The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie

The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

Daniel Mackenzie is one of the infamous Mackenzie's and has all the charm of his uncles and father and a lightness of spirit that escaped them. He enjoys creating inventions, and is especially fond of crafting a brand new car that would beat any of the German models. He knows immediately that Ms. Bastien, a renowned medium's assistance, is a fraud but instead of exposing her he is more interested in the contraptions she uses to make all the "spirit" sounds she uses to fool everyone. Violet is terrified that Daniel will expose her secrets, but even more scared when he kisses her and it brings back haunting memories of her childhood. In terror, she bashes him over the head and, believing him dead, she abandons him at a hospital. Daniel is, of course, not dead and while he is upset he is eve more intrigued by the beautiful young woman who hit him over the head and has a remarkable ability to make useful inventions. He follows her to Paris where Violet is shocked to find the man she believed she had killed, alive and well. Daniel takes an interest in Violet and her mother, especially when he learns that Violet is basically her mother's caregiver and believes her mother is taking advantage of her.

When one of her mother's clients attempts to assault Violet and she escapes, he decides to press charges and she is arrested. Daniel and his well connected family manage to get her out of prison but he decides that since he has such a vested interest in her welfare that she will accompany him in England. Her mother moves into the Mackenzie mansion and Violet finds herself far too close to the handsome Daniel. But even Daniel is not prepared when Violet confides in him details of her abusive and violent childhood and while she expects him to turn away in disgust, he instead appoints himself her protector and her avenger and dedicates himself to proving her capable of having a real relationship based on respect and love. When a villain from Violet's past resurfaces to cause trouble, the entire Mackenzie clan is there to defend their newest family member and Violet realizes that she truly wants nothing more than to find her happily ever after with Daniel.

I like that this story switched around the roles of the stereotypical roles of heroines and heroes as Violet was the one who was more broody about her past and Daniel had come to accept his own past and had made peace with his relationship with his father. I did like Violet because she was incredibly brave and I liked that she was a conundrum as she was fearless and independent but also cared so much about her mother that she sacrificed herself. Reading about a survivor of rape is always wrenching and Ashley does a deft job of adequately portraying the hurt, the betrayal, the hope, and spirit that accompanies such a violent act and the feelings that come later in the future. I liked that Daniel cared so much for Violet, but I felt like I was supposed to have lots of lingering feelings for Daniel as a holdover from his appearances in other books in the series, and indeed it often seems like the Mackenzie love builds on itself instead of being really expressed in the book.

Violet and Daniel worked incredibly well together and I really enjoyed that they had so many interests in common and that they each encouraged the other's pursuits and helped each other improve and work on their inventions. I liked that they enjoyed spending time together and that a majority of the book was spent with them in the company of each other and in a wide array of activities. There was some sex between them, but given her history, it was more about the emotional aspect of the sex and helping Violet overcome her fears. It was still better than a lot of romances I have been reading and I liked that they did not make her completely sexless just because she had been raped. Daniel and Violet's relationships with their families played an incredibly important part, but while I was interested in Violet's codependence with her mother it was dropped from the book far too quickly. The Mackenzies, who I have enjoyed in the past, and continued to be well done side characters who don't take over the story.

Rating: An interesting book, but despite everything, it still managed to be a little bland with nothing super exciting to keep more interested.

The Trouble with Being a Duke

The Trouble with Being a Duke by Sophie Barnes L

Anthony Hurst, the Duke of Kingsborough, knows it is time for him to marry and produce an heir, and believes enough time has passed since his sainted father's death for the family to come out of mourning and host the Kingsborough Ball. Isabella Chilcott has dreamed of sneaking away to the Kingsborough Ball sine she was a child, but her mother is completely set against the aristocracy. She sneaks out, wearing an old gown she finds hidden in the attic, and once there she catches the attention of the Duke himself. Anthony knows she is lying about her identity, but finds himself unable to get the beautiful woman out of his mind, even after she abandons him at the ball. He visits everywhere in the village to determine who she is and is horrified to discover she is practically engaged to another man, and can't help but wonder how her mother had the fancy ball gown hidden in her house, especially when it comes to life that an heiress who went missing 20 years ago was wearing that dress. He knows that he is the right man for Isabella, but does not know how to go about convincing her parents. A mystery from long ago, parents who harbor grudges, and a couple who will do anything to be together culminate in a romantic ending.

My biggest problem with this story was Isabella's inability to stand up to her parents no matter how wrong they are proven to be, and no matter how miserable following their directives will make her. Seriously, I wanted to slap her and wondered why Anthony would be so adamant in hitching himself to a woman with no spine and in-laws who didn't seem to care about their own daughters happiness, no matter how hard the author worked to make their actions seemed justified. Aside from having no spine, Isabella was a pretty fun heroine who's desire to please just became a little over done. Anthony was pretty under-developed character and many times it seemed like the only thing that drove him was his desire for Isabella, even when I could not understand exactly why he was so keen on her. Considering that was his defining characteristic, it was at least done well and he certainly fought for what he wanted and I could tell he really cared about Isabella.

Rating: A very fast book, underdeveloped characters with annoying quirks and habits, and a rather confusing romance.

My Notorious Gentleman

My Notorious Gentleman by Gaelen Foley

Lord Trevor Montgomery is back from his duties for the Inferno Club but after being missing for so long, his fiance has jilted him. His entire family is after him to wed and after a chance encounter with a vicar he finds himself to drawn to the vicar's daughter. He decides to buy a house in the community so that he can be closer to Grace Kenwood and so that he will have something to do by fixing up the dilapidated house. Grace can't help but like the handsome and kind former spy, especially once he begins to use his wealth and influence in the community to help out those who are still suffering from the after affects of the war. Unfortunately Grace is not the only one in the community who has her sights set on Lord Trevor and Grace has to maneuver the problems of living in a small town where gossip spreads like wildfire. And Grace's dedication to helping others, including a former prostitute whose pimp is not too happy she has left, lands her in a world of trouble. Trevor has to call on all of his friends from the Inferno Club to help him rescue the woman he loves so that they can marry and continue to set to rights their new community.

Grace is incredibly good; she is always thinking of others and completely unselfish, always helping people, always working, basically just being so perfect that it was impossible to like her or think of her as a real person. My favorite part about her was when she let go of her morals and had sex with Trevor, even if by that time she realized they were going to get married. And the consequences of that action were so over the top and frustrating it was almost like a lecture on the evils of pre-marital sex. Trevor was a typical former spy romance hero, but I did like how open he was to the idea of marriage and didn't try to hide or fight his feelings for Grace. Lots of side characters really made this story far more interesting than it would have been otherwise; her understanding father, the former prostitute, the spoiled rich girl, the equally spoiled young man the spoiled rich girl was in love with, and the gossipy community members.

Rating: A quick read, with really nothing special to recommend it, but it was fun enough even while it could have used a more interesting heroine.

And Then Comes Marriage

And Then Comes Marriage by Celeste Bradley

Mrs. Miranda Talbot has always lived her life quietly and by the rules, but now that she is a widow with means, she has a freedom she has never experienced before. She is happy to enjoy the courtship of Mr. Pollux Worthington after he saves her from being run over by a carriage. She is unaware that Poll has an identical twin, Castor and so when Castor saves her from the twins' exploding invention, she believes it is Poll and is happy to give him a kiss. Castor likes this beautiful widow but horrified to learn that his own twin has been courting her for a month so they come up with a solution: they will both court her and the winner will be the one who gets her to say yes to a marriage proposal. Miranda is shocked at first, but decides that she should finally start having fun for herself, and agrees to the twins absurd proposal. They divvy up their time and both begin their courtship by escorting her around town, taking her on trips, and trying to prove that they will be the one to make her happy.

Meanwhile Castor approaches the Prince Regent to ask for a Royal Grant so that he can continue to make inventions, but Prinny only agrees if Castor can stay out of the scandal sheets. Miranda's former sister-in-law is furious that Miranda was given the family's house after Mr. Talbot's death, and is determined to regain her rightful place in the house and does not hesitate to try to make Miranda's life miserable. Miranda is coming to realize that although she enjoys spending time with Poll, it is clear that Castor is the one she feels more of a connection with. But their little sister, Attie, believes that Miranda is sowing discord between the brothers, and tries to separate them. After on disastrous kiss with Poll, Miranda knows that he belongs with Castor, but his past experiences with relationship have left him scarred and she must show him that he is ready for a true loving relationship with her.

So the first thing that jumped out at me was the fact that Miranda is being courted by two men who look exactly alike. This would have been acceptable if the book could have at least done more to distinguish between the two brothers. Unfortunately I feel like there was enough difference between the brother's and I found myself getting confused about which brother had done what with her. She apparently could tell them apart because she was far more attracted to one then the other, but I really could not. Miranda was a very well developed character and we were constantly learning new things about her. Her past was quite checkered and made her a very interesting person and made her more "real" than other romance novel heroines. Castor didn't really distinguish himself as super distinct from his brother, until towards the end when a tortured past was kind of thrown in there when I had begun to really appreciate that he didn't have one. His dark past involved a bad relationship that left him with a kinky side in bed that was hot, mildly disturbing, and rather confusing really.

There was a lot of heat between Castor and Miranda, which was in direct contrast to the absolute lack of heat between Poll and Miranda, and it permeated the entire novel. Castor's sexual proclivities included a need to kind of dominate, kind of control, and kind of own the person he was having sex with. It was hot and kinky but then Bradley backtracked by having them slightly reverse roles and it felt like a cop out on her part. The Worthington family was cute in its' eccentricities, but it quickly became annoying to have them constantly appearing and doing such insane things as I am not a fan of novels that feature too many past or future characters. I did enjoy reading about Miranda's past and how she was changing as a person and I found the minor side plot involving her former sister-in-law very entertaining.

Rating: An enjoyable read overall with a wonderful heroine, but the situation involving the twins and then Castor's sexual proclivities did bring down the book.

Love and Other Scandals

Love and Other Scandals by Caroline Linden

Tristan, Viscount Bourke, is friends with Douglas Bennett even though Douglas' mother disapproves, and he and Joan Bennett, Douglas' sister, run into each other several times throughout the years. At 24 Joan is firmly on the shelf and per her mother's request she goes to coerce her brother into attending a ball in the hopes that he will find a wife. She runs into Tristan who is staying with Douglas while his house is repaired and is immediately horrified at the virago who storms into the house. She blackmails and manipulates the hungover Douglas before turning her sights on Tristan and he can't help but admire her. They next meet at a bookseller where Joan is secretly trying to buy a very scandalous pamphlet but upon seeing him she leaves and he purchases it for her, not knowing what it is. At a ball he returns her book to her and discovers that The Fury, as he calls her, has quite a little secret. Everybody notices that the most scandalous man of the ton has taken an interest in the ton's most infuriating spinster, including Joan's controlling mother who entreats Joan to refuse any attempts of Tristan to court her.

When Joan's mother is struck by an illness her parents go out of town leaving her in the care of very scandalous Aunt and Douglas goes to a family estate after asking Tristan to "look out" for Joan. Tristan takes the call to heart and begins to call on Joan, taking her on a balloon ride and finding that he can confide in her about the death of his parent and growing up as an orphan. She realizes that the happy and scandalous facade he presented was merely to cover up the hurt inside and to make himself likable. She learns about his unhappy childhood with a bitter aunt and cousins who resented him because he would inherit the title one day. Joan does not know if Tristan ever plan to marry but she knows that she wants one night to remember, but when her parents come rushing into town after hearing the rumors. Suddenly Tristan and Joan's relationship is thrust into the spotlight and they realize that they are in love.

Tristan and Joan had a very contentious relationship that basically consisted entirely of them arguing, bantering, trying to one-up the other, and trying to annoy the other. This is something found in a lot of romance novels and it is something that I despise. I want to see characters who like each other, who enjoy being with the other and even though they apparently like arguing with each other, I could not get behind their relationship. Joan was an overly talkative young woman who was far too fearful of her mother for my taste and it made her seem very immature and incapable of holding her own. Tristan's past as an orphan who had to live with a hateful relative drew me in but was not really developed enough for my taste. They did spend a lot of time together, both in large group settings, in secret meeting, and just the two of them and not all of them were completely contentious. There were some fun times between them, especially the hot air balloon.

They were supposedly extremely attracted to each other, and their arguing was apparently a sign of that, but the book did not have a lot of sexual heat in it. There were a few little kissing scenes but only one scene where they actually had sex and it was far from hot. It was bland and boring and I just did not feel it. Their relationship just did not seem to be built on anything lasting; they didn't really seem to like each other and they didn't have a ton of sex so really nothing there. The writing was fast and it took me almost no time to get through it, and not just because I was hoping that something I liked would happen. I know that Linden can do better than this and hope that in the future she writes characters capable of carrying on a real conversation and engaging in some extremely hot sex.

Rating: Rather boring characters really who argued FAR too much and did not have nearly enough sex to make this very fast read enjoyable.