Lords & Lace

Blackthorn's Bride by Shana Galen

2013-05-15T09:07:00.003-07:00

Erotic: Average

Romance: Above Average

Historical: High

Adventure: High

Sap Factor: Low

Time Period: Europe 1801

Book 3 in a series of 3- Misadventures in Matrimony

Summary: Lady Madeleine Castleigh plans to escape the marriage mart by marrying a man she's not in love with. But her elopement go awry when she and her cousin, Ashley, are accosted by two gentlemen fleeing London.

The story is a fast-pasted chase through the countryside of Regency England with twists and turns you won't see coming and characters you can't help but love. If you read only one historical romance novel, in my opinion this is the one to pick up. You won't be disappointed.

Love it or leave it?
Love it!

Buy the book!

"Good Groom Hunting" by Shana Galen

2013-01-28T19:39:00.001-08:00

Erotic: Average

Romance: Above Average

Historical: High

Adventure: High

Sap Factor: Low

Time Period: England 1801

Book 2 in a series of 3- Misadventures in Matrimony

Summary: Josephine Hale is the granddaughter of a notorious pirate and has cast off the Marriage Mart to search for his lost pirate treausre. The only problem is that she only has half the map. She'll have to team up with her neighbor and sworn enemy, the grandson of another notorious pirate, to track down the treasure.

This is a fast-paced adventure with sword fights, misdirection and romance. It reads quickly and is hard to put down.

Love it or leave it?
Love it.

Buy the book!

"No Man's Bride" by Shana Galen

2013-01-28T19:24:00.002-08:00

Erotic: Average

Romance: Average

Historical: High

Adventure: Low

Sap Factor: Low

Time Period: England 1801

Book 1 in a series of 3- Misadventures in Matrimony

Summary: Catie is a woman raised in an abusive household, both physically and mentally traumatized. In an attempt to better their social standing, her father drugs her and forces her to marry her sister's betrothed in a foolish scheme and intrigue. Now married to a promising political player in the English Parliament, she must make her way through Society, overcome her agoraphobia and survive her the lasting effects of her abusive family.

This is a fabulous series, but this first book is a real snooze. I would only recommend reading it in order to have the whole back story for the other books in the series. As a stand alone work, it's not worth a read.

Love it or leave it?
Leave it.

"Rogue Pirate's Bride" by Shana Galen

2012-08-22T20:06:00.002-07:00

Erotic: Average

Romance: Above Average

Historical: High

Adventure: High

Sap Factor: Low

Time Period: Europe 1802

Book 3 in a series of 3.

Summary: Bastien Harcourt is a pirate captain bent on revenge against another infamous pirate. But his actions have made their mark and another seeks her revenge on him.

The story of the third Valere brother departs from the previous two, taking to the sea in a dashing pirate adventure. He meets his match in the admiral's daughter, Raeven Russell, who seeks revenge for her fallen fiance. There are sword fights, gun fights, sea battles and chase scenes. It's packed with action and adventure and of all of the lovers in this series, these two have, perhaps, the most pronounced personalities. Unlike most romance novels, the characters meet with tragedy, which only furthers their resolve. You won't be disappointed in this one.

Love it or leave it? Love it!

Buy the book!

"Making of a Gentleman" by Shana Galen

2012-08-22T19:58:00.001-07:00

Erotic: Average

Romance: Average

Historical: High

Adventure: High

Sap Factor: Low

Time Period: England/France 1801

Book 2 in a series of 3.

Summary: Armand Harcourt had been imprisoned for 12 years after the French Revolution. His brother, the Duc du Valere, freed him and brought him to London, but the years in prison had taken their toll. Unable to speak, the Duc and Duchesse sought any recourse to help Armand, and that is why the tutor, Felicity Bennett was brought into their home.
Unlike most sequels, this book literally picks up where the previous book left off and continues on. While the person speaking to the reader has changed, the main characters from the first book are not sidelined for this romance. In fact, Armand lives with the Duc and Duchesse, so they play an intergral part in this story. While, the slient Armnad might be interesting, I found it hard to really like him and the romance between him and his tutor felt forced. However, while it wasn't as good as the first book, it was still a decent read and kept the story going.

Love it or leave it? Love it!

Buy the book!

"Making of a Duchess" by Shana Galen

2012-08-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

Erotic: Average

Romance: Above Average

Historical: High

Adventure: High

Sap Factor: Low

Time Period: England/France 1801

Book 1 in a series of 3.

Summary: The exiled Duc du Valere of France is living in London while searching for any sign that the rest of his family survived the French Revolution and the beheadings of the aristocrats. But in a time of war, his contact with France has not gone unnoticed. So, a spy is sent into his home to prove he is a traitor, only she finds more than she bargained for.

This tale comes with spies, deceit, twists, turns, a prison break, sword fights and chases. It was full of adventure and action, and while some of the plot twists were easy to spot, others kept me on my toes. The backdrop of the Revolution paints a very complex character in the Duc and the unwilling spy, an orphaned governess provides another take on romance in the Regency period. The story was complex and exciting.

Love it or leave it? Love it!

Buy the book!

"Ridiculous" by D.L. Carter

2012-08-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

Erotic: Low

Romance: Average

Historical: High

Adventure: Above Average

Sap Factor: Low

Time Period: England, Regency

Summary: After the miserly but wealthy Mr. Anthony North passes at a young age, his female cousin assumes his identity to procure his fortune and keep her family out of the poor house. In her new identity she makes new friends, but finds herself falling in love with a man that believes her to be his best male companion.

This book needs an additional category of humor. It is at times laugh-out-loud funny. In order to convince people of her male identity without giving herself away, Millicent acts the fool on purpose. That way, people will ignore whatever social blunders she makes. This lends itself to an interesting and funny tale of the implausible situation. The characters are lovable and well-developed and this book was refreshing for the historical romance category. How often do you read historical romantic comedies?

Love it or leave it? Love it!

Buy the book!

"The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae" by Stephanie Laurens

2012-08-22T19:25:00.002-07:00

Erotic: Average

Romance: Average

Historical: High

Adventure: Average

Sap Factor: Low

Time Period: England 1829

Summary: The mysterious Earl of Glencrae arrives in London to kidnap Angelica Cynster and finds himself a willing accomplice.

Unfortunately, the cover of this book is very deceiving. It promises "three heroes, three rescues, three weddings" but fails to mention that it is the final book in a series of three, and contains only one hero and one rescue. The story itself is decent, with a kidnapping, a chase, and a fight to the death. But our lovely lady is gifted with the ability to "know" her true love when she sees him, which leaves little in the romance department. Overall, I liked this story, but the roll calls became tedious and the tiresome. At times I counted over twenty former characters from this author's other books being named in a single paragraph. Having not read all of her books, I found myself both lost and overwhelmed with all of the extraneous characters and they bogged down a decent tale.

Love it or leave it? Leave it.

Buy the book!

"Lord of Vengeance" by Lara Adrian

2012-06-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

Erotic: Below Average

Romance: Above Average

Historical: High

Adventure: High

Sap Factor: Low

Time Period: England 1153

This story had a great mix of romance, action, adventure and all of the key components for a great romance. It was low on the erotic side, but wasn't lacking in any way and in this particular tale, the explicitness was not missed. It's a Romeo and Juliet story with a Medieval English twist, although at times the setting feels more Scottish than English. It was very enjoyable and was hard to put down. I thought the ending could have been dragged out more, but maybe only so the story could last just that much longer.

Love it or leave it? Love it!

Buy the book!

"An Undeniable Rogue" by Annette Blair

2012-06-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

Erotic: Low

Romance: Average

Historical: Average

Adventure: Low

Sap Factor: High

Time Period: England 1815

This book couldn't figure out what category to place itself in. The first ninety percent of the book was a character study, followed by the last part actually containing the plot. There were a few attempted erotic scenes thrown in for good measure, but really the author seemed to gloss over them as though they didn't really belong. But by the end the characters thoughts suggested the book should have been much more tawdry. It just wasn't the case. Either it's erotic or it isn't, but don't play both sides of the fence.
In addition, the hero- the undeniable rogue- was anything but a rogue. He spent the majority of the book trying to live down his reputation, but every possible action proved the moniker incorrect, making the title truly distracting. I get that "rogue" is a good buzz word in romance novels, but if your character isn't a rogue, don't call him one.
Lastly, the romance took place between a 9 month pregnant woman and our duke. While pregnancy may be beautiful and romantic, attempting to bring the erotic in, well- I cringed often. The duke suckling breast milk from her? Maybe it appeals to some. As a character study this would have worked. Not attempting to broach erotic.
Honestly, this book was just plain boring. I don't hold romance novels to a high standard, but this book left me wanting, and not in a good way. The motivations were lacking. The plot thinned. And the joy of falling in love was lost. Undeniably bad.

Love it or leave it? Leave it.

Buy the book!

________________________
Next Up: Lord of Vengeance by Lara Adrian

"A Week to Be Wicked" by Tessa Dare

2012-05-31T21:09:00.002-07:00

Erotic: Average

Romance: Average

Historical: Average

Adventure: High

Sap Factor: Average

Time Period: England, Regency

I would put this book in the decent category. The author tried to drag out the chase much longer than the story would withstand, but the characters were interesting enough, if slightly implausible. It ends rather abruptly and leaves parts of the story unfinished, likely because it's part of a series.

The heroine evokes Mary Anning, possibly a little too much. I suspect the author was inspired by "Remarkable Creatures", a novel about the British fossil collector prior to women being accepted in scientific circles. Having read that book, this novel pales in comparison, but then it's difficult to critique a romance novel against a best-seller.

The Lord has an interesting back story, but an unusual condition that causes our two characters to be in close quarters. I found it just slightly too much of a stretch to believe, given our rakish Lord must be our hero, and thus turn out to be a decent man beneath it all.

Love it or leave it? Leave it.

Buy the book!

Welcome!

2012-05-23T19:16:00.002-07:00

Welcome to my blog about historical romance. I am an avid reader, and despite a busy lifestyle, still manage to read 1-2 books a week. One of my favorite genres is historical romance. But not all romance is alike. Some are more erotic, some more historically accurate and some come out of left field.

So, I will rate the books I read and post here their ratings on these categories:

Erotic:
Some like it hot, some not. Let me help you find the book to read with just the right temperature preference for you.

Romance:
Some stories have a better romance than others. For some it's more about falling in love than making love.

Historical:
Some books paint better pictures of a time period than others. When aliens interrupt a grand ball in the middle of merry old England, that's not accurate. However, romance novels are not history books, so this category is more about perception of accurancy than reality.

Adventure:
Are you looking for characters lurking in ballrooms, or is the heroine being chased across Europe by spies? Romances based more on conversations and interractions will rate low, while stories with sword fights and carriage chases will rate high.

Sap Factor:
It's true, some books are sappy. Maybe you love a story dripping in sap, maybe you don't.

All of these will be rated either none, low, average, high, or extreme.

_________________________________________________________________

I choose books at random, and may pick them up based on the pretty dress on the cover or a decent blurb on the back. You never know what I'll read next.

Read along with me and join the conversation:

This week I'm reading "A Week to Be Wicked" by Tessa Dare.