Forbidden

Forbidden by Nicola Cornick

Margery Mallon is a ladies maid who has served some quite scandalous ladies of the ton and she hopes one day to open her own confectionary shop. Her family consists of three older brothers, two of whom are engaged in questionable business dealings but she loves them and is content with her life. Henry, Lord Wardeaux, is heir to Lord Templemore, which is one of the few titles in Britain that can be passed down through the female line. Twenty years ago a horrible carriage accident left Lord Templemore's daughter dead and his grandfather missing, but a locket has appeared that leads them to suspect that Margery is actually Lady Margaret, Lord Templemore's heir. Henry decides to investigate myself and arranges to meet Margery and even take her out for an evening on the town where he realizes she is someone quite special who he would like to get to know better. Margery is horrified when she discovers who she is and feels as though Henry has lead her on and tricked her. She moves in with her grandfather and finds herself spending more time with Henry, and her new family, then before.

Even though Henry was set to inherit he does not begrudge Margery her newfound fortune and tries to ignore his mother's insinuations that he should marry her to maintain the estate. He agrees to show Margery around the land and introduce her to tenants and accidents begin to happen as an arrow is shot remarkably close to her head and then her bed curtains catch on fire while her door is mysteriously locked. Henry wants to discover what truly happened to Margery and her mother all those years ago and begins to worry that whoever hurt her mother has come back to hurt her. Margery is still confused about her new status and distrustful of Henry after the way they met, but he is convinced that marriage is the right thing for them as he knows that both of them will be happy together and be good for the estate. He is willing to do whatever it takes to convince her of the same, but first he must fend of those who wish to harm her and discover the secrets behind her mother's death.

Like most people I love a rags to riches story and so I was immediately attracted to the premise of a servant elevated to the peerage and this book pulled off that feat in a surprisingly realistic manner. While the murder of a her mother and her kidnapping was a tad melodramatic it was resolved and explained enough that I could believe it, at least in a romance novel world, and I also liked that Margery underwent an adjustment period as she got used to her new life. Margery was independent and strong and I really liked her and the dedication she had towards being an successful woman on her own. I could really empathize with her and truly felt like she was a real person that I would like in real life. Henry was incredibly strong, noble, and self-sacrificing and had a great sense of responsibility towards those important to him. I really liked the way that he treated Margery, even if she did become a little upset about him hiding the truth from her, because it was respectful and he did not go about doing what was best for her in a heavy handed, domineering fashion.

Margery and Henry worked incredibly well together as a couple and I really enjoyed reading about their relationship and watching it progress. They spend a lot of time together, some while she was still a servant, and I liked the wide range of interactions they had in different circumstances. There was not very much sex between them at all and it was towards the very end of the book, but it was pretty hot. Because the rest of their relationship was so fleshed out and completed the sex was really just a nice little bonus. The mystery of what happened to her mother was a wonderful side plot to the book because it was important and worked throughout the book, but it did not detract from the relationship. The resolution was a complete shock to me and served as a nice surprise, but there was a hostage situation that kind of fell back on romance novel staples. Cornick's writing is always spot on; easy to read with a fun, fast pace and previous characters made cameos without overwhelming the main story.

Rating: A very enjoyable romance between two likable and realistic characters who worked so well together with an interesting little mystery to solve.

Desired

Desired by Nicola Cornick 1224

Everyone in the ton thinks that Teresa Darent is a flibberty-jibbit and she her three marriages, all ending in her being widowed, have done nothing to combat that persona. Owen Purchase, American pirate and English outlaw, has recently come into the title of Viscount Rothbury and has joined Lord Sidmouth, leader of the home office, to try put a stop to the radical movement, especially the cartoon artist Jupiter. Unfortunately Teresa's reputation has put at risk of threats and blackmail and when one of her late husband's creditors comes calling he gives her a terrible choice; let him marry her 15 year-old stepdaughter or he will ruin her with rumors and innuendo. Having heard rumors that Owen is unable to perform sexually Teresa decides the best option is for her to marry him and become respectable. Owen is not flattered by her proposition but having an inkling that she might be the cartoonist Jupiter he agrees because he desires to protect her from Sidmouth and her stepdaughter from a forced marriage but Owen does not agree to a marriage of convenience and decides to "court" Teresa.

Teresa is unprepared for the onslaught of visits and carriage rides and trips and finds that marriage to Owen could be so much more than she was expecting. However, Teresa is still haunted by the ghosts of her previous marriages; her first husband whom she had a friendly if unconsummated marriage with left her with the need to take up the mantle of reform politics, her third husband who spent their marriage in a drunken stupor but who trusted her with his estate and children, and her second husband who was a lecher and left her unable to bear intimacy or physical contact with others. Owen's courtship makes Teresa wonder if she can move beyond what happened in her past and take control of her life. There are still some secrets Owen is hiding, like his own past with Teresa's sister, Joanna, when he fancied himself in love with her. While Teresa feels betrayed by his secrets Owen knows that he is in love with Joanna and when Lord Sidmouth comes to haul her off he cannot risk the woman he loves. Joanna hopes it is not too late to confess her feelings and make a stand to save her future with the man she loves.

Teresa's involvement in politics was something I very much admired, especially because she wasn't scared to completely throw herself in them and try to fix things all the way. Most romance novel heroines will open an orphanage to put a bandage on the problem but wouldn't dare to look at the causes behind why so many children are being abandoned. I did not feel like this aspect of her life was fully developed however, just kind of thrown in as an example of her relationship with her first husband. Her second husband was admittedly an awful man and I know he did some truly horrible things to her but I thought completely shutting herself off to intimacy and being so scared of touch took things a little too far. However, Owen's attempts to woo her by truly courting her were so much fun and were so beautiful because it made it clear he was expecting something more from her and knew she was capable of so much more. It really made their relationship seem real and gave them a really good opportunity to get to know each other and showed how well they worked together.

Owen was really a typical romance novel hero with an overinflated need to protect women and a strong desire for the heroine. The sexual tension really sizzled between these two, even while Teresa wanted to deny it and thought herself incapable of fulfilling that part of a relationship. He was so patient with her and worked with her to move beyond her fears and even though there was not a lot of actual sex happening between them it was both hot and romantic because it was something they both worked towards and showed how far they had both come. This story really was about their relationship and how it progressed very naturally and I really enjoyed that but I wish the little hiccup about his feelings for his sister had lasted a little longer because as it was it just seemed like an excuse to prolong the book a little since it was so short and brushed aside so easily. Lord Sidmouth made an okay villain considering his specter disappeared during the courtship and only reappeared after they had fallen in love and Owen's little self-sacrifice just came across as ridiculous rather than heroic to me.

Rating: A very engrossing read with a heroine who I could really support but Owen was nothing special and there were some little problem throughout the book.

Notorious

Notorious by Nicola Cornick 810

Susanna Burney and James Devlin were young and in love but on their wedding night Susanna panicked and ran. She found herself penniless and alone and in his heartbreak James took a commission with the navy and sailed away. Over the next ten years Susanna lost the baby she carried and promised to take care of her friend's twin children on her deathbed. She falls into a profession; she is paid by wealthy parents who want to break their children apart from unsuitable mates. Her latest employment takes her to London where she is hired by the Duke and Duchess of Alton to separate their son, Fitz, from Francesca Devlin, James' sister. This throws them into the same circles and James is furious that his former wife is throwing herself at a selfish bastard like Fitz and that her appearance has thrown into question his own determination to wed Lady Elise for her money. Despite his knighthood the Devlin's are actually facing mounds of creditors and marriage into the aristocracy could be the only way to save them.

The two engage in mutual blackmail; each hoping that the other won't reveal the others' past. James decides to try and keep Susanna away from Fitz as much as possible, but throwing himself in front of her has unforseen consequences for both of them. They are both angry at each other and upset about what happened in the past but the feelings, and the lust, they felt for each other have not disappeared. While they are still both angry and upset they cannot keep their hands of each other, even while James is convinced that Susanna betrayed him and is no better than an adventuress. Although he does not know precisely why Susanna wants Fitz, he is angry and possessive at the idea of her with another man and finds their courtship confusing. The more time she spends with Fitz the more she realizes she cannot continue with her sham romance, but she worries about his reaction when she tell shim more of her secrets. When the truth comes out about their relationship it will cause a huge scandal and possibly bankruptcy, but together they want to conquer everything.

Nicola Cornick's books have been up and down for me because I love her writing style and the emotion she puts into her books and the development of her characters. Unfortunately she also has a tendency to right protagonists who are so emotionally entangled with each other that they have trouble being polite or nice or loving towards each other. This is the case in Notorious with James and Susannah spending a large portion of the book upset with each other, feeling hurt about what has happened, and really taking it out on the other. There was a lot of history between them so I was not expecting them to be super happy with each other and loving right from the beginning but to read a romance where every interaction between the character is tinged with the feeling of betrayal and pain is unpleasant for me and I just have a hard time seeing the romance in that. Since the book started after they had met and done the falling in love I felt like I was just supposed to "understand" that they were already in love and therefore they didn't need to be loving towards each other anymore.

I admired Susanna because she found her niche in life and performed her job well and was, for the most part, not ashamed, of the way she earned her living. I did not like the addition of the children she had to care for because I felt like it was an excuse for what she was doing and because it just seemed like an odd little hiccup in the book. I also think her reasons for running were not well explained and their long separation had too many holes in it. James was a typical romance novel hero, well the penniless variety, but I found it hard to admire him because he was unapologetically marrying an unlikable woman purely for the money. His desire to marry his own sister to a selfish bastard also made him hard to like and I did not understand Francesca's desire to marry Fitz. The sex between them was very emotional, fairly hot and definitely not boring, but nothing particularly special. The ending was the only reasonable way for the book to end without veering off into fairy tale land so I liked that it was more realistic than many romance novels.

Rating: Very well written and very emotional, but I did not like the hurt and anger that tinged their interactions and the characters themselves had too many unlikeable flaws.

Mistress by Midnight

Mistress by Midnight by Nicola Cornick 1204

Merryn Fenner holds Garrick, Duke of Farne, responsible for her brother Stephen's death after Garrick shot him in a duel. Garrick's wife had been having an affair with Stephen and Merryn believes that in a fit of jealousy, Garrick shot him and then paid for a massive cover up. She works for Tom Bradshaw, a detective, and in her capacity as investigator she tries to dig up information about Garrick. Garrick has only recently returned to England after her inheriting the Dukedom and when he discovers that his father had bought up the Fenner estate once the line had died out. He is determined to make things as right as possible even though he doesn't expect his guilt over Stephen's death to heal itself. Merryn does not want to accept the money but her sisters, the wealthy widow Tess and Joanna Grant, agree to accept the money. Both of them were older and wiser when Stephen was killed and they don't harbor the same illusions and hero worship of him as Merryn does.

Garrick knows that Merryn is determined to bring him down but that does not stop him from being attracted to her or from feeling a deep connection between the two of them. And while Merryn wants to hate Garrick, she senses that he is truly honorable and begins to suspect that she may have misinterpreting things and that their is a deeper truth about the duel that no one has discovered. She is correct on this front as their indeed a secret about Stephen and Kitty and about the duel that resulted in Stephen's death and while Garrick thinks Merryn deserves to know he has been sworn to secrecy. One day the two are in the midst of an argument when a local brewing tank breaks and London is flooded, forcing the two of them into a derelict house for refuge. In the dark, alone for two days, Garrick and Merryn cannot maintain distance between them and by the time they are rescued they have no choice but to marry. While both admit they are in love with other to themselves, there are secrets to be revealed before either can trust the love they feel for each other.

As the completion of a series which I had heretofore loved I had high hopes for this novel, and while I did enjoy reading it, it did not live up to his predecessors. Merryn was far more irritating than either Joanna or Lottie and came across as remarkably immature in her hatred for Garrick and her inability to see anything bad about her older brother. She was also far too trusting and I found it her search for justice more rash than noble and her attempts to make things better often seemed to backfire in completely predictable ways. While I normally like bluestocking heroines as, let's be honest I would probably be one if I lived in those days, I felt like her intellectual capabilities were more for show than genuine interest and she went out of her way to be interested only in completely uninteresting topics. I did like that at the end she was wiling to use her sexuality to try to fix what she saw as problems in her relationship with Garrick and that when she did realize she loved him she wanted to get rid of any impediment in order to have a happily ever after with him.

Garrick was slightly more interesting, but still remained in my opinion, remarkably underdeveloped. He was a little too noble, a little too willing to keep his deep secret even when no one would have been hurt and so many would have benefited if he had simply told everyone. Far too much was made of this secret, and while it certainly was interesting, it spent far too long as an impediment to their relationship. As usual in books where the protagonists are feuding, I felt like these two did not spend enough time together where they were not arguing and really just talking in a congenial setting. There was quite a bit of sex throughout the book and it was very well written and very steamy and overall very obvious that these two connected on a very physical level. But it was also obvious that these two were connected on an emotional level as well and they both did want to have a healthy relationship. Joanna and Alex played an important role in this book, but it was nothing overwhelming.

Rating: Not quite as good as her previous two because Merryn was annoying, but still an interesting and worthwhile read.

One Wicked Sin

One Wicked Sin by Nicola Cornick 1117

Lottie Paliser is the most notorious woman in London after her many love affairs ended with a scandalous divorce from her very wealthy husband. Her extravagant lifestyle and spending habits have left her destitute and her entire family has refused to help her. With nowhere else to turn Lottie agrees to become a courtesan in a brothel but her past experience with sex is of no use and she is in danger of being thrown out after leaving several customers unsatisfied. Ethan Ryder is an Irish nobleman who is being held in England as a prisoner of war after being captured fighting for the French. Ethan is planning something big regarding all the other prisoners being held in England and he wants to create a distraction so no one will dig too deeply and Lottie is absolutely perfect. He hires her as his mistress and she agrees because there really are no other options open to her and because she is intrigued by the handsome man who spurned his titled father and ran off to fight for the French.

Ethan escorts Lottie back to Wantage where he is being held and quickly sets her up in her own little cottage. The two begin their affair on a very physical level and neither can deny that there is something more there as Ethan is sweet and attentive and Lottie is strangely reticent. Both of them enjoy this softer side to their relationship but Ethan does not believe he can trust Lottie and Lottie doesn't believe that Ethan wants anything more from her than a bed partner. Lottie is pulled in different directions when her brother offers her a way back into society if she agrees to spy on Ethan and though she agrees she does not want to betray the man she is coming to care for. When she learns that the English have imprisoned Ethan's son, Arland, in a nearby prison just to torment him she is even more determined not to bring harm to Ethan. Ethan is finding that Lottie is nothing like the coldhearted shrew he had been expecting and when she helps his son he knows that he is hopelessly in love with her. But when Lottie discovers that he is hatching the prisoner escape plan she must make a heartbreaking decision and risk losing Ethan forever.

Lottie came across as incredibly awful, shallow, and selfish in Whisper of Scandal and I was a little worried that Cornick had created a character she would not be able to redeem and make worthy of her own book. While I still did not remain convinced that Lottie was an entirely likable character, it was obvious that her divorce and the ensuing scandal had made Lottie recognize her past mistakes and genuinely want to make up for some of her past transgressions. Her past, with her father leaving her and her ex-husband spurning her for other lovers, went a long way toward explaining her promiscuity but not necessarily her flightiness and willingness to betray her closest friend. Her life as a courtesan is rather cloudy and I am not certain she went through with any of her contracts but I admit that I admired her courage and willingness to do whatever she needed to do to survive and I really enjoyed reading about her learning to open up and trust someone and her struggles as she chose between love and country.

Ethan was a new character to the series and not very easy to warm to until we start learning about his son but I very much admired him for fighting for his principles by joining the French. I admit I've never really been a fan of books where the French Revolution is so roundly villain-ized because, although it did take a dangerous turn, it had good intentions and was an important step towards equality in Europe. The most disconcerting aspect of this was his acceptance of Lottie's betrayal as I felt like he should have been much more upset at her for spoiling his plans. I really liked the development of their relationship and how it progressed from sex to feelings and how it was detailed so throughly and so evident throughout the book. Each of them wanted to make the other happy and there were just little moments that made that so clear. I was a little weirded out by the reappearance of Joanna Grant and how she and Lottie were now the best of friends and so happy to see each other after the way things had ended between them, but the other secondary characters were very well done.

Rating: Another really great book by Cornick with an unconventional heroine whom I thoroughly enjoyed reading about.

Whisper of Scandal

Whisper of Scandal by Nicola Cornick 1111

The widowed Joanna Ware has no grief over her husband's death as David Ware was a hero to the rest of England but abusive and a cheater to the wife he believed was barren. Although he left her no money upon his death she makes ends meet by being the darling of the ton and selling her decorative skills. Alex, Lord Grant, was David Ware's best friend and although Alex scorns the fame that David sought, he believed his friend when David claimed Joanna was heartless and a liar. He is not pleased when David tasks him with giving a note to Joanna on his death bed and even less so to discover to that Joanna does seem as superficial and uncaring as David had lead him to believe. Neither is happy to discover that David's last act was to appoint them both guardians of illegitimate daughter, Nina, on the condition that both of them go to the Arctic of Russia fetch her from the monastery where she lived.

Despite his mistrust of her and his outward dislike of her Alex begins to think that Joanna is far from the cold witch David painted her as. The more time Joanna spends with him the more she realizes that Alex is nothing like her husband even if they both are adventurers. Things become more complicated after the two share a kiss and while they both continue to not trust the other something has fundamentally changed in their relationship. Joanna wants Nina with a passion so decides to mount her own expedition to claim her and Alex wants to accompany her so that he can direct things and keep Joanna safe. Joanna realizes the only way to avoid complete ruination on the journey and provide a true home for Nina is to marry Alex and he agrees to a marriage with no strings or hold on him. But after a life threatening journey such a marriage is unacceptable to both of them and they must choose to take a chance on love.

I really liked Joanna as a character because she possessed so many seemingly incompatible qualities with a little bit of the cold, superficial, high society ton widow and some of the adventurous spirit of the more feisty romance novel heroines. It made her more real as she wasn't just a stereotype of a woman- she was more fleshed out. And through it all she was unapologetic about who she was, accepting that she had faults and that she liked who she was. Alex was not as well developed as Joanna in my opinion and the biggest thing he had going for him was that he was better than her deceased husband. While Alex's insistence on viewing Joanna through David's lies did get trying and I wanted him to start to think for himself, I liked the way his changing view of her progressed as he got to know her and it highlighted all the reasons that he was coming to fall in love with her.

I am not normally a fan of romances where the protagonists spend most of the book at arguing and this one saved itself from falling into that trap in the second half after their marriage when they were living on the ship and traveling. The adventure really allowed the two of them to spend some quality time together and get to know the other and moved being judging based on how David acted or what David had told them. There was a decent amount of sex between the two of them and it did get hot sometimes, but I felt like the sex definitely took a back seat to the emotional relationship between the two of them. The plot involving Nina was a little odd but obviously fit well with the story and I liked how it was solved at the end- it was heartbreaking, but so beautiful. The book also introduces the very unlikable Lottie Cummings, the heroine of the next novel who I imagine presents quite a challenge to a writer.

Rating: A wonderful heroine who I absolutely adored in a true romantic tale with a focus on the emotional development between the characters.

The Undoing of a Lady

The Undoing of a Lady by Nicola Cornick

This is the third and final installment in the Brides of Fortune series which has ranged from very good to almost completely awful. Nathanial, Nat, Waterhouse, the current Earl and future Duke of Waterhouse, is set to marry Flora Minchin in order to gain her dowry. He needs this dowry to pay off the man who is blackmailing him with threats to disclose his sister's promiscuity. Elizabeth, Lizzie, Scarlet knows that Nat will be unhappy with this marriage and kidnaps him on his wedding night to stop it. Things go a bit awry and the two give in to some quite explosive passion. Lizzie is humiliated as she realizes, after giving in to her lust, that she has been in love with Nat for years. Knowing that he does not return her feelings, she flees the scene, secure in the knowledge that Nat will marry and they can pretend nothing happened. As an honorable gentlemen Nat begs off on his wedding to Flora and begins to seriously pursue Lizzie despite his surety that she will make a horrible wife and the two of them will be miserable together. Not only is marrying Lizzie the "right" thing it does not hurt that doing so will give him leave to succumb to his lust for her whenever he desires.

When Miles Fortune, Lizzie's brother is killed, she is the prime suspect until Nat comes to her rescue by revealing that she was with him on the night he was killed. This is enough to make it necessary for the two of them to get married and while Lizzie is horrified of being married to a man she loves who does not love her in return, Nat is excited at being able to slake his lust. This lust appears to be the only thing going for them for quite a while and Lizzie becomes even more depressed that she will never be able to win Nat's love. She acts out on this depression and fear by becoming more and more outrageous, drinking heavily, and flirting like mad. She finally reveals to Nat that the two of them need to spend more time together and get to know each other again while keeping their hands off of each other. Things appear to be going fine until Lizzie discovers that Nat (may have) been lying to her the whole time about his reasons for marrying her as he (may have) married her to get revenge on Tom, Lizzie's brother, for blackmailing him. Lizzie runs away and Nat goes chasing after her and it is up to the two of them to decide if they can learn to trust and love each other.

This book had a lot of loose ends to wrap up, from Lydia Cole who is pregnant with Tom's illegitimate child, to what will become of the antiquated taxing laws that have been plaguing the resident of Fortune's Folly, to what happens to Flora Minchim. For the most part these are wrapped up fairly well and I will admit that part of the reason I read this so close on the heels of the horrible "Scandals" was because I was dying to know how everything ended up. And the little mystery of how Miles was killed was certainly quite intriguing and solved in a very believable, if unexpected and a little out of left field, way. Once again Cornick spins her wonderful way with words and delves into the inner workings of her characters minds very convincingly and skillfully. Nat is far from the wonderful hero and he behaves horribly sometimes, but he is still worlds better than Miles the ass. Nonetheless I found his giving in to the blackmail to be a little ridiculous: not only is he a man of the law but he knows that Tom is completely untrustworthy and will no doubt either ask for more money or reveal the truth about Celeste anyway so it was stupid of him to give in.

Lizzie was the spoiled selfish brat that Nat accused her of being in the beginning and it was fun to read about her very brief and late-coming transformation to a slightly more mature woman. Unfortunately she continued to act like, I'm sorry, an idiot for a decent portion of the book. I hate to make a spoiler but to give an idea of how ridiculous Lizzie behaves: She rides a horse through a gentlemen's club naked with nothing but her not so long hair to cover her. There's a difference between being upset and being stupid and Lizzie definitely pushes, if not crosses, this line. Perhaps one of the most interesting elements of the book was the sex. The two of them definitely enjoyed this aspect of their relationship and their coupling often bordered on violent. One scene in particular was confusing and just plain weird as it involved a riding crop- not S/M by any means but still perhaps a little too weird for many people. Nonetheless one of my favorite parts of this book that wasn't developed enough IMO, was the romance between Flora Minchin and Alice's brother Lowell Lister- very sweet and wrapped up too quickly.

Rating: Pretty much smack in the middle of her other two books with fairly likable characters, a fun little mystery, and great side characters.

The Heart of Christmas

The Heart of Christmas

A Handful of Gold by Mary Balogh
Verity Ewing recently moved to London with her widowed mother and younger sister because said sister has an illness that requires competent and expensive medical treatment. To raise money for this she has taken a job as an opera dancer and told her family she is a companion to an older lady. Unfortunately the money does not quite make ends meet so she agrees to accompany Julian Dare, Viscount Follingsley, to a hunting cabin for the week of Christmas. It does not take long for Julian to discover that she is not the experienced light skirt he had anticipated and he, and the other people at the cabin, are pleasantly surprised when Verity takes over planning for a very joyful Christmas. As Julian spends time getting to know this happy, faithful, and caring young woman he knows that Christmas week will never be enough. But Verity knows she is not good enough for the heir to an earldom and takes over leaving Julian to find her and prove that the happiness found on Christmas lasts far beyond that one day.

The story was enjoyable and lasted the perfect amount of time for a Balogh story. There was the typical inherent goodness found in all her heroines present in Verity as she is just completely childlike in her appreciation of Christmas and in her reaction to the first snowfall. She takes in weary travelers, she decorates the cabin for Christmas, and delivers a baby and it was not long before I wanted this young woman to do something a little naughty. She was an opera dancer and she did agree to become a courtesan but her motives were so pure and noble it kind of negated that bit of naughtiness. However at least it explained why Julian fell in love with her as she certainly was pure and happy, while I can't really figure out why she fell in love with him- it just sort of happened. I would also warn that this book comes very close to be a little too Christian for me as there is lots of talk about Church, prayer, and the Christ child. I like it better when Christmas is just about love and family. Short, satisfying, and only a tad annoying.

The Season for Suitors by Nicola Cornick
Clara Davencourt was mortified when she proposed to her brother's friend Sebastian Fleet, Duke of Fleet, and he turned her done. Despite his immense attraction to Clara Sebastian is too old for Clara, he is ten years her senior, he is a dedicated rake, and he has promised himself that he will never marry. Years ago when he was young a tragic accident occurred and his younger brother Oliver died and Sebastian blames himself. So of course he can not be trusted to love and protect Clara or to remain faithful to her. When Clara enlists Sebastian's help in keeping fortune hunters away he finds that it is him who needs to be kept away from Clara. They both know that they have no future together yet neither can keep their hands off of each other. Sebastian knows that he needs Clara in his life but is determined that he needs to stay away from her so he makes a last ditch effort to move to the continent but Clara confronts him before he can leave. Now it is up to her to convince him that love is worth the risk and up to him to realize that this young woman he's admired for years is worth taking that risk.

I enjoyed this novella much more than the one that came before it. It had much more substance and the heroine was not as annoyingly good and child-like. And I loved that she knew what she wanted throughout the book and went after it. I do wish we had had more of them getting to know each other as, with all books that pick up after the character's have met, the falling in love originally seemed to have been done off book. Granted the situation where she went and asked for help staying away from rakes was ridiculous and his blaming himself for his brother's death was overdrawn but I guess she needed something to bring them together and then cause a possible wedge between them. I got the feeling while reading this I was supposed to know back ground on Martin and Julianna's (her brother and his wife) but I did not know any and that got a little frustrated. As usual with Cornick's writings I loved reading the inner musings of both Sebastian and Clara as they were both just completely in love with each other and yet very torn about how the other felt and how/if they could/ should admit their feelings. The pacing in the novel was done very well and there was some subdued steam at the very end of the book.

This Wicked Gift by Courtney Milan
Lavinia Spencer has been trying to hold her family's lending library business together while her younger brother tries his best to destroy it and her father remains bedridden and sick. When Jamie's problems end up with Lavinia losing her Christmas funds a handsome patron from the library comes to the rescue. William White has been coming to the lending library for over a year and has never managed to make his move on Lavinia- until now. He demands that she sleep with him to repay the debt he feels she owes him; only to discover she did not owe him anything. But it is too late and both Lavinia and William are thrown together with William trying to hide his feelings and Lavinia trying to get him to embrace them. William refuses to let himself hope that Lavinia can ever be his because his family name was ruined and he has very little money. Both characters have been making mistakes in their lives and together they are able to make amends and move on together.

Both characters undergo tremendous emotional growth through this novel and it was absolutely wonderful to read about. Lavinia learns how to trust others and put more stock in her younger brother and that was really just so amazing to read about how their attitudes towards each other changed. William had been convinced he was irredeemable because of how he "forced" Lavinia to sleep with him, and reading about him slowly coming to realize that there is always hope and that the gift of love is never forced really completed him as a character. I will say that the whole "falling in love" part was a little wham-bam and all of a sudden they were both saying they loved the others, but at least it was explained better in this short story than in most others of this length. There was quite a couple sexy scenes and they were very well written if somewhat tinged with a hint of hopelessness at the beginning. I especially enjoyed that the money issue was resolved in a reasonable and fairly realistic manner instead of having him end up inheriting a dukedom or something else ridiculous.

The Scandals of an Innocent

The Scandals of an Innocent by Nicola Cornick

The Scandals of an Innocent is the second in "The Brides of Fortune" series and the same back round applies so I recommend reading at least some of my review of The Confessions of a Duchess. Alice Lister is a former serving maid whose eccentric employer left her 80,000 pounds after her death so Alice is prime hunting material for all the fortune hunters who have flocked to Fortune's Folly. Lord Miles Vickerey was intent on wedding her to pay of his enormous debts, and after Alice had begun to fall for him he quickly dropped her to pursue a wealthier heiress. When that doesn't pan out he runs off to London and takes up with a courtesan, but is sent back to Fortune's Foley to pursue the escaped criminal Tom Fortune. Since he recently inherited the Marquis-ship of Drum he is faced with even more debts and decides to renew his courtship of Ms. Lister and he has a trick up his sleeve. He threatens to expose her late night thievery of a wedding dress if she does not agree to his marriage and left with the threat of leaving her mother and her friend Lydia Cole, who is unmarried and pregnant, she agrees.

However, her inheritance is not without stipulations and Miles must prove himself honest and upstanding in all his dealings for three months in order for Alice to inherit the money. Alice is convinced he will never survive, but Miles is equally determined to get his hands on the money. The two announce their engagement, to the delight of Alice's mother and the horror of Miles' and Alice's lawyers come up to Fortune to take stock of how "honest" Miles really is. And surprisingly enough Miles does begin to change in very subtle ways even as he attempts to convince himself that he is only doing it to fool the lawyers. Unfortunately his act is very convincing and despite her determination not to, Alice finds herself beginning to fall in love with this new and improved Miles' once again even while she warns herself that he will do nothing but break her heart. It seems that he is indeed once again destined to break her heart, but maybe he will instead end up saving her from the real villains of Fortune who eluded capture by pinning their crimes on Tom Fortune, but will now do anything to stop their identity from being revealed.

I can not think of a single hero who started a book so absolutely unlikable and remained so for quite so long. He left her for a woman with more money and freely admits to wanting Alice purely for her money, and although he is attracted to her and lusts after her, the money is far more important. The blackmail scene made him almost unforgivable as he just kept pushing and pushing her and it was painful to read as he had such an upper hand over her and she had literally nothing to keep herself from falling for his plot. I kept waiting and waiting, and while his feelings for her certainly did begin to grow beyond lust and greed, it was slow and it seemed that, for well over half the novel, he was just as bad as he allowed Alice to believe. While Dexter in "The Confessions of a Duchess" had his mean moments, it wasn't this all pervasive and it was clear throughout it all that he loved her and was just striking out at her for her "betrayal" of him. This is definitely not the case in "Scandal." It got so bad that around the time where his mistress enters the picture I had to put the book down for awhile and read something else. Even though I know he didn't invite her to the event it just seemed like it was one time too many where Alice was just forced face to face with Miles' disrespect for her (as he had taken the mistress after throwing her over).

Miles' awfulness is what made Alice, who had appeared so likable and level headed, not to mention quite an amazing friend, so utterly unlikable in this book. She knew the whole time she was falling in love with how awful Miles' was and she STILL fell in love with him. I really just did not understand that. Or how she could give up her virginity to him minutes after being confronted by said mistress and being told that he had very seriously contemplated sleeping with a maidservant from the village. Some of my favorite parts of the book were reserved for the characters other than Miles and Alice. I was glad we got to learn more about what was happening in Lydia Cole's life after Tom Fortune had impregnated and abandoned her. There was also a very brief side romance between Alice's lawyer, Gaines, and Miles' sister, Celia that was very cute and made Celia seem like a heroine far more worthy of a novel than Alice. The ending was quite shocking as not only had I not suspected the real villains of the crime, I didn't even know the identity of the villain was up for grabs! So kudos for quite the little shocker there.

Rating: The book had its' moments, even some between Miles' and Alice, but Miles' behavior and downright awfulness overshadowed the book.

The Confessions of a Duchess

The Confessions of a Duchess by Nicola Cornick

When the squire of Fortune's Folly is turned down by the town's richest bachelorette he decides to get his revenge by enforcing the dame's tax, a medieval mandate whereby every unmarried lady in the town has to give Lord Montague, the town's squire, half their fortune. This has the dubious effect of making Fortune's Folly the place to be for all the fortune hunters of the town. Dexter Anstruther has been working for the government for the last several years and he is sent by Lord Liverpool to the town to investigate a local businessman he suspects of having had something to do with the fake suicide (it's really a murder) of Sir William Crosby. It is there he once again comes face-t0-face with Laura, the dowager duchess of Cole, with whom he shared one night of passion with 4 years before. He had been 22, she 30, and he was convinced he was in love with her and begged her to run away with him. She turned him down, broke his heart, and after briefly turning to whores, drinking, and gambling, he took control of his life and has been enforcing the law ever since. But one meeting with Laura is enough to threaten the tight reign he has over his emotion and he cannot stop the flood of emotions, memories, and lust that strikes him whenever she is near.

For her part, Laura never meant to break Dexter's heart, but felt that running away with a married duchess would ruin the young man with his whole future ahead of him. When Dexter comes back into town Laura is terrified that the secret that she has kept for over 3 years will come to light and ruin her life. Laura's daughter Harriet, while always accepted as the deceased Duke of Cole's daughter, is in fact Dexter's daughter from that long ago night. On top of this accidents have continually befallen Laura and Dexter begins to wonder if there is someone in Fortune's Folly who wants to hurt Laura. As a possible motive there is Laura's work against the Dame's Tax; she has done everything she, and her two close friends in the town, can think of to thwart Lord Montague's attempts to collect the money. Dexter is determined to romance Lydia Cole, a cousin by marriage of Laura, but he cannot stop thinking about the dowager duchess nor can he keep his hands off of her whenever they are together. When they are caught in a compromising position Dexter makes an offer for Laura that she promptly refuses, but when he discovers the truth of Hattie's parentage he forces her to marry him with the threat that he will reveal the truth to everyone. Dexter is sure that he can keep his unruluy emotions under control and keep their union passionate, yet reasonable and sedate, but this is not an arrangement either of them can live with and it is Dexter who must realize that he wants all of the benefits of marriage.

The most notable part of this book is the way that lust seems to permeate everything. Every thought that Dexter has seems to be about how much he desires Laura and why he should. Even Laura seems to be constantly lustful and thinking about Dexter, although she at least does have other notable pursuits including acting as the highwaywoman Glory who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. This was one of the more awkward parts of the book whenever Glory was mentioned as it kind of seemed as though there had been a previous book in the series, although as far as I can tell this is the first book in The Brides of Fortune series. Laura has other acts of charity as well and the people and she comes across as a genuine person who wants to help others and her charity doesn't seem like a ploy to merely make the character seem "good" (see Stephanie Laurens) or just the only respectable way a widow can think of to keep herself occupied. The other wierd-ish part of the book involves Laura's servants who had worked with her when she was still married and who apparently suffered a nervous breakdown when the new duchess proved too demanding. There are vague allusions to her incessant demands but I can't help but wonder exactly what happened, as there is no allusion to physical abuse, to make two able bodied and minded people become shaky and literally lose a little bit of their mind? They're servants- I would think they were used to handling demands.

The book is beautifully written with a LOT of internal dialogue- in fact internal dialogue propably accounts for well over 1/2 the book with descriptions (which are detailed without being flowery or bogging down the book) and dialogue between characters being the other 1/2. Cornick has a beautiful way with words and I loved several scenes that were just so amazingly well written, especially the parts where Dexter realized that Laura had lied to him all those years ago when she claimed not to have loved him and the part where Laura becomes bogged down in despair when she believes her marriage has no hope for love. Simply amazing and beautiful. This book sets up the sequels perfectly as I cannot wait to read the stories of the other woman of Fortune, especially that of Lydia whose story is hinted at in this one, but not resolved, however she apparently doesn't have her own book in the series- interesting. There was a cool bit of angst on both there parts as Dexter fought of his love for the woman who kept his child hidden from him and as Laura deals with guilt over hiding said child and lying to him about her love. The sex is interesting and very emotion driven instead of lust driven (which makes it odd that Dexter is so intent on claiming that their passion has nothing to do with love) although I found her use of the phrase "make love" to be used even when the term didn't really seem to apply.

Rating: Between two amazing characters and the beautiful writing I had no choice but to love this book. I look forward so much to the other two in the series (reviews coming soon), but the book didn't have everything I look for in a 5 heart book.