Spotlight on Tessa Dare-SUMMER READS

It’s summer timeeeee! 😀 😀 😀

And for most people that means sun, beaches, tanning, hot shirtless men… 😀

Alas, for me, that means packing and moving to Malaysia to prepare for my first year of university. The romance addict will be around, she will have just changed her mailbox address!

And I suppose it’s rather exciting going to be able to leave on my own and get a part time job and study things I actually like for once! (Sorry my dear math teacher-I did appreciate your efforts to infuse a love for the subject into me)

One thing that won’t change however, is my love of romance novels. In fact, I already have a huge pile waiting to be shipped off to Malaysia with me and a few novels I’m going to be looking out for once I’m there.

The first ones on my list?

Tessa Dare’s new back-to-back trilogy-The Stud Club.

In Tessa’s words—

“An all-new historical romance back-to-back series, The Stud Club Trilogy. The heroes—a duke, a war hero, and a low-born scoundrel—hold shares in a priceless racehorse. When the club’s founder is tragically murdered, these three unlikely associates are united by chance, divided by suspicion, and brought to their knees by love.”

Source: http://tessadare.com/bookshelf/

This is a series of three books one after another with one already out in May and two more out this June and July. Now that’s a great way to spend a summer! And it gets better-Her covers are super delicious. Check them out below…

ONE DANCE WITH A DUKE—May 25th 2010

True temptation begins at midnight…

A handsome and reclusive horse breeder, Spencer Dumarque, the fourth Duke of Morland, is a member of the exclusive Stud Club, an organization so select it has only ten members — yet membership is attainable to anyone with luck. And Spencer has plenty of it, along with an obsession with a prize horse, a dark secret, and, now, a reputation as the dashing “Duke of Midnight.” Each evening he selects one lady for a breathtaking midnight waltz. But none of the women catch his interest, and nobody ever bests the duke — until Lady Amelia d’Orsay tries her luck.

In a moment of desperation, the unconventional beauty claims the duke’s dance and unwittingly steals his heart. When Amelia demands that Spencer forgive her scapegrace brother’s debts, she never imagines that her game of wits and words will lead to breathless passion and a steamy proposal. Still, Spencer is a man of mystery, perhaps connected to the shocking murder of the Stud Club’s founder. Will Amelia lose her heart in this reckless wager or win everlasting love?

TWICE TEMPTED BY A ROGUE—June 22nd 2010

How long could she resist him?

Luck is a double-edged sword for brooding war hero Rhys St. Maur. His death wish went unanswered on the battlefield, while fate allowed the murder of his friend in the elite gentlemen’s society known as the Stud Club. Out of options, Rhys returns to his ancestral home on the moors of Devonshire, expecting anything but a chance at redemption in the arms of a beautiful innkeeper, who dares him to take on the demons of his past — and the sweet temptation of a woman’s love.

Meredith Maddox believes in hard work, not fate, and romance isn’t part of her plan. But when Rhys returns, battle-scarred, world-weary, and more dangerously attractive than ever, the lovely widow is torn between determination and desire. As a deep mystery and dangerous smugglers threaten much more than their passionate reckoning, Meredith discovers that she must trust everything to a wager her heart placed long ago.

THREE NIGHTS WITH A SCOUNDREL—July 27th 2010

The third time is the charm.

The bastard son of a nobleman, Julian Bellamy is now polished to perfection, enthralling the ton with wit and charm while clandestinely plotting to ruin the lords, ravish the ladies, and have the last laugh on a society that once spurned him. But meeting Leo Chatwick, a decent man and founder of the exclusive Stud Club, and Lily, Leo’s enchanting sister, made Julian reconsider his wild ways. When Leo’s tragic murder demands that Julian hunt for justice, he vows to see the woman he secretly loves married to a man of her own class.

Lily, however, has a very different husband in mind. She’s adored Julian forever, loves the man beneath the rakish facade, and wants to savor the delicious attraction they share — as his wife. His insistence on marrying her off only reinforces her intent to prove he is the only man for her. Obsessed with catching a killer, Julian sinks back to the gutters of his youth, forcing Lily to reach out with a sweet, reckless passion Julian can’t resist. Can her desire for a scoundrel save them both–or will dangerous secrets threaten more than their tender love?

***

The first one being out and summer already underway, it’s great to know that there are another two books to look forward too! I will be getting my copies and posting my reviews on here ASAP!

For more information on the books (as well as excerpts), please visit-

http://tessadare.com/

A Precious Jewel by Mary Balogh

Setting: Regency

Summary:

She was unlike any woman he’d ever met in the ton or the demimonde. But Sir Gerald Stapleton frequented Mrs. Blythe’s euphemistically dubbed “finishing school” for pure, uncomplicated pleasure–and nothing else. So why was this confirmed bachelor so thoroughly captivated by one woman in particular? Why did he find himself wondering how such a rare jewel of grace, beauty, and refinement as Priss had ended up a courtesan? And when she needed protection, why did Gerald, who’d sworn he’d never get entangled in affairs of the heart, hasten to set her up as his own pampered mistress to ensure her safety–and have her all to himself?

For Priscilla Wentworth, the path leading to Sir Gerald’s bed had been as filled with misfortune as it suddenly seemed charmed. But Priss couldn’t allow herself to believe she’d ever be more to a man like Sir Gerald than a well-cared-for object of pleasure. Now, despite Gerald’s deep distrust of marriage, neither scandal nor society’s censure can keep them apart–only the fear of trusting their hearts.

Click cover to order from Amazon

Review:

I loved this book. Full stop. It was poignant, beautifully romantic and just plain wonderful!

Mary Balogh has always been one of my favorite authors but with this novel, she has just become my favorite. Her books are always touching and emotionally complex, much more than just a romance about a man and a woman falling in love. Her books teach you important lessons about life. She is also brilliant at creating a connection between the hero and the heroine, so that there exists no doubt in the reader’s mind that the two are meant for each other.  I always tear through her novels and come away from her books feeling warm and fuzzy, which is always the best feeling to have 😉

I’ve read her Slightly series and her Huxtable series. In fact, Slightly Dangerous was the book that got me hooked on historical romance! This book did not disappoint either. Far from it. I cannot believe she wrote this book in only two weeks!

Priss was a wonderful heroine. Right from the start, I never saw her as the whore she was supposed to be. There was never a moment I felt anything but pure admiration for this young woman who bravely accepted the way her life turned out.

As for Gerald, although he wasn’t your typical hero (his best friend Miles was) I still found him endearing. He might not be super good-looking, sexy, a virtuoso in the bedroom, or extremely clever but I liked him all the same. He had a quiet charm that was all his own and the way he came to care for Priss, although she wasn’t meant to be anything more than an object for his pleasure really touched my heart.

Their love story was just all around beautifully and gently told. From the moment I started this book, I was hooked and could not put it down. When I did, I thought constantly about the characters and what would happen next. One of the things about Mary Balogh is that she doesn’t write a whole bunch of out-of-this-world, amazing sex and call that love. So although, for some readers, it may be lacking in that department, the few scenes there were were evern more erotic because of the lack and the enormous amount of sexual tension/connection between the hero and heroine.

After reading so many romances, I admit that now I find some of them to be almost copies of each other. It takes a really good romance to completely knock me over now and this is one of those books!

I can’t recommend it enough–If you haven’t read this, spend a little money on this great book because I promise you will not regret it 😀

Sensuality Level: Pretty warm-Not very detailed and long love scenes

Final Verdict-Truly a fabulous emotionally satisfying read! Read it if you haven’t yet!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars