exciting. I feel like she stepped it up to the next level in this book with some more interesting twists and a little reversal of roles. I am used to heroines who have pined after the hero from afar and I enjoyed having the opposite be true in this book. It brought some really nice moments of emotional turmoil on his part and it was interesting to read this from the perspective of the hero. There were also his issues with her relationship with Michael and how he was first worried she wouldn't love him as much as she did Michael, then frustrated, then angry and acting like an ass and knowing he was but not knowing how to fix things. But through it all it was great because it was obvious that he loved and wanted what was best for Mallory. It made him a very well done character.

Mallory was well done as well because she was torn between her love for Michael and wanting to move on but feeling guilt about doing so. Her mourning of Michael is realistic and then her slowly managing to fall in love with Adam was just icing on the cake. Michael's return from the dead was something I was able to guess fairly early on and while it might not have been a big shock it was a really important addition to the plot because it made them realize some truths about their relationship and they had to confront their fears about their marriage and find a way to make their love work. The most annoying aspect of this book was the fact that the other Byron's payed such an amazingly large part and while it made sense because she was unmarried and still living at home it was just too much. Too many concerned, overly happy people who were literally all expecting and having lots of children.

Rating: A great job from Warren who makes a wonderful addition to her Byron series with great characters and romance.

At the Duke's Pleasure

At the Duke's Pleasure by Tracey Anne Warren

This is the third book in the Byron family saga and features the eldest brother, Edward Byron, the Duke of Clybourne. Edward has been engaged to Claire Marsden since he was 12 and she was an infant, while he has always planned on "one day" going through with the wedding, he has continually put it off. Finally deciding that it is time to begin fulfilling his duty and marry, but he is very surprised to find that Claire does not feel the same. Claire had worshiped Edward and looked forward to their marriage until the day she overheard him in the garden calling her a child and proclaiming he had no interest in her. Now she is determined to protect herself and her heart from Edward and sets out to get him to call of their wedding by behaving poorly. From interactions with a courtesan to curricle races in the park to cutting her hair off and gambling in a famous gentleman's club, Claire is certain that eventually she can get Edward to call of the wedding. Edward knows that something is up but he is equally determined to marry Claire because it is his duty and because he very much wants the lovely young lady.

Even while pushing Edward away Claire finds herself succumbing to his sensual manipulations whenever the two of them are alone. She knows that she is giving him a terrible amount of power to hurt her in the future, but she cannot help herself. Meanwhile Edward has been disappearing and backing out on planned outings and Claire is worried that he is engaged in an affair. But Edward is actually trying to track down "Wolfe," a French spy who has been passing information to the French for years, and who is responsible for his brother Cade's torture while he was on the continent. Making one last desperate attempt to get Edward to call off the wedding Claire agrees to a ride in the park with a notorious rakehell who has already ruined one innocent young woman. Edward is furious and goes riding after Claire and in the aftermath she reveals her feelings for him. Edward is ecstatic and quickly moves up the wedding, but he still needs to fulfill his obligations to the crown. Fed up with Edward's disappearance Claire follows him into the lion's den and it is up to Edward to save her and prove that he can make her as happy as she has made him.

I have always very much liked how Tracy Anne Warren writes- it's descriptive and fast without being fluffy or overdrawn. The romantic development was very much underdone. I find that more and more I am left wondering why a heroine fell in love with the hero. We were told multiple times that Edward was handsome and yet he does very little that would clarify why she fell in love with him. I could see why Edward had fallen in love with Claire to some extent as she was adventurous and caring but I wish that had been developed more as well. For a while the Wolfe plot was completely separate from the romance, and thus seemed completely unnecessary, but near the end I really started to get into it and see how it worked towards the romance. It really led to some nice juicy emotions and angst as Claire worried that Edward was having an affair and did not love her.

The sex was very delayed in this book and was a little smashed into a small portion of this book, although it was very well written. I was a tad thrown by the brief spanking scene that was not really worked in to a sex scene and was really a punishment for her admittedly outrageous behavior. He apologies profusely and apparently it didn't hurt too much, but I just felt like he was treating her like a child. This flows nicely in to Claire's behavior while she is trying to get Edward to call off the wedding. I tried to understand her way of thinking but I cannot figure out how she truly believed she could do all these things, get him to call off the wedding, and her parents, or another man, would still take her back. She was doing things that would leave any unmarried miss completely scorned by society and all she could think was that at least she would not be married to a man who did not love her. I don't usually comment on the cover but this one is just crazy- it seriously looks as though the woman's neck is twisted to an incredibly painful degree.

Rating: I am aware that it seems as though I found so much to dislike in this book, and I need to work more on describing what I did like. I did enjoy this book and will continue to look forward to more book's from this author and about this interesting family.

Four Dukes and a Devil

Four Dukes and a Devil

The Irish Duke by Cathy Maxwell
After her parents died Susan Rodgers was forced to make a living for herself preparing girls for marriage. A huge tool in her recruitment box has been her knowledge of the Order of Precedence which states that the Irish Dukes come last. She shares this knowledge, secure that no Irish Duke will ever challenge her and is shocked when Roan, the Duke of Killeigh, comes to confront her. Both are swept up by the challenge the other presents and it is not long before Roan is trying to convince the beautiful spinster to marry him. Susan is terrified that Roan should be looking for a woman of his own station, but he manages to convince her that she is the only woman he wants. An incredibly short mini-novella, not much happens in the way of relationship development in the story. It is certainly a fun and entertaining read, but too much was crammed into too few pages. There is a brief steamy scene at the end that, while good, the space may have been better used showing the reader why/ how exactly these two came to fall in love with each other as a few stolen moments at very crowded balls doesn't really explain it very well.

The Duke Who Came to Dinner by Elaine Fox
Gray Gilliam's sudden decision to take a walk on the wild side ends badly when a dog runs off with her clothes while she's skinny dipping. Luckily the only person who notices her nude midnight bike ride through town is Sam Gregory, the owner of said dog. Gray is trying to loosen up while on vacation in Massachusetts and on a trip into the town's local dive has her leaving with Sam. Unfortunately back at her place the residential "ghost" decides to take matters into his hands and the night ends with some haunted visitors. The story was certainly better developed than "The Irish Duke" and the relationship really had time to really grow. The two spent quite a bit of time together and made a really good couple. I liked how it ended on a hopeful note, rather than on the completely finished note as it made it obvious that Gray and Sam were going to spend more time getting to know each other. The ghost story seemed a little blah and extra little nonsense, but the steamy scene, while not super exciting, made it obvious that when given more room to breathe, Fox is a great, sexy, writer.

Devil to Pay by Jeaniene Frost
Blake has been possessed by the an evil demon and is determined to kill himself even though the demon is doing everything he can to ensure that Blake does not do so. When Elise finds him reeking of death and blood she is drawn to him and brings him back to her lair. She is a vampire and has no fear of the demon but she wants to help Blake get rid of this evil force that has taken over him so she takes him to her sire, Mencheres. The only way he can think to get rid of the demon for good is to bring Blake out to the deserted salt flats and kill him with no living thing around to ensure that the demon does not possess another being. Elise is terrified of losing this person she is drawn to like she has not been drawn to before, but she is faced with the harsh truth that it may be the only way to get rid of this demon. I am not really much for demons and other-worldly creatures in my romance, but it was certainly exciting. Elise and Blake spent so much time together it was easy to see that they had enough time to "fall in love." There was quite a bit of action, some angst, and some nice steam. Despite this book being fairly good I would not have liked to read a full-length novel about this.

Catch of the Century by Sophia Nash
Victoria Givan is escorted her three orphaned charges to their apprenticeship when she is nearly run over by the a carriage. John Varick, the Duke of Beaufort, feels a sense of responsibility for the four travelers who seem intent on walking 60 miles and he offers them a ride. A night at a coaching inn makes it clear that the two can not be trusted to keep their hands off each other. When he discovers that their planned accommodations are ruins he then corrals them into staying at his house where Victoria and John do their best to avoid each other and temptation. That is easier said than done and after being bitten by a snake Victoria fears dying a virgin- a problem John is more than happy to rectify. The incident forces John to realizes that he wants the maddening and beautiful Victoria in his life for good, but Victoria fears joining John's hoi-paloi world and runs away. It is up to John to find her and convince her that she matters more than any society matron's opinion. Very fun and definitely the perfect length with nothing left out. I feel too much more of their argumentative banter would have gotten on my nerves and the reunion of past-novel characters would have been too frustrating. More a turn towards what I really like to read.

Charmed by her Smile by Tracy Anne Warren
India Byron is desperate to get rid of an unwanted suitor named Peter Harte and enlists the help of the first man she stumbles upon to kiss her. She was unaware that her savior is none other than the Quentin, the Duke of Weybridge, who has quite the reputation as a the ton's most notorious rake. Quentin has been suffering from a bout of ennui and spending time with this spunky, talkative, and very clever young lady may be just what he's looking for. Despite hitting it off so well Quentin is reluctant to make their relationship real even as they continue the ruse at a house party in order to ward of Peter's advances. Quentin is determined to keep things between them away from talk of marriage, even as he is coming to realize that India may mean so much more to him than he was expecting. I think it really says something when I felt like an 80 page short story was too long and I kept waiting for it to end. So many of the parts I wish had been expanded, such as them really getting to know each other and talking were washed over while other things (so unimportant I don't remember) were dragged out. There was steam, but this was the only story that didn't feature a "completion" and it certainly had plenty of angst.

Seduced by His Touch

Seduced by His Touch by Tracy Anne Warren

Seduced by His Touch is a very loose sequel to Tempted by His Kiss and follows the story of Cade's brother, Lord John Byron. Despite his previous luck at the card table Jack finds himself at the losing end of a 100,000 pound pot to Ezra Danvers. Danvers offers Jack a deal; marry my daughter and not only will he erase that 100,000 he'll throw in an additional 120,000. The only catch is that Grace Danvers is a 25-year old near spinster giant with red hair and a penchant for frequenting lectures on flowers. Danvers warns Jack that Grace can never know about their agreement and that Jack must make Grace fall in love with him or she won't agree to marry him. Jack immediately sets about following Grace to her favorite haunts and making himself very well known to her. Grace is startled and a bit wary when the brother of a duke starts paying so much attention to her, but is quick to recognize that Jack is not your typical nob. Their courtship takes its time and Grace falls in love with Jack as he makes her forget her insecurities about her station in life and her looks. Their first love scene takes place while Grace if just a tad bit inebriated and he asks her to marry him.

Grace spends the majority of their courtship ecstatic and extremely excited about spending the rest of her life with a man she is head-over-heels in love with, and whom she hopes is falling in love with her. Her hopes are dashed when she sneaks into Jack's room for a surprise and stumbles across his agreement with her father. Immediately she feels like a fool for ever believing that a man like Jack could ever love her and regrets having told him that she loves him. She agrees to continue with the marriage but makes him promise to buy her a house she can live in after an appropriate amount of time has passed. Jack agrees, but is fairly confident that he can change her mind. For the beginning of their marriage Grace manages to hold onto her icy facade but it isn't long before she finds herself succumbing to Jack's advances in the bedroom (and out!). When Jack acknowledges that this half of a marriage is not working for him and he wants everything he had with her beforehand again, Grace worries about placing her trust in someone who has betrayed her once before.

I really enjoyed Warren's writing style in this story. There was a lot of emotion in this story and she did a superb job of getting it all down without becoming maudlin or slow as it seems emotions in romance novels so often do. And boy are there some great emotions! Grace as a the excited bride to be was so much fun and I was so drawn into her happiness I was dreading the (inevitable) moment she would discover the truth behind Jack's courtship. But Grace as the betrayed lover/wife was just as fun as I read about her struggling to keep Jack out of her heart because she was so scared of being vulnerable and getting hurt again. My other favorite part about Grace was the way she dealt with becoming a new member of the ton: by admitting that she needed help and receiving assistance from her new husband's family. So much better than reading about her struggling and being ridiculed; there was quite enough angst in this book as it was. Jack's emotions are not quite as easy to decipher as Grace's as Warren doesn't spend quite as much time on his but what little there is (I would have liked more) was just as well written as the rest of the book.

I feel like I've read this plot before so it is far from the most original story line, but I tend not to mind as long as the author does some new things with some great new characters. Grace and Jack aren't exactly new: the gorgeous heroine who is still insecure about her looks, and the redeemable rake who made a bad call at the card table. I'm not sure what she could have added to make them a little more fresh (aside from the red hair which I do like) but they are a little too familiar. I spent the first half of the book extremely glad that this hadn't turned into a love fest between Grace and Jack's family and a refresher on how great our protagonists from "Tempted" were doing, but unfortunately about 1/2 way through his family, and our former friends, start showing up a bit too much for my taste. I am still unsure how I felt about the sex in the book as it was both plentiful and plenty steamy but I had an issue with the way that after the marriage it was seen as her "surrendering to him."

Rating: there were definitely elements of this book that I completely loved, but I would not classify it as anything particularly special or memorable. Except for the angst which was superb and very very juicy. Still- a fun and well-written read.

Tempted by His Kiss

Tempted by His Kiss by Tracy Anne Warren

While traveling to her aunt's house in Scotland Margaret Amberley finds herself seeking shelter from a crazy snow storm at the home of Lord Cade Byron. Meg's father has just died leaving her orphaned at nineteen and Lord Cade has spent the last several months moping and drinking at his Northumberland estate in an attempt to forget the horrors of his time in Portugal where he (and his fiance) were tortured by the French. The attraction between the two is obvious but both are scared to act; her being an innocent and him being "tortured" by the ghost of his dead fiance who was only killed because of her connection to him. Before Meg has time to leave after the storm abates a nosy neighbor discovers her and Cade hatches a plan where Meg pretends to be his fiance to save her reputation. The ultimate plan is for her to have a season in London, meet a man she can really marry and then leave him gracefully with no hard feelings.

Things don't go quite as planned in London as the two of them battle their attraction to each other. Cade is determined he will not ruin Meg and she is determined she will not fall in love with him. But when Cade becomes convinced that the man who betrayed him in Portugal is none but the hero of the hour and everyone's favorite soldier, Lord Everett, both of them are put in danger when no one believes Cade's seemingly far-fetched story. As the two become more and more entwined, both physically and lurve-ly, Meg takes it upon herself to spy on Everett, which infuriates Cade. The finally confrontation scene is a little far-fetched and the resolution is resolved rather quickly and crazily, involving double and triple decieving and general romance novel wrap it up in a scene-ness. Unfortunately the two still need to deal with their feelings for each other and that is not resolved in our confrontation scene but in a later, angsty little chase.

The first thing I noticed about the book was the way the two characters met; seeking shelter from a storm just seems so crazy, so unrealistic, and oddly enough overdone in romance novels. I would think with something so unlikely it would only occur once or twice, but it does seem to be a staple way of throwing two people together who otherwise wouldn not have made. However, the two characters made up for it; Meg is young and naive, but not irritatingly so, and Cade is haunted by his past, but at least it's not some of the ridiculous nonsense that some romance novel heroes are haunted by. Their feelings are real and they develop in a completely realistic and well-written manner and the sex is hot-tish (not woah steamy or anything) and (almost) frequent enough. The side-plot of Everett only makes it's appearance halfway through and it appears infrequently, but importantly throughout the rest of the book. It was well done, except for the big plop of resolution at the end, and a nice little way to draw the two together and force them to acknowledge their feelings for each other. Not at all overwhelming.

Like all romance novels this one has it's share of awkward and laugh- inducing internal dialogue, but for the first time I had to actually copy one here because of it's sheer insanity; "This limbo in which I am living preys upon my mind and stabs at my heart." I was somewhat disappointed by the amount of angst in the book, especially since we are teased with little snippets of it when Cade becomes jealous of Meg's suitors and she expresses (internal) jealousy over his dead fiance. I expected her brother (who is in on the plan) to force his brother's hand by fake-courting Meg and that would have been brilliantly angsty, but alas- no go. There was a nice little induendo of him possibly masturbating midway through, but it is difficult to tell if it was accidental or purposeful. Still kind of fun though. His relatives make frequent appearances seeing as how the two of them are living in his (brother's) house for much of the book and it becomes obvious midway through that the author is getting us ready for sequels.

Rating: It was rather slow going, and an unimaginative plot that was jammed up there at the end, but it had good characters, a real romance, and a side-plot that didn't ruin the novel.