When Angels Fall

When Angels Fall by Meagan McKinney 501

Lissa Alcester has been doing her best to make ends meet and support her younger siblings, the blind Evvie, and ten year-old George. Things are not going well and without the support of Great-Aunt Sally, things would be far worse than they are. Their parents had died during a Great Scandal that left the children broke and with a great cloud over their heads. They don't know that Sally is really Ivan Tramore, the new Marquis of Powerscourt, who had once been their stable boy when he was nothing more than the bastard son of the old Marquis. One day Lissa had snuck down to the stables an in the heat of passion had said some very harsh things to him and struck him across the cheek with a horsewhip. Now when she hears he is coming back to town, she knows that he is finally here to get his revenge and laugh at the Alcester family's very long fall from grace. Coming face to face with him after all these years brings back all the old feelings and Lissa is terrified she will live up to the nickname, "Lusty Lissa."

Lissa is determined to make the best of things for her family and thinks the only way to do this is by marrying a rich man, but Ivan keeps getting in the way and chasing of all his suitors. She knows that he wants to ruin her and keep her as his mistress, but she cannot become her promiscuous marriage and wants to hold out for marriage. This becomes harder and harder the more Ivan presses her and tries to seduce her. When she takes a job Ivan's house to help him plan a ball, she is thrown together with him more and more and realizes that she has always been in love with him. Her sister meanwhile has been getting very cozy with Ivan's bailiff, one Holland Jones, who takes it into his head that he is in charge of the Alcester family and he demands that Ivan do right by Lissa. When she gets scared that Ivan is going to brush her off once he has gotten his revenge (aka. slept with her) she runs off to London and is up to Ivan to prove that he both wants her and is worthy of her.

I had read this book back in High School and had held fond memories of it, but like Elizabeth Lowell's Autumn Lover my memories are much better than the book itself turned out to be or at least I had much different tastes back in High School. The first thing I noticed about this book is that there is absolutely nothing told from Ivan's point of view and this makes the book severely lacking. His POV would have been very welcome, especially considering all the turmoil that Lissa was going through, and the things he were doing to her often demanding some justifiable explanation and none was ever offered. It is obvious he is torn between revenge and some very strong feelings for the girl he has never been able to get out of her head, but unfortunately wonderful angstiness only really works when both sides are really feeling it. This was definitely a book where I cannot figure out what really drew these two together as Ivan is surly and rude the whole time and Lissa is running around trying to keep her dignity and save her family.

Lissa is quite determined and I loved that she worked so hard to keep her family going and protect her weaker siblings from the world. However, she goes and ruins her own chances to get married several times (with Ivan's help, but she could have prevented it really) and I just wanted to slap her. Ivan and Lissa spent absolutely no time together as a happy couple, it was always tinged with her fear that he would abandon her and did not really love him. I usually like to see the two together and functioning as a couple for at least a couple of scenes. The sex/ seduction was different than what occurs in most modern regency novels, but was fairly standard for back then I guess. He doesn't rape her, but he does seem to have difficulty stopping when she says no and the seduction was far harsher than I am usually used to. And she is sad throughout almost all of it as she worries about him not loving her and it really lends a tragic air to the whole thing. This book is incredibly emotional, however it never really crosses into fun angstiness, just... worry.

Rating: I always look back on things with more fondness than they deserve. My rose covered glasses say three stars, my objectivity says one.

Provocative in Pearls

Provocative in Hunter by Madeline Hunter 430

For two years Grayson, Earl of Hawkeswell, has been struggling to obtain the monies he was promised when he wed young Verity Thompson. Unfortunately right after the ceremony she absconded away and drowned in the Thames, but since her body was never found, the entire validity of the marriage is up in the air. Hawkeswell needs those funds to help those on his lands who depend on him. During an afternoon trip to the country with his friend he discovers that Verity is far from dead and has in fact been posing as young Elizabeth for the last two years. He is furious but Verity hopes that she can convince him that the best possible way to remedy the situation is to obtain an annulment and she will grant him the funds he needs. She had been coerced into the marriage by her cousin, who threatened to hurt some family friends of hers, and she did want to enter into a man she barely new so she ran away. Hawkeswell does not want to listen to Verity's arguments or proposals, but he agrees that in exchange for three kisses a day he will leave her alone.

Verity does not expect these kisses to amount to much, so she is quite surprised when she finds herself very much liking them. Hawkeswell wants his marriage to work out because he desperately needs the money, but even after he is offered the money, without the bride, he finds that he is not quite willing to give Verity up. He is not at all pleased that Verity has an obsession with finding Michael Bowman, the young man everyone had assumed she would eventually marry. Michael was handsome and he grew up in the world of the iron mines, so he was the perfect man for Verity. Hawkeswell does not like feeling as though his wife wants someone else, butt he more he sees her dedication to the people, sees the cruel way her cousin and his wife treated her while she lived with them, and sees how innocently perfect she is in med, the more he comes to realize that there may be something more important than his own happiness and the money he can gain. Only after he proves to her that she means more to him than anything do he and Verity come together with the knowledge that there was nothing left to stop them from falling in love.

I am torn between admiring Lizzie for taking matters into her own hands and running away from a situation she had absolutely not control of and disliking her for running away and not standing up for herself. I guess the fact that there really was nothing she could do because of her age and her gender, I am more sympathetic to her plight. So go her for running away. However, her ideas on how to make things right are obviously ridiculous from the get go and I don't quite understand how she could be so sheltered and naive after everything she went through. Hawkeswell was interesting as well, although I was still trying to figure out why his temper was so renowned and if there really was a danger of it manifesting itself around Lizzie. Oddly enough I found myself far more sympathetic to his plight than I was for Lizzie. I liked that I could really get a feel for the way these two fell in love with each other- I imagine I was that Hawkeswell loved Lizzie's dedication to her friends and her father's legacy as well as her innocence, while Hawkeswell really proved his love for her at the end in such an amazing way that Lizzie had to fall in love with her. I guess I'm just a sucker for sacrifices that prove love!

The writing style in this was different than I am used to with Hunter's novels, especially the sex scenes that were just very... perhaps the right word is flowery. They were quite plentiful, definitely not graphic, and really just kind of hinted in weird ways at what was going on. I wasn't really a fan. In addition this whole hoopla about the family friend/ childhood sweetheart should have been explained in much more detail from the beginning as I was halfway done before I really figured out why Michael was important to her and why we should care about what had happened. Luckily once I understand what had happened, kind of, I was definitely intrigued and wanted to figure out why so many young men in iron towns were disappearing. Unfortunately, this plot should have been much more complex than it was as there were conspiracies, workers troubles, and circumventing of the law, that I would have liked some more explanation of it at the end.

Rating: I can objectively look at this book and find redeeming qualities, but I just did not like it. My favorite part was the very end when Hawkeswell made that big sacrifice because of how much he loved Verity.

The Truth About Lord Stoneville

The Truth About Lord Stoneville by Sabrina Jeffries 428

Maria Butterfield and her cousin Jeremy Dunse have come to London from Dartmouth, Massachusetts, to find Maria's fiance, Nathan Hyatt. Hyatt had been sent to London on a mission from Maria's father's shipping agency, New Bedford Shipping, and he has since gone missing. Maria and Hyatt had become engaged at the behest of Maria's father, who had no sons and wanted to pass his shipping empire on to someone he can trust. But now that Maria's father has died, Maria needs Henry in order to have access to her funds. She and Jeremy chase a man carrying Henry's satchel into the brothel where they are confronted by Oliver, Lord Stoneville. Oliver is not at all a happy camper as his grandmother, Mrs. Plumtree, has just threatened to disinherit and cut off Oliver and his four dissolute siblings if they don't all marry by the end of the year. He sees this Catholic American woman with a trade background as the perfect person to help him call his grandmother's bluff. So he takes her and her cousin back to his family estate, Halstead Hall, to pretend to be his fiance in exchange for helping her find Hyatt.

What he had not counted on was finding Maria quite so interesting and so loyal to him. Rumors abound that Oliver was somehow involved in his parents quite tragic death as his mother shot his father before killing herself. Oliver finds Maria sympathetic, quick to protect him from scandalmongers, and she has an amazing smile that warms him. Maria realizes that the dissolute image and heartless facade that Oliver presents to the world is just his way of protecting himself from being hurt by society's whispers. Oliver is scared that Maria is marrying Hyatt for all the wrong reasons and he quickly discovers that he does not want Maria with any man other than him. Quickly their fake engagement is all too real and it turns out that the grandmother's disapproval had been a bluff all along and she heartily approves of matters. But when a private detective finds Hyatt, and Oliver is terrified that he does not have a strong enough hold on her, but he knows he cannot lose her love. He has to use all the power he has at his disposal to save the woman who saved him, from the man who betrayed her.

Maria is absolutely amazing and I loved her from the very beginning! She goes off to London to get what she wants showing amazing gumption for an unmarried woman, she kind of allows herself to be bullied into pretending to be a fiance but she always manages to hold her own, and she can really see inside of Oliver to understand where he's coming from and what he is really like on the inside. All romance novel heroes have hidden depths, but Oliver's are particularly special because they really are so transparent to anyone who would care to look, and he is so obviously desperate to have someone look. I love that he wants to protect her from making the same mistakes his parents made (marrying for money) and is also so desperate to avoid the same mistake himself. It really makes his aversion to marriage more believable and not so gag inducing as some other excuses I've read. The love these two felt for each other was almost palpable and I loved it. There was also just enough steam and Jeffries, as usual, does a great job with it.

I believe that this book brings up several character's from Jeffries' previous novels, however I am not quite sure and I like that I was not hit over the head with them so much and their happiness is just kind of briefly mentioned enough to be satisfying. Mrs. Plumtree was also incredibly well written. I am not a fan of the overbearing grandmother's or the grandmother's who are just too precious and hold all these secrets and know what is going on. Mrs. Plumtree is a great balance between all of it and is just great. Hyatt was also great as the villain of the story as he was an awful person for what he did, obviously, but at the same time his motivations were actually well explained and he did not end up being a horrible treasonous bastard. His little mistake also lent a great side plot to the story as well as I loved reading Stone's fears about losing Maria and how much he needs her, wants to protect her, and can't bear to give her up to another man. And there was also, at the end, quite the interesting little development involving the well named Jeremy Dunse, and a woman who equally deserves the last name she eventually takes on.

Rating: I loved this book; it had great writing, two amazing characters, and an incredibly well developed romance and relationship.

Revenge Wears Rubies

Revenge Wears Rubies by Renee Bernard 426

Galen Hawke survived months in a sahib's prison while in India and he survived on tale's of his friend John's sweetheart back home, Haley Moreland. He and several of his fellow English captives manage to escape but on the harrowing journey back to civilization John passes away and exacts a promise from Galen that he will take care of Haley. Galen is furious to return to England and find that Haley is engaged to another man less than a year after she discovered her lover had died. He knows that this supposedly innocent miss is nothing but a fortune hunter who has latched herself onto a rich industrialist despite his inferior breeding and uncouth manners. He has been aimless ever since he got back but Haley gives him something to work towards- he needs to get revenge for John and ruin the young lady who wasted no time getting over him. Haley is not at all happy to have the weight of her family's financial ruin placed on her shoulder, but she knows her duty and that is why she has agreed to married Mr. Herbert Tumble.

When Galen gains an introduction to Haley both are immediately smitten, but Galen is still determined to prove that she is heartless. Haley realizes that she does not want to live her entire life without having known true passion, so despite her misgivings and the realization that she will have to marry Tumble, she embarks on a wild and reckless affair with Galen. They are not long into it before Galen has misgivings about his plan to ruin Haley and begins to search for reasons why he should not ruin her. It does not take Haley long to realize that she is desperately in love with Galen and she knows she must call off her ill fated wedding. But the time that Galen and his friends spent in that dungeon in India is coming back to haunt them as they had discovered a treasure room before their escape that members of the East India Company would literally kill to discover the whereabouts of it. Added to that, Galen's brother becomes deathly ill just as Haley discovers that Galen's intentions had not been honorable from the start. Galen must try to fight off the madmen who want him dead and gain back the love of the woman he may have lost forever.

From the outset it is obvious that Galen and Haley are very attracted to each other, but beyond that there really was not all that much to show a true emotional relationship between the two of them. There were not even the token reflections on the others' spirit or goodness or whatnot. The time these two spent together was almost entirely devoted to sex or at least double entendres that alluded to sex. Also there was some rather annoyingly witty and short banter between the two of them. However the sex, while plentiful, is very rarely hot, and really goes on for far too long and even I found myself wanting to just kind of skip through it. Literally- I believe the scene where she finally lost her virginity went on for 30 pages. Galen was so single minded in his pursuit of revenge against Haley in the beginning and I am happy to say that at least that was understandable as it finally gave him something to live for since his life had been a little empty since his return. Haley was quite the martyr as she sacrificed herself at the altar of marriage to save her family, and I loved that she had a little spunk and went out there and got some for herself.

However, I was able to see Michael as he grew from being bitter and suffering from some severe post-traumatic stress disorder to a man who finds a woman who can finally help him sleep through the night. The plot involving the treasure room and the East India Company really only hovers in the back ground for the majority of the book which suited me fine. Although more interesting than conspiracies involving books, I just tend not to go for big mystery-murder plots in general in my romance novels. However, as this is a part of what proves to be a much longer series (The Jaded Gentleman) based on the romances of all the survivors out of India, it is not entirely resolved and probably will not be until the end of the last in the series. I was a little surprised that the horrors the endured in India were really only alluded to in a very brief way, although it was probably for the best as i didn't really need to read them to understand what had happened.

Rating: The sex took over the book and it was not even all that good. I loved her last offering, but I have to give this two hearts.

Harper's Bride

Harper's Bride by Alexis Harrington 512

When Dylan Harper demands that Coy Logan repays the $1200 that Logan owes him, Logan is furious and knows there is no way he can raise the money. So he offers Harper his wife in exchange for forgiving the debt saying that Melissa will be able to cook and clean for Harper. Melissa is not excited about the prospect but she knows that things can not be too much worse than living in constant fear for herself and her young daughter, Jenny. Coy has already taken to hitting her and she wonders if it is just a matter of time before he takes to hitting the baby. So with some legal advice from a friend, that probably wouldn't quite hold up completely in court, Melissa becomes Mrs. Harper and she and Jenny move into the small apartment above Dylan's store. Dylan knows that Melissa is terrified of all men and that his reputation as a cold man does help her anxiety. She wants to make the best of things, so she tries to make her impact in his life as small as possible and keep him happy by doing as much for him as she can.

Slowly Dylan comes to like all the nice changes in his life; the clean clothes, the home cooked meals, and having company around. He knows that it will take time for her to completely get over her fear of men after what she had been through. Melissa just wants to pay off her debt to Dylan and start a better life for herself in her daughter and Portland so she opens up a laundry business in the heavily male dominated mining town. But the more money she earns the more she begins to think that she will not be able to leave Dylan. Dylan has also been burned before, by a young woman he fell madly in love with who ended up marrying his rich brother, and he is wary of taking that next step with another woman. His friend, Rafe, warns him repeatedly not to let life pass him by and not to end up with all the regrets that he himself has. When he finds out his estranged family his died his first thought is to go back and reclaim his land, but he is forced to confront his feelings for the little family that has already become his.

I'm not normally one for mining romances but I made an exception as I had just downloaded by Kindle for Mac's and I read a fairly decent review of it on another site. Immediately I was struck by how well developed the characters were and the complexity with which they were written. They both had their own stories and their own secrets and they both wanted so much out of their future and were willing to do whatever they could to achieve it. I loved Melissa's devotion to her daughter as it was completely real and loving not at all overdrawn like it is so often in romances. Maybe it's because she really was the only care-taker for her daughter and they had to live in such close proximity, or because oftentimes children in romance's tend to be the product of one of the father's liasions. I will admit that Rafe's history with his past love was a little overdone and I had a hard time understanding why he was dragging this around with him for so long. I like it when the author can come up with something more original for causing the hero's fear of love.

The relationship between these two evolved in a very well timed and progressive manner as they slowly got to know each other and began to overcome their fears and worries about the opposite gender. The feelings, and eventually the love, they feel for the other slowly builds up and is really a natural outcome of all the great things they each do for the other. I was definitely not left wondering why these two had ended up fallen in love because the story was very well written. I'll admit I would have been interested to see what would have happened if the husband had not conveniently died, but I guess a divorce would have been just too much. Another review mentioned how conversation driven this story is and just how so much of the book is spent with these two talking to each other. While this is certainly the case- I did not find it at all overwhelming and there was plenty of inner monologue and description to keep the book going.

Rating: This was a very satisfying, rather uneventful read. Very good really, and I very much enjoyed it even if I can't quite put my finger on what made it so great.