Historical Romances, Reviewed

ONE DUKE DOWN by Anna Bennett

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 21 Jan 2023 20:07:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: St. Martin's, 1/24/2023
GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance
SERIES: Rogues to Lovers, book 2
MY RATING: 4 stars

SYNOPSIS: Miss Poppy Summers is determined to keep her family’s fishing business afloat. Her poor widowed father has fallen ill, and her foolhardy brother has moved to London, leaving her precious little time to read or pursue her own dreams. But she’ll do anything for her family, so she cheerfully spends mornings in her rowboat, casting her nets. The very last thing Poppy expects or wants to find tangled in them is a dangerously attractive man. Especially one with a head wound—who’s convinced he’s a duke.

Andrew Keane is the Duke of Hawking, but he’s having the devil of a time convincing his fiery-haired rescuer of that fact. The truth is he came to the seaside resort of Bellehaven Bay to escape his life in London. Unfortunately, someone in Bellehaven wants to kill him—and he intends to find out who. He implores Poppy to tend to his injuries and hide him on her beach, reasoning it will be easier to find his attacker if that man assumes Keane is already dead. She wants no part of the scheme but can’t refuse the generous sum he offers in exchange for food and shelter while he recovers. It’s a mutually beneficial business arrangement…nothing more.

Under Poppy’s care, Keane regains his strength—and a sense of purpose. As they work together to solve the puzzle of his would-be murderer, he’s dazzled by her rapier wit and adventurous spirit; she’s intrigued by his mysterious air and protective streak. Though Poppy’s past gives her every reason to mistrust someone like Keane, the seawalls around her heart crumble in the storm of their passion. But when clues hint at the prime suspect in Keane’s attempted murder, Poppy must decide where her loyalties lie. Torn between the world she’s always known and the one she’s always dreamed of, she’ll need true love for a shot at her fairytale ending.

MY THOUGHTS: This was a light read though serious topics are explored but not with any depth, like abandonment and attempted murder. The story is 330 pages and the time span is about four months. The cover is really pretty.

I really like green-eyed Keane. I don't have much to say about him other than he's really into Poppy and isn't disrespectful to her in any way. There's no friction or miscommunication between them at any time, which is something I do like in my historicals.

Poppy's your average likable twenty-three-year-old heroine who's out there getting it done, helping to financially support her brother and father, who's ailing. I like that she doesn't come from money and knows how to take care of herself.

I have to say I was very excited to unravel the mystery of who's trying to kill Keane but dang, it was lackluster, to say the least. Keane was unbelievably forgiving in that matter to those involved.

I never thought the day would come that I'd complain about too many sex scenes in a book. I've been reading historical romances for 29 years this year, since I was a teen, and I can't really tolerate them anymore and generally skim them. This story has four of them, three of which I believe are descriptive, which is too many for a non-erotic novel of only 330 pages.

Complaints: Pet peeves of mine are when hero/heroin ages aren't given, or the year. If Keane's age was given, I missed it, and the year this story began isn't mentioned. A major pet peeve of mine is when authors put modern day ways of typing into historical stories. Here are two examples of that from this novel, "Let.Go." and "You.Are.Mine." There are two typos in the book too. The heroine has auburn hair yet it's said to be 'strawberry' colored too, which is nothing at all like auburn. Also Poppy has "blue-green" eyes that were once described as being sapphire! Overall this was a decent read.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

ALYX by Lolah Burford with Author Photo

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 15:02:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Signet, 1977
GENRE: Historical Fiction
SETTING: Jamaica, 1790s

TIMESPAN: about 4 years
HEROINE: Alyx de Vere
HERO: Simon
GRADE: A+
DATES READ: 1/04, 5/04, 11/06, 10/07, 1/22

SYNOPSIS: They were enslaved in a place where lust knew no bounds-and only love was forbidden… They were two white slaves thrown together in the darkness of the breeding hut. She, Alyx de Vere, a virginal, sixteen-year-old beauty carried off to nightmare captivity on a Caribbean sugar plantation. He, Simon, handsome, young, once heir to a noble title. He felt no desire for this anonymous woman who was forced upon him. And she knew only fearful hatred for this stranger who was about to violate her youthful innocence.

But as night after night of tremulous, fevered mating passed, something forbidden grew between these two desire-damned lovers-a rapturous passion that drove them to dare any peril to free each other from this savage world of bondage and brutal submission. And it was then that Alyx and Simon swore that no power-even death itself-would ever overcome their eternal bond of flaming, all-conquering love…

SPOILER SUMMARY: This is the story of 27-year-old Simon and 16-year-old Alyx de Vere, both British. Simon was sold at auction to August, owner of a plantation in Jamaica, 10 years earlier when he was 17. This story takes place in late 1790s Jamaica.

Here's how Simon ended up in Jamaica. Simon was in line to inherit his fathers estates and all that came along with it when his father was injured in a horse riding accident. Simon's jealous uncle Phillip came up with a horrible plan; to kidnap and ship Simon off to a place far away for life so that he would be next in line to inherit his brother's title and estate. But there was one little problem; what to do with Simon?

Simon's father was out riding one day while Simon was away at school. His father fell off the horse as went into a coma. Uncle Phillip put his plan into action. He went to see Simon at school, told him his father was hurt and his mother sent him to come get him and bring him home. Later that night, Phillip gave Simon some drugged coffee, which made Simon sick, then he passed out. He was taken to his own room to recover.

When he awoke, he was bound and gagged. Phillip was standing beside him, he removed Simon's gag and forced him to drink more drugged rum. Simon and Phillip then traveled by carriage. Phillip told him they were traveling 'towards' Simon's father's. The carriage was then attacked by men who kidnapped Simon for ransom, Phillip watching all the while.

Simon awoke on a bed, bound in a hut, being taken care of by some men for about a week. He was blindfolded one day, put into the floor of a carriage and covered by a rug, so as not to be seen by anyone. After traveling for awhile, the carriage stopped, multiple gunshots were fired and the men who helped Phillip with Simon were killed. Simon knew Phillip did it because he heard his voice. Phillip then forced Simon to swallow some kind of powder.

He was later put on a ship with other captives, they sailed to Jamaica and he was put on an auction block naked, examined by a man who ended up buying him. That man was Simon's master, August. Simon was sold under the name Aston Smith.

Simon was forced to share August's bed for five years. When Simon would resist, he'd get whipped. After five years, Simon stopped sharing August's bed but the rapes continued. Soon after Simon stopped sharing his masters bed, he became one of four *studs*. The studs were to get the female slaves, both black and white, pregnant. After they'd gotten one pregnant, they were given a one month break. Studs were treated better than other slaves.

After being a stud for five years, Alyx arrived. She was sent to Jamaica because she'd gotten caught stealing Simon's uncle Phillip's horse. One of her friends dared her to do it just for fun, so she did it then got caught. She'd been there a few months when she'd been put into the breeding hut with Simon. August put those two together until Alyx got pregnant because August wanted those two to have a son that August and his wife could raise as their own, since they couldn't have their own children.

So Simon and Alyx met in the breeding hut. That's how the book opens. They were in total darkness every time so they couldn't see each other at all. The reason for that is so that if they pass by each other, they won't recognize each other and won't know who they're pregnant by or who has fathered who's child.

Just about every night, Simon and Alyx were put in the hut together. They talked and got to know each other. Alyx told Simon how she came to be there and Simon told her his story.

Alyx knew she was pregnant and even threw up once while they were together. She hid the dirty sheet under the bed because she knew if anyone knew she was pregnant, she wouldn't see Simon again. After a short time it was discovered that she was pregnant so she didn't see Simon for a long time. Though they didn't know what the other looked like, since they'd only been together in total darkness, Alyx recognized Simon one day while they were working. Alyx dropped her bucket of water, Simon looked at her but continued on, she whispered his name and in that moment he knew she was Alyx, since she's the only one who knows his real name. They talked, he felt her stomach and saw that she was pregnant. They made plans to meet by the fountain later, they met and had sex and were caught by August's wife. She wanted to have him castrated, whipped and hung. After he was whipped and was about to be hanged, August arrived and saved Simon.

They made plans to escape the plantation together. They met, Simon has his master's keys, they met the priest who married them, then as they were boarding a ship that Simon had arranged for earlier. As they were boarding it, gunshots rang out and August and his men shot the captain and another man, and made Alyx and Simon return home. Simon was whipped 200 times.

He was then put to work in a field with a man who'd had his tongue cut out. He was also raped by the man from time to time. He then became 'stud' to Alyx again. They were told not to talk to each other, so they didn't. Then he didn't see her again for three years. One day someone came to the hut Simon lived in and told him his master wanted to see him. When he got there, August told him he'd checked out his story about being an earl and that Simon had been telling the truth. He tore up Simon's 'paper of purchase', introduced him to his son and daughter, then Alyx and allowed them both to sail home to England. They were finally free; Simon, after 13 years, Alyx, after 3.

When Simon arrived at his mother's home after a few months of sailing, she was surprised to see him but didn't seem happy. He told her that Phillip had abducted him but she didn't belive him. All of them then traveled to see Phillip, who was very sick and in bed. He told Phillip that he and his family was going to have to find some place to live, since they were living in Simon's house. Neither one mentioned the kidnapping.

On the way home, a rider came up to the carriage and told Simon that his uncle wanted to see him. Simon returned alone to the house. When Simon went into the bedroom, Phillip asked Simon if he knew what Phillip had done to him and Simon said yes. Phillip said that he wasn't sorry for what he'd done and that he'd do it all over again if he could.

Simon wrote up a statement saying that Phillip was retracting his statement about Alyx stealing his horse then got Phillip to sign it. He was going to use that to have the charges against Alyx dropped. Next, he asked Phillip if he ever wondered about him or regretted what he'd done and Phillip said 'no'. Simon went home, told Alyx she could leave him if she wanted, since they hadn't been getting along much during the whole voyage back home to England. She said she wanted to stay with him; that's how the book ended.

MY THOUGHTS: I absolutely love this book. It's a top favorite of mine. It fits the criteria of romance (hero and heroine have a relationship throughout with a happily ever after) but I don't see it as one though some do, so I'll catagorize it as one. It's the darkest and most disturbing book I've ever read. I've read it five times in exactly 18 years and it only cost $1.

Both main characters have terrible lives on the plantation. Alyx is put with a 'stud', Simon, for the sole purpose of getting pregnant. Their owner, August, wants their male offspring to raise as his own son so he can inherit everything when August dies. Simon and Alyx are put together in a breeding hut every night in total darkness never seeing what the other looks like. Though they're not to speak to each other at all, they do and form a bond. When Simon isn't on stud duty he's being raped often by August, or servicing his wife, who's name we never learn. August occasionally likes to strangle Simon until he passes out before raping him, sometimes drugging him first. He has him whipped too whenever he feels like it. August's wife is serviced too by Simon. When she sees Simon and Alyx speaking to each other outside of the hut (they somehow figure out who the other is though they've never actually seen each other), she gets incredibly jealous and wants to castrate him. They call him by the fake name he gave them, Aston:

"I hope you die hard, Aston," she whispered, viciousness in her voice over him already like the whip, and he winced under it. "Your neck is strong and I hope it will not break, and you strangle slowly. I hope you take a long time to die, and that you know all the time that it is happening, and that you pray for death before you get it, Aston. I will watch you, Aston, all the while it is happening to you, I will watch your face, Aston, and not let them cover it so that I can see you while you are suffering."

Once Alyx gets pregnant, Simon starts planning their escape but it doesn't go smoothly once the plan's set in motion. That's exciting to read, and tension-filled. I like Alyx. She's mild in personality. This should have been called "Simon" because he's the star of the show. Because they're forced to have sex with each other, they're raping each other. There's a scene near the end, page 292, when they're free and Simon does rape Alyx:

"He was angered at her too then, and he made it his affair, quickly and roughly, forcing her, then he was sorry. She was shaking with angry sobs."

The ending isn't satisfying, it's too short, and I don't like Simon's mother at all. I doubt anyone does. I don't feel her reaction to seeing him again is a normal one, but then again this is fiction. My only complaint is that the ending needed to be expanded, the book is only 312 pages, and this book definitely needed a sequel.

The author's note at the end of the book tells us who the character Simon was based on. It says, "In the eighteenth century, the Sixth Earl of Anglesey (uncle Phillip) "is notorious as having procured the kidnapping and bondage in America of his nephew, James Annesley, rightful Lord Altham". If you want to read more about the real event that inspired the character Simon, click here.

Alyx's character was based on a true case of a 14 year old girl who stole a horse and was 'condemned to transportation' to Australia and ended up married to the ship's captain.

Lolah died in 2002. Below is an image of her, taken from the back of the hardcover edition of her book Vice Avenged (see my review). Image came from the internet.

TENDER FURY by Connie Mason

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 14:27:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Leisure, 1984
GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance
SETTING: Martinique & USA, 1814-1817
AUTHOR SITE: link

BODICE RIPPER? Yes
MY GRADE: B

SYNOPSIS: Lovely young Gabrielle LaFarge had resigned herself to the life of a nun in a French convent. But the future that awaits her is far different, for she is informed that she is to marry Philippe St. Cyr, a wealthy plantation owner from the island of Martinique. Gabby resents and fears this handsome, moody man, whose icy surface conceals depths of passion and violence. Though he awakens her to the sensual delights of lovemaking, Gabby’s heart remains untouched – or so she believes. As for Philippe, she is certain that he is incapable of love. Constantly at cross purposes, separated by war and the conniving of Philippe’s jealous mistress, each tries to forget the other but a bond has been forged between them that will serve at last to unite them in love’s sweet, strange … Tender Fury.

MY THOUGHTS: This was a typical bodice ripper and I enjoyed it. It takes place on the island of Martinique, New Orleans, Louisiana (USA), Norfolk, Virginia (USA) and spans three years. It features multiple rapes, drugged heroine, cheating, masturbation, a love triangle, an evil mistress (I love those!), politics, you name it.

The heroine, 17/18 year old Gabby has pale blonde hair and violet eyes. She goes through so much, most of which is at the hands of her husband. It was overkill with how many men wanted her- her husband, a man at the brothel where she was staying temporarily, an American named Robert, and Marcel, a man her husband hates. They own neighboring plantations in Martinique. I can't remember why Philippe hates him so much. Marcel's a good 15 years older than Gabby. He loves her and tries to help her escape Philippe. He's a real good friend to her right until the end.

The hero's age isn't given. He's widowed and feels responsible for his wife's death. He also feels responsible for his mother's death when he was only ten years old though he's not truly to blame for either. He's violent and possessive. He whores around but so does Gabby. He's working with Andrew Jackson to deliver documents about an upcoming British invasion and that's why they're in New Orleans for a time.

Amalie is Philippe's slave and mistress. She's nuts and jealous of Gabby. She tries to kill her and sets her up to be raped during a strange ceremony. Nature punishes her in the end. Really the only thing I dislike about her is she refers to herself in third person a lot, which is annoying.

Though the synopsis says Gabby and Philippe are together, I was hoping he'd get killed in the end, and there's a scene that made me think he would die, so she could be with Marcel but that wasn't in the cards for her, sadly.

This is the author's first novel. She passed away in 2020. She was featured in a short segment on 48 Hours called Foreign Affair on an episode called Isn't It Romantic? I can't find the air date of the episode but according to her website, it's from 1995 and she's reading an excerpt from her book Wind Raider, which came out December 1994.

AUTHOR CONNIE MASON ON 48 HOURS, 1995

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 14:21:00 +0000

I learned on Connie's website that she was featured in a short segment on the news program 48 Hours in 1995. The episode's called Isn't It Romantic? and her segement's called Foreign Affair. See it below.

A COUNTERFEIT BETROTHAL by Mary Balogh

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 01:58:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Signet 6/1992
REISSUE: Dell, 4/2013
GENRE: Historical Romance
MY GRADE: F

SYNOPSIS: Lady Sophia Bryant had no intention of ever marrying. However, her own parents had been estranged for some fourteen years, and her one desire was to bring them together again in love. Surely, if she were to announce her betrothal—even a false one—they would be forced to see each other at last.

Lord Francis Sutton was perfect for such deceit. Devilishly handsome and a notorious rake, he was always agreeable to games of passion, especially those in which he had nothing to fear and nothing to lose. The trap was set...if only Lady Sophia could keep her foolish heart from falling prey to her brilliant snares...

MY THOUGHTS/SPOILERS: This was awful. Sophia is an 18-year-old who comes up with an ignorant plan to get her parents back together. She goes through with very expensive wedding preparations for herself and 21-year-old Francis, inconveniencing many guests who have to travel to her parents estate for the wedding, all unknowing the wedding is to be called off last minute. She claims she never even thought about all that. That just shows how self-centered she is. We know nothing of her life before the story begins. Francis goes along with her plan, revealing at the end that he does in fact want to marry her and has from the start. They've been friends most, if not all, of their lives yet we're to believe that out of nowhere he wants to marry her? I never got the impression that they were close friends or were in each other's lives that much.

Sophia's mother, Olivia, is 36. She and Sophia's father, 40-year-old Marcus, have lead separate lives for the past 14 years, since he cheated on her with a prostitute while drunk. They're both alright characters. What really brings them back together is a damn baby. She doesn't tell him she's pregnant until two weeks before she gives birth and has the gall to get angry at him for not being around. That scene was stupid because Olivia's behavior and dialogue was very out of character for her.

I didn't like the dueling plotlines at all but Sophia's parents story was much more interesting than her own. The author told us probably five times how old Olivia was and Francis kept making jokes about Sophia needing to go to Bedlam, the insane asylum, and it got old fast. Luckily for me this novel was only 260 pages.

LOVE'S LEADING LADIES by Kathryn Falk

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 24 Oct 2021 22:11:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Pinnacle, 1/1982
GENRE: Nonfiction
MY GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: Here, for the first time, is an intimate look at the women who write the bestsellers that bring passion, charm, and happiness into the lives of countless readers.

As the Barbara Walters of personal interviews, Kathryn Falk-and avid romantic novel fan herself-has asked intriguing questions of favorite authors, who now tell all about their home lives, their hopeful dreams, and devastating disappointments. Even about their own romantic experiences!

Complete with photographs, facts, favorite recipes, astrological signs, and up-to-date lists of published works-plus others soon to be released-this one-of-a-kind anthology is an absolute must for the more than 20 millions romantic novel fans who find themselves fascinated by...LOVE'S LEADING LADIES.

Authors profiled: link.

MY THOUGHTS: I loved this. Each author got 4-6 pages and there's a mix of both historical romance and contemporary authors. Seems like over half included one of the author's favorite recipes. There's a black and white headshot of every single author except Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, who got an illustration of herself instead. The author called her "reclusive" and said she was a "born-again Christian" who doesn't answer fan mail. We learned that authors Iris Bancroft and Rebecca Brandewyne are MENSA members and that Rosemary Rogers and Shirlee Busbee, two of the biggest authors of the 80s, worked together for a time while Rosemary was a published author. Julie Ellis wears a size 3 US shoe! Author Virginia L. Hart (who apparently goes by the name Ginger) is married to famous country singer Freddie Hart, who died a few years ago.

Parris Afton Bonds is a born-again Christian and here's something odd she said to justify having raped heroines in her books, "I find my approach amusing, because as a tyro at writing romance I found it very difficult to justify sexual intercourse between two unmarried characters and still remain true to my Christian tenets. As a result I often had to resort to 'rape' between my hero and the heroine in order to juggle the sex and romance!"

Barbara Cartland is pretty funny, "That's why I'm selling millions of paperbacks to women who are on Valium because they're having such a rotten time in real life." "I don't like most women," she admits without hesitation. "I can't bare ugly women who sit about doing nothing but waiting to play bridge. All my life I have thought men were something very special. It is a treat to be alone with them. I prefer a dumb man to an intelligent woman." She also calls herself "some sort of British heirloom."

THE PIRATE AND THE PAGAN by Virginia Henley

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 22:04:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Dell, 11/1990
GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance
SETTING: England and the sea, 1660s
BODICE RIPPER? Yes

MY GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: Wild as a pagan goddess, Lady Summer galloped her stallion along the Cornish coast. She had dabbled in the smuggler's game to save her family estate, but a wealthy marriage would better serve her purpose now. Lord Ruark Helford seemed the answer to her reckless prayers. But as his hot, hungry kisses drew her toward deception and irresistible acts of love, she had to hesitate. Would this arrogant, handsome lord be her ticket to heaven--or hell?

MY THOUGHTS: I really liked this. Summer's a hazel-eyed 17-year-old spitfire. She has a brother, Spencer, who's three years younger. They're dirt poor and are about to lose their home. They smuggle to stay alive and she's a highwayman sometimes. They've only got one relative, aunt Lil, their father's sister. I wish she had played a larger roll. She's not a bad character at all but I could see her doing bad deeds.

Ruark's age isn't given. He's a pirate so I'm assuming he's much older than she. She needs his money to save their home, Roseland, and they marry too fast without his knowledge of why she's truly marrying him. He smacks her on three different occasions (chapter 21, 33, 39) and rapes her once. Despite that, I like him. He has a younger brother, Rory, and there's a love triangle between all of them. That, I like and it added depth to the plot. There's a major twist involving that that I didn't like at all.

The only negatives are that the story was too long and there were too many explicit sex scenes.

DUCHESS IF YOU DARE by Anabelle Bryant

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 May 2021 19:57:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Zebra, 3/2021

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England, 1817

MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: Scarlett Wynn's tragic childhood taught her that life can be cruel to women with little power. So when a local seamstress disappears, Scarlett vows to find out why. Armed with a weapon and her courage, Scarlett scours London for clues—and crosses the unlikely path of Ambrose Cross, the Duke of Aylesford, at an unlikely place: an upscale brothel. The Duke is trying to solve a mystery of his own, and Scarlett is sure they can help each other—if she can resist the attraction that draws them together...

As Duke, Ambrose is duty-bound to protect his family name from scandal, no matter the cost. But Scarlett's fearless spirit forces him to look beyond his world of privilege. Scarlett is as intoxicating as she is dangerous, igniting a fire in him like no other. But when the pair learn both mysteries they're trying to solve are tied to a string of missing women, the tangled scheme they uncover may put their lives, and their growing love, in mortal danger—and lead them to search their hearts like never before...

MY THOUGHTS: What started out as 4 stars turned into a 3-star read. The mystery was the only thing interesting but even that turned very dull. Scarlett's out to find out what happened to her missing friend and seamstress/prostitute Linie/Daisy. In the process she meets twenty-eight-year-old Ambrose at a brothel called The Scarlet Rose while he's there to see his younger brother Martin, who frequents the place. Ambrose is trying to find out who's been lending Martin money.

Both main characters were severely underdeveloped, as was their quick-blooming relationship, which was very surface. One knows nothing about the other. I didn't feel any chemistry between them despite two sex scenes, the first of which felt out of place and too soon. Both characters were very bland to me.

Other than the time period, Regency, being given, the exact year wasn't until the last few pages, 1817. The timespan felt like just a few days but I guess it was longer than that. Scarlett's age was given, sort of, by saying she'd been on her own for almost twenty years and that at "barely" five years old she'd stopped wishing on stars. I assume that's when her prostitute mother was murdered by a lover, and I assume Scarlett's 24 but the author couldn't tell us outright.

I think this book failed (me) because of it being too condensed at only 250 pages and just not good writing. The subject matter is very dark (dead body washing ashore, missing brothel workers, possible abuse in a room in the brothel, sex trafficking) but it just wasn't handled well.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

WHISPER TO ME OF LOVE by Shirlee Busbee

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 May 2021 15:54:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Avon, 4/1991
GENRE: Historical Romance
SETTING: England, 1815

STEPBACK: link
MY GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: She was a raven-haired waif from the streets of London-- a wild innocent to be rescued... and tamed. A spirited beauty, she would captivate Royce Manchester's jaded heart-- while resisting the smoldering desire she felt for her virile protector.

In Royce's glittering world of money and privilege, young Morgana discovered the shocking secret of her true identity-- entangling the wealthy American planter in a deadly skein of aristocratic family intrigue. But grave peril would only feed the flames of a love that knew no bounds... and a glorious rapture that would not be denied.

MY THOUGHTS: I couldn't gauge the timespan on this but it felt very short, maybe a couple months and takes place in England. Like a lot of historical romances, this had a mystery running throughout that I thoroughly enjoyed. Shirlee created a few evil villains that were introduced in the prologue so that hooked me from the start.

Morgana is 19 and goes by the name 'Pip.' She had black curly hair and gray eyes. She's dirt-poor and lives with her two older brothers, Jacko and Ben. She dresses like a boy and is a pickpocket like her brothers. It's what they do to get by in life. She stands up to Royce and I really like her.

Royce is a 33-year-old American. He's 6'3" with tawny hair and topaz eyes. He first meets Morgana when she attempts to steal from him. She ends up staying at his house when he learns she's female and what her living situation is like. They don't get along and bicker, which I like. Some of Royce's terms of endearment for her are, greedy little strumpet, scheming baggage, delectable little slut, conniving little slut, conniving little bitch, wretched grasping little hussy, grasping little harlot. Of course she's none of those things. We weren't really given any background on him, which was disappointing.

A servant helps Royce uncover the mystery of Morgana's parentage, which she doesn't even know isn't what is seems. This part of the plot involves three villains, two of which are working together, and I like all three. The mystery is essentially what keeps the story moving. I never guessed who the "one-eyed man" was and don't see how anyone could have.

Dominic Slade, from the previous book in this series, Midnight Masquerade, is in this one briefly, along with his wife Melissa. I haven't read it so I don't know if Royce is in it but I assume he is. Melissa is the sister of Royce's twenty-year-old cousin Zachary, who's in this book but he doesn't serve much purpose.

A PIRATE'S LOVE by Johanna Lindsey

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 19:11:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Avon, 10/1978

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance
SETTING: France/Caribbean, 1667

RAPE: Yes
MY GRADE: A-

SYNOPSIS: With languid tropical breezes caressing her breathtakingly beautiful face, Bettina Verlaine stood before the mast, sailing westward to fulfill a promise her heart never made - marriage to a Count her eyes had never beheld.

Then in a moment of swashbuckling courage, the pirate Tristan swept her away and the spell of his passion was cast over her heart forever.

But many days - and fiery nights - must pass before their love could flower into that fragile blossom a woman gives to only one man.

MY THOUGHTS: This is set in France and the Caribbean during 1667 and spans about one year. It's the author's second novel.

Bettina Verlaine is 19 with white-blonde hair and color-changing dark green and dark blue eyes. She's angry because she's being shipped off to the Caribbean, Saint Martin, to marry a man she doesn't know, Comte Pierre de Lambert.

Captain Tristan Matisse is 26 with light brown hair and pale blue eyes. He's French but passes himself off as English. He's on his way home to the Caribbean on his ship "Spirited Lady", somehow spies Bettina on her ship "Windsong" and seizes it because he just has to have her. He forces her to submit to his repeated rapes in exchange for the lives of the men on her ship. She's captive on his ship for about two weeks so I assume she's raped every night though only eight are mentioned. She hates his guts and plans to murder him and even tries once. As a child Tristan witnessed a woman be gang raped so you have to assume that messed his mind up and is why he had no qualms about raping Bettina. I really needed to see some groveling from him but didn't get to. He's on a mission to murder the rapist too which is odd since he's a rapist himself. His mission comes to a head at the end.

I like most things about this book except that her mother's in it for the duration. The woman is sickening. She thinks Bettina should be grateful for being alive and really doesn't seem to care that her daughter's raped all the time. She has her own happily ever after with a man from her past.

Bettina's feisty as hell and I like her a lot. She holds her own. She even punched Tristan twice. Right before she leaves for Saint Martin she learns a secret from her mother regarding her father. That secret comes back around near the very end of the story and frankly I could have done without it as it did nothing for the storyline. It was put in the story just to give her mother a bit of storyline. There's a throwaway character in the last part named Gabby Drayton who makes an appearance then is gone as quickly as she came. Her purpose was to make Bettina jealous.

MY LORD MONLEIGH by Jan Cox Speas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 21 Mar 2021 02:08:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Bobbs-Merrill, 1956
RESSUED: Avon, 1978
GENRE: Historical Romance
SETTING: Scotland, 17th century
MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: Scotland was a land divided. The rightful Simon Stuart had been driven into exile in France, his country ruled by the dour Presbyterians who had ridden into power on the coattails of Oliver Cromwell's rise to power in England. All who opposed them were rebels and outlaws, to be hunted down and branded as traitors. And the man with the highest price on his head was Monleigh.

Anne Lindsay met him first on the windswept moors, though when first she saw him she had no idea who he might be. She knew only that he was handsome and that he did something to her heart, that here was the one man who could bring warmth and happiness into a life seemingly forever chilled by the bleakness of her early childhood. . .

MY THOUGHTS: I was disappointed in this. I finally bought it for $13 after searching for several years then horded it for another 4.5 years before reading it. I can't understand why only one person on Goodreads has mentioned the rape. I know it happened but I was seriously doubting it until I got to a review that mentioned it. It was written in such a weird way that left me really confused. The story was too condensed and felt shorter than 297 pages. If I hadn't read on Word Wenches blog I'd not have known this took place in the 17th century. I had no sense of the timespan but someone said it was no more than a month. I don't know how old Simon is or anything about his background except what really happened to his wife. I only know he's got dark hair and gray eyes.

I like bad characters so I liked Margaret Clennon (and Walter) but I was also hoping something bad would happen to her as punishment for being a nasty person. I really like the dark and drab tone of the book and that Anne seems depressed. You don't get that much in historical romance so it was a nice change.

Rape scene is here. You can read the book for free at Archive.org.

The 1978 Avon reissue, pictured on the right, has a beautiful cover. The pages are edged in red too.

INTERESTING ARTICLE ON BODICE RIPPERS from Racked.com

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 30 Jan 2021 13:50:00 +0000

See article here.

THE COPELAND BRIDE by Justine Cole (Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Claire Kiehl)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 20:23:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Dell, 1983
REISSUED: Dell, 1989
GENRE: Historical Romance

SETTING: England & America, 1835

BODICE RIPPER? Yes
RAPE? Twice
MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: All London knew her as "Her Highness,” the fiery temptress who robbed men of their gold.

But it was proud, untouched Noelle Dorian who was cruelly abducted by Quinn Copeland, the rugged American shipping heir, and, in one brutal act of passion, forced to take his family name.

Transformed by Copeland wealth, abandoned by Quinn, Noelle's rare beauty blossomed in London society. But beneath her soft grace burned a vow of vengeance and a passion for the man whose jet-black eyes and powerful touch she would never forget...

For Quinn would return-to carry her off to the bold shores of the New World. Together they were destined to carve a new life in the harsh wilderness, bound by a love as glorious, as savage, as their pride. From Soho pickpocket to society belle, from London to the shores of the New World, hers was a game of passion and chance.

MY THOUGHTS: This wasn't good at all. It took me a long 8 days to finish it. It's expensive and hard to find but wasn't worth saving it to read for over two years. Timespan is over three years. Noelle is almost eighteen when it starts and Quinn is almost twenty-eight. All but the last 85 pages take place in England. Noelle is English and Quinn is American.

Noelle is incredibly strong and way too feisty. She's tall, golden-haired and topaz-eyed. She's immature in some ways and very defiant, and violent. She punched Quinn twice in different instances. She's very hateful toward Quinn but with good reason. Her mother Daisy was a prostitute and Noelle's been on her own since she was ten years old, after Daisy died. She's earned a reputation as the best pickpocket in town (she pretends to be a prostitute then robs men blind without them knowing) but had to abandon that life after meeting Quinn, though she secretly helps out he poor kids sometimes, until she's found out.

Quinn's an angry and sometimes violent man. He once turned her over across his knees and spanked her hard because she threw two fishes at him. Another time he hit her with a whip and it ripped open the side of her dress. She took the same whip and hit him in the face with it. A time or two he grabbed her roughly. He's in the ship building business. He's got black hair, brown eyes and is half or part American Indian. He mistakes Noelle for a prostitute and rapes her ("It's not my habit to rape virgins"), then forces her to marry him to get back at his father, Simon, whom he doesn't get along with. He abandons her to his father and father's business partner, Constance. She and Quinn live separate lives for two years, until Quinn shows back up in England. During that entire time Constance educates her and teaches her to be a lady. Noelle looks much different now because she was in disguise back when they first met ( her speech was horrible naturally and her hair was very short and dyed bright orange) and Quinn doesn't even recognize her though he's staring her in the face. He's very angry at her and his father for keeping her identity secret from him and was passing her off as his cousin named Dorian Pope. Now that he likes what he sees, he wants to stay married to her but she wants a divorce. They don't get along at all, argue constantly and the story really goes nowhere. Near the end of the story, page 371, Quinn "raped her violently."

The story was good until Quinn abandoned her, then it got boring. In the last part when they travelled to America (Georgia), it got even worse. The only interesting part was a German man named Wolf(gang) Brandt. He could have made a good love triangle with Noelle and Quinn and Wolf's sister Anna would have made a good villain but they weren't introduced until the end so there was no time for it.

At no point in this story did I feel their love for each other, which they declared in the last twenty pages or so. You can feel the dislike between them. So if not for traveling to America and the long separation, this would have gotten a B-rating from me. I like their attitudes. I don't agree with a reviewer on Goodreads saying Noelle has Stockholm Syndrome nor do I agree with a different reviewer there comparing Quinn to Sean Culhane from Stormfire.

GOLDEN ROSES by Patricia Hagan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 01:23:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Avon, 9/1983
GENRE: Historical Romance
SETTING: Mexico & USA, 1871

RAPE? Yes, twice

BODICE RIPPER? Yes

BACK COVER: link
MY GRADE: B-

SYNOPSIS: With her dear father dead, Amber Forrest was alone in a foreign land, at the mercy of a cruel, domineering stepbrother who vowed he would bend her to his will and make her his bride.

Forced to fight for her destiny, Amber faced bravely the ravishing storm of two men's passions, her gentleness torn between the vicious stepbrother whose pleasure was her pain...and the rugged American whose tender violence was love.

MY THOUGHTS: The timespan is unclear but it's got to be a least a few months. Most of this takes place in Mexico but starts out with Amber traveling there from Louisiana. She's nineteen and ages aren't given for any of the other characters. We only know that Amber's stepbrother Valdis is eleven years older than his half-sister Maretta.

Amber's incredibly strong and backs down from no one, male or female, no matter the situation. That makes her not believable at times. She's alone in this world and is fighting to be free from Valdis. The bizarre thing is that Cord Hayden, an American man who she meets in Mexico is trying to help her escape Valdis and take her back to America but she doesn't want his help and doesn't want to go back. Neither makes a lick of sense. Why would she want to stay in a foreign country with no money to her name (Valdis stole her cash) when she's got someone willing to help her?

Cord is partially a good guy. He's from Pennsylvania and fought in the Civil War. He's in Mexico because of a bad incident, a horrible criminal betrayal with an ex-lover named Christine that has turned him against love. Here's what he had to say about her, "Yes, he had loved her, had planned to marry her, and all the time she was a two-timing slut with no more scruples than a worn-out old whore." Another reason I love these older books is because of that quote. You don't get those in newer historical romances. He and Amber are in love with each other but that doesn't happen until after the man Amber's in love with, Armond, is no longer in the picture. He's one of three men who are lusting after her. If we weren't told Amber and Cord love each other, we'd have never known it or felt it. They get along fine except for Amber not wanting him to take her back to America. They're supposedly in love yet never really want to be around each other. They had sex once. Another time Cord has sex with Amber from behind while she's sleeping, which makes it rape. She was angry with him when she woke up and realized what happened. The author failed as far as their love story goes but I do like him.

Valdis is madly obsessed with Amber from the first time he laid eyes on her when he picked her up from the train station. He holds her prisoner in his home (and his stepmother!) and won't give her any freedom. He wants to marry her but she hates him. He forced Allegra, his stepmother from the time he was ten, to give him her property at some point in the past, so the house and everything is his. He's beat her up and even raped her. She's a shell of a person and he keeps her locked in her room. The entire household is scared of him, and everyone in town is too. Amber escapes him many times but he keeps finding her. Except for one time when he smacks Amber and another time he grabs her by the throat, he doesn't harm her physically, which is not fitting with his character. You can sense from the start that he's cruel and will abuse the heck out of her, but strangely, he doesn't. He once told her that after he was finished with her he'd rip her heart out and eat it.

His half-sister, Maretta, hates Amber because the man Maretta wants to marry, Armond, is in love with her and she him. She turns villainous and gets revenge.

Dolita is the house maid in charge of caring for Amber. While on the run with Amber, a friend of Valdis' rapes her but it's only told, not detailed.

The story becomes a bit boring during the last 160 pages or so. It consists of Amber being on the run from Valdis. He finds her, she escapes, Cord finds her and helps her some, then Valdis finds them, they escape him and so on. Cord meets up with his old military friend, Major Powell and they go on an expedition in Arizona.

I like the tone of the book, I like the characters Valdis, Maretta, and Cord. It just dragged a lot with Amber being on the run for over 1/3 of the book.

LORD RUIN by Carolyn Jewel

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 15 Nov 2020 02:21:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Leisure Books, 12/2002

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England, 1818

RAPE? Yes

MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: The Duke of Cynssyr didn't believe in love. He planned to marry for beauty. But a night of unforgettable passion left him a changed man—a man tied to a bespectacled spinster. Anne Sinclair's long legs drove him wild with desire, and her quick wit challenged his mind. Ruined for any other, the notorious rake had only one choice: to court his wife. To win her confidence, however, nothing less than his love would do.

Anne Sinclair had sworn to protect her sister from the infamous Lord Ruin. Yet she never expected to sacrifice her own virtue. Forced to give the rogue her hand in marriage, she vowed never to relinquish her heart. But Ruan worshiped her body and valued her intelligence, making Anne long to succumb to the ultimate temptation: falling for her husband.

MY THOUGHTS: Anne is pretty bland. She's twenty-five, has gray-blue eyes and wears eyeglasses. She doesn't have much of a personality. We didn't get to know her at all. She was just there. That's about all I have to say about her. Ruan Cynssyr, aka "Lord Ruin" is a member of Parliament and former commanding officer in the military. He's got dark brown hair and green eyes. His age is never given. We didn't get any background on him.

About the rape. Anne sprains her ankle while at someone's house. It's bedtime so they put her to bed in the bedroom that Cyn uses when he's at that person's house. She'd doped up on laudanum for the pain. He comes home ahead of schedule early in the morning and finds Anne in his bed. He doesn't recognize her because it's too dark. He assumes she's a prostitute put there by his friend, since its happened before. He proceeds to talk to her, still assuming he's talking to a prostitute who's fallen asleep and is waking up, and is fully willing. Anne is very groggy but speaks to him like a lover would and proceeds to give him oral sex (and she even swallows) then regular sex. He doesn't know she's drugged and since she's drugged, she doesn't even know what she's doing. The scene jumps ahead to everyone in the house finding out what happened, Cyn realizes what he's just done, so they marry the very next day in case she gets pregnant.

I have to admit to liking the murder mystery better than the romance between Anne and Cyn. That saved this book for me but it wasn't introduced properly. Someone is raping and sometimes murdering women. No one sat anyone down and explained what was going on with some of the women in London and it was a bit confusing. I don't understand why Cyn and a few friends are investigating it. He's not a police officer or private investigator and there's no mention of the police being involved. And we weren't told how many women had been killed or raped. And there was a suicide by a pregnant rape victim that came out of nowhere.

The problem with this book is that Cyn and Anne get married far too soon (p. 52) and they get along great from the start. There's zero conflict between them. He treats her well, doesn't cheat on her, and, well, that's all. Everything is normal between them. I just don't know where a story can go when the marriage happens so soon.

ONLY A PROMISE by Mary Balogh

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 20:42:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Signet, 6/2015

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England, Regency Period

MY GRADE: D

SYNOPSIS: Ralph Stockwood prides himself on being a leader, but when he convinced his friends to fight in the Napoleonic Wars, he never envisioned being the sole survivor. Racked with guilt over their deaths, Ralph must move on . . . and find a wife to secure an heir to his family's title and fortune. Since her Seasons in London ended in disaster, Chloe Muirhead is resigned to spinsterhood. Driven by the need to escape her family, she takes refuge at the home of her mother's godmother, where she meets Ralph. He needs a wife. She wants a husband. So Chloe makes the outrageous suggestion to strike a bargain and get married. One condition: Ralph has to promise that he will never take her back to London. But circumstances change. And to Ralph, it was only a promise.

MY THOUGHTS: This was an absolute bore and a real struggle to get through. Where was the plot? The conflict? Timeline is maybe a month or two and year isn't given. Chloe proposed marriage to Ralph, a stranger, less than fifty pages in because she's twenty-seven and scared of being single the rest of her life. Ralph married her so he could beget heirs. It's to be a marriage without love and affection and that's pretty much how it ends up.

Chloe has a married brother and sister and she lives with her father. Her mother died years before. She still has a broken heart from six years previous. She, and everyone else, suspects that a certain red-haired man is really her biological father so that plays out. I didn't care about it at all.

Twenty-six year old Ralph is dealing with depression which stems from being in the war years before and seeing three of his friends die right in front of him. He's got a long scar across one side of his face and some on his body from the war. He's had past suicidal thoughts and an attempt and was in a facility for it for three years, which ended four years before the story starts. He feels a lot of guilt for being the lone survivor from their group of friends. He's worried the parents of his dead friends hold him responsible for the deaths since he talked them into joining in the first place. He even cries once while thinking about their deaths. He's a bit cold toward Chloe, scared he'll develop feelings for her, which he doesn't want to happen, for some reason. His mother and two of his three sisters are rude to Chloe at first but they come around.

Knowing of his past suicide attempt is the reason I wanted to read this since things like that, deep stuff, aren't common in historical romances. So I bought this even though the synopsis wasn't appealing. I wish I had left it alone. Ralph's past is the only interesting thing in this entire story. Chloe and Ralph are basically surface level friends after they marry yet they end up falling in love with each other, Ralph, right at the very end of the story, but each keeps it to themselves until the final pages. We're told they're in love but it wasn't felt by me. I like Ralph's character but Chloe was bland as could be.

LORD CAREW'S BRIDE by Mary Balogh

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 02:04:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Signet, 6/1995

REISSUED: Bantam, 2/2010

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England

MY GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: Jennifer's cousin Samantha Newman is smarting after she too is toyed with by Lord Kersey. In the midst of her heartbreak, she seeks solace from her new friend, the disabled gardener Hartley Wade. If only she knew that Hartley is secretly Lord Carew, and that he hides more than extraordinary wealth: a passionate secret held deep in his heart that only her love can reveal.

MY THOUGHTS: This was very enjoyable right from the start. Hero and heroine meet just eight pages into the story, and it's less than 300 pages. The story takes place six years after Dark Angel, where we first met eighteen-year-old Samantha. She's twenty-four now and less than a year away from inheriting a fortune from her late parents.

Samantha had her heart broke in the previous novel and that's turned her against falling in love and getting married. She meets Hartley by chance and they become fast friends. She's not attracted to him in a romantic way but he falls in love with her right away.

Hartley seems slightly depressed. He's your typical nice guy without a bad bone in his body. He even cries a few times. He isn't happy about being single and is very sad when Samantha has to go back to London just a few days after meeting her, so he follows her there in hopes of catching a few glimpses of her without her knowing about it. She's genuinely happy to see him again and agrees to marry him though she's not in love with him. That part was a little too sudden to suit me. At this point she still doesn't know who he really is. She's actually horrified to know he's in love with her. She thinks that the relationship can only go downhill from there if you start out being in love with your spouse.

Lionel, from Dark Angel, is back from abroad and he's here to stir up drama. A sad secret is revealed about him being involved with Hartley's childhood injury that caused him to become crippled.

Sir Albert Boyle and Rosalie from Dark Angel are in here. They've been married for six years and have three children.

Jennifer and Gabriel from Dark Angel are in here and have three children.

There's nothing I disliked about this story. I like that Hartley has emotions and though I do prefer alpha males in fiction, I did enjoy reading about the opposite. He's very mild-mannered but we do see him get angry/jealous when he finds out about Samantha's past love interest.

DARK ANGEL by Mary Balogh

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 02:00:00 +0000

ORIGINAL PUBLICATION: Signet, 8/1994

REISSUE: Bantam, 2/2010

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England

MY GRADE: B

SYNOPSIS: Jennifer Winwood has been engaged for five years to a man she hardly knows but believes to be honorable and good: Lord Lionel Kersey. Suddenly, she becomes the quarry of London's most notorious womanizer, Gabriel Fisher, the Earl of Thornhill. Jennifer has no idea that she is just a pawn in the long-simmering feud between these two headstrong, irresistible men—or that she will become a prize more valuable than revenge.

MY THOUGHTS: This was better than anticipated but still lacking in the believable love department. Jennifer is your typical easygoing person who's just anxious to get married and start a new life. She's days away from marrying Lionel, whom she barely knows yet is "so very, very dearly" in love with. He's twenty-five and she's twenty. He's got some secrets that get revealed to her at the very end. He was forced by his father into doing the right thing so he makes some confessions.

Gabriel is twenty-six, and "very dark and very tall." He's become an outcast since everyone in town thinks he's guilty of something that he's really innocent of. He also knows of Lionel's secrets and wants revenge against him so Jennifer is used as a pawn in his game. It backfires. Two people who aren't in love with each other are forced to marry and of course they fall in love with one another in the course of a few days. The span of the story is just a couple weeks. The novel is shorter in length, 300 pages, but there wasn't really a need to condense the timeline within the story. I don't know why Jennifer and Gabriel couldn't have known each other for a few months, at least. So I wasn't happy with that. Another thing that bothered me is that the majority of the story takes place at a couple different parties.

Jennifer's eighteen-year-old cousin Samantha is in this story almost as much as Jennifer is and I don't like that. Samantha's the star of her own novel, Lord Carew's Bride, so some of her should have been saved for that book. I do like that she's fallen in love with someone she shouldn't have.

I don't understand the title of Dark Angel. I assume it's referring to Jennifer but she's not dark in personality or coloring. The year this takes place wasn't given either, so it's somewhere during the Regency period of 1811-1820.

There's an update on Gabriel and Jennifer in the sequel of sorts, Lord Carew's Bride.

DREAMING OF YOU by Lisa Kleypas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 17:33:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Avon, 1994

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England

MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: In the shelter of her country cottage, Sara Fielding puts pen to paper to create dreams. But curiosity has enticed the prim, well-bred gentlewoman out of her safe haven—and into Derek Craven's dangerous world.

A handsome, tough and tenacious Cockney, he rose from, poverty to become lord of London's most exclusive gambling house—a struggle that has left Derek Craven fabulously wealthy, but hardened and suspicious. And now duty demands he allow Sara Fielding into his world—with her impeccable manners and her infuriating innocence. But here, in a perilous shadow-realm of ever-shifting fortunes, even a proper "mouse" can be transformed into a breathtaking enchantress—and a world-weary gambler can be shaken to his cynical core by the power of passion... and the promise of love.

MY THOUGHTS: I don't have much to say about Sara. She's not your typical heroine because she's cavorting behind her boyfriend's back with Derek. She's a twenty-five-year-old author who writes under a pseudonym yet a little boy in her neighborhood asks her how her next book is coming along. Not sure how he knows who she is since the book uses a pen name.

I like Derek even though he has no scruples to speak of. He's around thirty but doesn't know his exact age, which is ridiculous. He was raised by prostitutes and they certainly would have know when or around the year he was born. He's written just like a character from the time this book was published, 1994, or one published earlier, and I do like that a lot. He's gruff. I like learning about his tough background and knowing about all the horrible things he had to do as a child to make money. I want to say I'm glad he got rich and did something with his life but some of the things he did to get said money makes me cringe.

His ex-mistress Joyce is a villain. I liked her terrible actions but not how she went about them. If you're going to harm someone or try to get revenge like she did quite a few times, including setting someone up to get raped, aren't you going to try hard to keep people from finding out you're behind it? Most would but not her. There's a scene (chapter 8) where Derek does something to her that's quite disturbing. I don't like at all how she was dealt with at the end after a major incident.

There's one ridiculous thing that runs throughout the entire story. Somehow everyone at Craven's just happens to have read a book of Sara's or had it read to them, and they think the fictional character Mathilda is real despite being told by Sara that she's fake. Many people claim to have seen her around town. It was funny the first time someone said it, the poor thing didn't understand what fiction meant, apparently, but the repeated spotting of Mathilda went on for far too long. One other thing that bothers me is that right at the beginning, Sara shoots and kills someone in defense of someone else, and it's basically swept under the rug. In real life the shooter would have to deal with it emotionally but Sara didn't deal with it at all.

I don't know what year this takes place nor the timespan but it seems like maybe a couple months, then the epilogue is around close to a year later. The story was just alright with almost all of it taking place at Derek's establishment, a brothel and gaming house called Craven's. It should have ended right after Derek and Sara got married since it dragged a lot after that. Too much talk of domestic things and clothes. I cannot put my finger on why I feel this way but I just don't think Derek and Sara make a good match.

This is my sixth Kleypas book and the fifth to get no higher than a C-grade. I had to abandon reading Midnight Angel in 2019 at around page 125 because it was so boring. The only one I've liked is Where Passion Leads.

MIDSUMMER MAGIC by Catherine Coulter

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 22:18:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Onyx, 12/1987
GENRE: Historical Romance
SETTING: Scotland & England, 1810

SERIES: Magic trilogy, #1
MY GRADE: D

SYNOPSIS: Clever, beautiful Frances Kilbracken disguised herself as a mousy Scottish lass to keep Hawk, the notoriously rakish and dashing Earl of Rothermere, from being forced to marry her. But she was chosen as his bride for that very reason. Wedded, bedded, and finally deserted, Frances quickly shed her dowdy facade to become glittering London's most ravishing and fashionable leading lady...only to find she had roused the ire--and ignited the passions--of her faithless husband. But even as Hawk claimed rights to her body, Frances swore never to allow him to enter her heart. How could she trust this man who made women his playthings? yet how could she resist the burning kisses and soft caresses that plundered her yielding flesh...until they reached the deep core of her love...

MY THOUGHTS: This was beyond boring and it was a long 412 pages. There really wasn't much of a plotline. Frances, nineteen, didn't want to marry anyone, let alone move to England to marry Hawk, who's twenty-six. She's incredibly immature and not enjoyable to read about. I really came to dislike her. Some reviewers see her first time with Hawk (p 138) as rape but I don't. She made it clear that she didn't want to have sex but gave in when he told her to "just lie there." The third time Hawk wanted to have sex with her she hid in another room. Give me a break. She's always throwing fits, telling Hawk she "hates" him and I got tired of it. She even punched him in the stomach once, told him she wished his "toe would rot off" and wanted him to suffer a head injury. Hawk's not likable either. He's a pretty calm person, doesn't yell but he's always threatening violence towards her and that behavior doesn't really fit with what we see of him. They get along great one minute, start bickering the next for absolutely no reason. They're just really poorly written characters written into a poorly thought-out book.

There's a subplot involving horses and racing that nearly overtook the story. Something criminal is going on with the horses and that I did find interesting but you kind of know who's involved long before it's revealed at the very end but I didn't mind that. And I liked the revelation involving his deceased brother.

There was too much sex in here and the word "cream" (as lube) was mentioned 13 TIMES, three of which were on the same page. But I couldn't have cared less about it because the story was so boring and I didn't care about any of the characters.

LORD DEVERILL'S HEIR and THE HEIR by Catherine Coulter

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 17:34:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Topaz, 10/1996

ORIGINAL PUB: 1980

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England, 1810

STEPBACK: link

RAPE? Yes

MY GRADE: B

SYNOPSIS: Justin Deverill is a military man strong, shrewd, stubborn, and very handsome who has just become the Earl of Strafford. He must wed his cousin Arabella, though, to reap the full legacy of his title. But faced with an order from her father s will to marry Justin, Arabella rebels. Since her father is dead, the only available target is Justin himself. Arabella has finally met her match and the pair sets off fireworks both in their anger and their passion.

The Heir is a reworked and expanded edition of the author's 1980 Signet Regency Romance novel Lord Deverill's Heir. The Heir is 156 pages longer than the original. The Signet Regency Romance series ran from 1979-2006. The novels are shorter in length, under 300 pages.

MY THOUGHTS: Timespan is short, maybe a month. Rape, incest, a villain, oh my!

I really like Arabella. She's eighteen. She's a very strong character. She hates Justin with a passion, is very angry and hostile towards him thinking he's out to get her inheritance. When she realizes he's not, her attitude changes completely, which I didn't like. It's like a switch was flipped and she became someone else. It should have taken some time for the change to happen.

Justin is nine years older than Isabella. He's a very distant cousin and they look very similar. I dislike that. They have the same black hair and gray eyes though she doesn't have a cleft in her chin like he does. He looks like he could be her brother. He thinks she's done him wrong before they wed so he rapes her on their wedding night (p. 72 in original, p. 133 in rewrite) but doesn't see it as rape because he "used cream." It's clearly rape, which he realizes at the end of the story and all is forgiven.

I'm happy to say there's a villain in this, twenty-four-year-old Gervaise de Trecassis, cousin to Arabella's half sister, Elsbeth, who's twenty. He's out to get a certain something that's revealed near the end. Also revealed is a family secret involving him, which devastates him.

There are a few typos in this and two of these three sentences don't make sense, from page 141, "Arabella rather hoped that he would rot, in addition to hell. He deserved to rot. He deserved every bad thing that could happen to him did happen."

Some things I didn't like, I just didn't see the need for Arabella's mother, Ann, to be so involved, and her doctor beau, Paul Braynon. There was also another pointless character, Suzanne Talgarth. A paternity secret was discovered near the end too and how they figured out what was going on with that isn't really believable, just based on what was written in a note.

I don't like the stepback for this either because Arabella looks at least ten years older than she is and the larger photo of them looks nothing like the smaller background image of them. Justin has a cleft in his chin but not in the photo.

About the 1996 rewritten version- Every chapter is longer and some dialogue has been reworded or expanded. The rape and incest is still in it, incest is p. 97 of original version, p. 178 in rewrite. One difference in the rape scene in the rewrite is that Justin uses lube ("cream".) In the original version the American author chose to use British spellings for certain words (color/colour, labor/labour, just two examples) but in the rewrite they're spelled the American way. In both versions Justin admits to raping Arabella (from original, page 208, "Yet, when I raped you, I felt loathing for myself.", from rewrite, page 358, "He saw Arabella on their wedding night, her face alight with anticipation until she had recognized his rage, until he had forced her, humiliated her."

IN YOUR ARMS by Rosemary Rogers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 01:29:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Avon, 12/1999

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England/USA, 1808-1814

MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: Orphaned by a tragic accident, sixteen-year-old Amalie Courtland set sail from America for a new life in England with her godmother. What she didn't expect to find was Lady Winford's handsome rogue of a grandson, Robert Holt Braxton, Earl of Deverell. Immediately smitten by Holt's careless good looks and smoldering blue eyes, Amalie's naive young heart fell in love. Little did she know Holt was trying to resist his own temptation --- by having his grandmother take Amalie away.

Years later, Holt is shocked by the change in the one-provincial Amalie. The tawny-skinned enchantress with raven hair and lustrous green eyes has become a cool, composed beauty. Soon Amalie is lost in the arms of this experienced rake as they succumb to the tempestuous passion of their hearts and bodies. Then, when Holt learns of her brother's plot to destroy his business holdings, he suspects Amalie has betrayed him and he vows revenge. But not even he can deny the all-consuming storm of desire that threatens to drown them both ...

MY THOUGHTS: Amalie is pretty passive and I don't like that in a heroine. She is able to stand up to the hero, Robert, aka "Holt", (his middle name.) She's aged 17-23 in here, not sixteen at the beginning like the synopsis says. She has dark hair and green eyes and is tall. Her brother Christian, aka "Kit" is two years older. SPOILER>>>He disappears for most of the story then reappears in the last part, but you can see that coming. He's taken to a life of crime as a pirate.

Holt is eleven years older than Amalie. He has dark hair, blue eyes, and dark skin. He's cold and angry towards her for no reason. He cares nothing at all for her throughout the whole book. He wants revenge on her because he assumes she's involved in something bad against him when there was no reason to think that. She hadn't done anything to him, ever, that would make him think she's that kind of person. Their love for each other came out of nowhere at the very end of the story and we're supposed to believe it. I don't. We saw no signs that they were falling for each other. We're just told that they're in love. He's also verbally abusive towards her, calling her a bitch and slut.

As I always say, I love a villain and there was one in here by the name of Alex. We didn't get to see the bad side of him until the last 100 pages. He's after revenge on Holt.

This story was pretty uneventful after Amalie sailed from Virginia to England, which happened early on, about page 53. Even after 200 pages not much went on. We didn't get to see her life in England at all. She's there one minute and the next, it's 3.5 years later and Holt reappears. The story is divided into four parts and each part jumps ahead 1-3 years. The last 109 pages was basically a history lesson about war and I didn't appreciate so much of that being in a romance book. I had trouble following along and I didn't know how much of it was factual. It took place in Louisiana.

Two things that I did like was Amalie's godmother (grandmamma) Lady Winford and the banter between her and Holt. I also liked the old school feel of this novel.

A DARING PASSION by Rosemary Rogers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 24 Oct 2020 22:50:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: HQN, 2007

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England/France

MY GRADE: B-

SYNOPSIS: Headstrong but sheltered, Raine Wimbourne longs for adventure--and when her ailing father reveals a closely guarded secret, she seizes her chance. Disguised as England's most notorious highwayman, Raine vows to uphold her father's legacy as champion of the poor. Then a midnight encounter with the powerful Philippe Gautier shows her the price of protecting her family's honor...

Philippe Gautier has a mission of his own--and the beautiful impostor he's delivering to justice may hold the key to saving his brother's life. He will stop at nothing to keep Raine close. But as they travel from the town houses of London to the streets of France, can he convince his untamed captive to risk it all on the promise of passion?

MY THOUGHTS: The years this took place weren't mentioned but Napoleon was so it's gotta be the early 1800's but he works for King George IV, doing dirty deed for, so I have no clue. I'm not sure of the timespan either. Early on it jumped ahead two months and later there was some traveling to France, so let's say at least three months. Then the last chapter jumps ahead one year to Portugal.

Philippe is on a mission to find out who framed his younger brother Jean-Pierre, who's been sent to Newgate prison, accused of treason. Raine's dragged along for the ride from early on. The "free Jean-Pierre" plot took over this entire story and I got a bit bored with it, hence the B-. It just never let up. So it's fair to say I was disappointed in this. Oddly enough we never even meet Jean-Pierre!

Raine is a typical headstrong Rosemary Rogers heroine. She's got amber hair and "dark" eyes. Her mother died when she was little and she was raised by her almost-forty-year-old father, who's a secret criminal. Raine's been unaware of that until recently. Her age isn't given but since her mother died sixteen years ago when Raine was little and she'd been in a convent for the past seven years, she's at least in her early twenties, I would think. We only got one incident of her being the highwayman, "The Knave of Knightsbridge", which was disappointing.

Philippe has dark hair and green eyes and is thirty-one. He's from France but has lived mostly in Portugal. He's arrogant, self-centered, for the most part, arrogant, and possessive. Everything I could ask for in a fictional hero. He's an investor and does do good things for people, so he's got a good side to him as well. He kidnaps Raine and cares nothing for her feelings. They bicker a lot but get along alright when they're not.

Carlos is his good younger friend whom he grew up with in Portugal. They're like brothers but Carlos is not a good friend. He's let it be known to Philippe that he's interested in Raine. He's let Raine know several times that he wants her, has kissed her, and is having inappropriate thoughts about her, "He wanted to tug off that delicate ivory gown and reveal the slender beauty that was hidden beneath."

Rosemary died in November 2019.

JEWEL OF MY HEART by Rosemary Rogers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 20:22:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Mira, 12/2004

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England, Jamaica, India, 1888

STEPBACK: link

MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: Wild child Madison Westcott detests convention and has no desire to marry. Thumbing her nose at London society, she deliberately turns her coming-out ball into a spectacle by unveiling a scandalous self-portrait. To avoid further damage to her reputation, she is whisked away to the family's lush Jamaican plantation by her wealthy aunt and the dark, mysterious Jefford Harris, for whom Madison soon feels a powerful attraction she is desperate to deny.

But when the fires of revolt sweep across the island, Madison and Jefford flee to India, a shimmering land of jasmine and jewels. At the court of the Raja, Madison finally succumbs to Jefford's commanding touch. But not even the passion of their one forbidden night can protect them from an unexpected danger that threatens the unspoken love between them -- and their very lives...

MY THOUGHTS: Another dragged out story that should have been 100 pages shorter, and this was almost 500 pages. Time span is about a year, then the epilogue takes place three years later. I've had this for 12.5 years and it's not one I'd have bought now, as the synopsis doesn't appeal to me, since it takes place in multiple foreign lands. Boring is the word that describes this best.

Madison is feisty and I like her. She's twenty-one, blonde, with blue-green eyes. She's an artist, though her work's never been for sale, so I guess you could say she paints for fun. It's says once in the book that Madison's middle name is Ann (p. 20), another time it's Elizabeth (p. 60), a third time it's Anne (p. 145). I think once her blue-green eyes are 'blue.' As the synopsis says, she purposely reveals a scandalous (nude) portrait of herself then acts like that's normal and doesn't understand why people are shocked. What I really wish had happened with that is someone in her household, such as a jealous female servant, switched one portrait for another to humiliate her in front of a crowd of guests. That would have been much more believable than what happened. She travels to Jamaica, then India, with her wealthy aunt Kendra, who's her deceased father's half-sister, and her son, Jefford.

Jefford is thirty-five, with dark hair and dark brown eyes. He and Madison don't like each other from the start for really no reason and I never felt their attraction for one another. Turns out he's half Indian and meets his father for the first time and later, his father and Kendra rekindle their love. I really like Kendra but her silly expressions got on my nerves. One thing she did involving drugging someone just was implausible and it shouldn't have ever been done because she's have never actually done that to that specific person.

I like the bad character in this, Englishman Carlton Thomblin because he's interesting. He's blond and in his mid-30s. He owns a plantation in Jamaica, is deep in debt, and is into human trafficking, murder, and rape. One thing in particular that he did shocked me (on page 274.) Something bad happens to a secondary character in here that Carlton's involved with and instead of that person being rescued liked you're fully expecting to happen, she isn't, and I'm pleasantly surprised by that. The other thing I liked about this book is the old school feel it has (age gap between hero and heroine and multiple locations) but it was just so boring, except for the parts involving Carlton.

The author died in California in November 2019.

SAPPHIRE by Rosemary Rogers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 21:05:00 +0000

PUBLISHER: Mira, 11/2005

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: British West Indies, England, USA, 1831

STEPBACK: link

MY GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: Despite her privileged life in the sultry paradise of Martinique, the beautiful and daring Sapphire Fabergine will never be satisfied until she claims the honor and legitimacy that has been denied her. Sapphire sails to London to confront the aristocratic family who had disowned her before she was even born --- only to find that her biological father is dead and that his title has passed to Blake Thixton, an attractive yet loathsome distant American cousin.

Convinced Sapphire is determined to bring about his ruin, Blake kidnaps her and sails back to America, where he presents her with a choice: become his mistress or serve him as a maid in his waterfront mansion. Without means in this unfamiliar land, Sapphire is trapped. But she will not compromise her quest for honor so easily --- not even for the man she has come to desire.

MY THOUGHTS: I really liked this. It's a mild bodice ripper and if I didn't know better I'd have thought it was from thirty years ago, and that's meant as a compliment. The time span is about a year, maybe a little more.

Sapphire is living with her father Armand, adopted sister Angelique (a true tramp who's one year older than Sapphire), and her dead mother's friend Lucia in the French West Indies. Sapphire is twenty, with auburn hair and one blue and one green eye. She learns of her true parentage, including her mother Sophie's shady past, so she sets sail for England with Angelique and Lucia to claim what's hers.

Blake is a very successful merchant. He's ten or so years older than her (his age isn't given but Sapphire thinks he's 10-12 years older than herself) with dark hair. He's from Boston, USA, and went to Harvard. Blake had an abusive father and I wanted to know more about him. I don't think his mother was mentioned so I'd have liked more background on his childhood and parents. He has no desire to be in England and wants to settle his dead relative's estate as soon as possible. Enter Sapphire. He thinks she's lying about her parentage and wants nothing to do with her at first. He's arrogant and irritable and won't hear her out. He comes to her rescue in England then ruins it by kidnapping her. She won't give in to his request of her becoming his mistress yet sleeps with him anyway while forced to be his hired help.

I like when Sapphire runs away, disguising herself as a boy, but don't like how she ends up making her living. It's farfetched and uninteresting. Her reunion with Blake during that time is too coincidental so I wish the author had put more thought into how to reunite them.

While not the fasting moving story, I enjoyed it. Like most books, this one is longer than it needed to be. The only thing this book lacked was a villain. There are two other new relationships in the story, Angelique and Henry, Lucia and Jessup, and that's two too many.

The author died in California in November 2019.