Nina’s first book will be available in August and features a mathematician heroine and a hero who has the one thing she holds dear…
Eloisa James describes her as ‘a rare combination of beautiful writing and hot sensuality.’
Sounds good to me! š
Daring Hearts Book #1
Click cover for more info on book and author!
Summary:
A HEART DIVIDED
Blessed with an uncanny gift for mathematics, the lovely Lydia Kellaway can solve the most complex puzzles. The one thing she canāt figure out? How to manage the most infuriating man sheās ever encountered.
A PASSION MULTIPLIED
Alexander Hall, Viscount Northwood, has purchased a one-of-a-kind locket from a pawnshop, unaware of the priceless sentiment it holds for Lydia. The gentlemanly thing to do would be to simply return it. But Lydia sparks a desire that has Alexander curious to see just how bold this brilliant beauty will beā¦
A LOVE UNEQUALED
What begins as a playful wager quickly escalates into a contest of the minds, a clash of the willsāand a battle of the sexesāas their fiery attraction grows. Even a genius like Lydia canāt account for the feelings Alexander arouses with his smile, or the fire he ignites with his touch. But when a dark family secret is suddenly thrown into the equation, it just might divide them forever.
Check out the latest trailer for her upcoming release for My Wicked Little Lies, out soon!
Click cover for more info!
Book 1 in Sinful Family Secrets
Summary:
Evelyn Hadley-Attwater has it allāa genteel Victoria life replete with loving husband, ball gowns and elegant parties. No one, including the man she married, suspects that she was once āEveā, a spy for Englandās most enigmatic intelligence agency. Summoned for one final assignment, the excitement of her former life and memories of her mysterious, flirtatious boss āSirā prove too tempting . . .
Adrian Hadley Attwater is a respectable, dignified gentleman. But even the most proper gentlemen have secrets of their own. Secrets from the rest of the world, from their families, from their wives. Secrets that have a price. Now, as the veil of secrecy frays, a tantalizing game of cat and mouse will test the bounds of unfailing love . . .
Summer is here! (Well, for some of us anyway) And what a great summer/winter it will be with all these awesome books coming out š Check out the list, which features one DEBUT and the first book of an exciting new series!!! š
*UPDATED*
1) Out June 7
Summary:
A Night with a Marquess
Born on the wrong side of the blanket, matchmaker Sophie Reynard understands the consequences of unbridled desire all too well. Despite the many highborn friends she has matched, falling in love with an aristocrat without a pedigree of her own would be an act of futility. But that doesnāt stop her from succumbing to one evening of anonymous passionā¦
A Lifetime of Desire
Nicholas Tenbury, Marquess of Ancroft, knows nothing of Sophieās lineage. He knows only that the enchanting beauty captured his heart in one night and then fled, leaving no trace of her identity. But when he seeks answers from Londonās finest matchmaker, he finds none other than the woman herselfāstubbornly refusing to acknowledge the attraction they share! Now the enamored Marquess has no choice but to sway Sophie with seductionā¦
Click cover to view author’s site…
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2) Out June 21 *Book Two in Blackwater Brides series*
Summary N/A
Click cover to order from Amazon!
About the Author:
Jane Feather is the New York Times bestselling author of A Husband’s Wicked Ways, A Wicked Gentleman and To Wed a Wicked Prince and more than twenty-five other historical romances. She was born in Cairo, Egypt andĀ grew up in the south of England. She began her writing career after she and her family moved to Washington, D.C. in 1981. There are more than 10 million copies of her books in print.
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3) Out June 28 *DEBUT AUTHOR!* (Book One in Ministry of Marriage series)
Summary:
Jane, Lady Roxdale, has endured one marriage of convenience decreed by the Ministry of Marriage. While she deeply regrets her late husbandās death, she is relieved to be free at last. But when a dissolute rake threatens everything Jane holds dear, she must contemplate marrying a second timeā¦Ā Ā
Disgraced libertine Constantine Black inherits his cousin Roxdaleās land and titleāwhile Roxdaleās prim widow is left all the wealth. Constantine is not a marrying man, but wedding Jane is the only way to save the estate from ruin. Jane resists the smoldering heat between them, desperate not to fall in love with an unrepentant rake. But for the first time ever, Constantine wants more than seduction. He wants all of herābody, heart, and soulā¦Ā Ā
Click cover for excerpt and more info!
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4) Out June 28 *Book One in Dressmakers series*
Summary:
Brilliant and ambitious dressmaker Marcelline Noirot is London’s rising star. And who better to benefit from her talent than the worst-dressed lady in London; the Duke of Clevedon’s intended bride? Winning the future duchess’s patronage means prestige and fortune for Marcelline and her family. To get to the lady, though, Marcelline must win over Clevedon, whose standards are as high as his morals are…not.
The prize seems well worth the risk. This time, though, Marcelline’s met her match.Ā Clevedon can design a seduction as irresistible as her dresses; and what begins as a flicker of desire between two of the most passionately stubborn charmers in London soon ignites into a delicious inferno . . .and a blazing scandal.
And now both their futures hang by a thread of silkā¦
Click cover for excerpt and more info!
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5) Out June 28
Summary:
IN GRITTY, WORKING-CLASS LONDON, SHE DOES WHAT SHE MUST TO SURVIVE . . .
When Nell Whitby breaks into an earlās house on a midnight quest for revenge, she finds her pistol pointed at the wrong manāone handsome as sin and naked as the day he was born. Pity heās a lunatic. He thinks her a missing heiress, but more to the point, heāll help her escape the slums and right a grave injustice. Not a bad bargain. All she has to do is marry him.
A NOTORIOUS LADIESā MAN COULD TAKE HER FROM POVERTY TO OPULENCE . . . BUT AT WHAT PRICE?
A rake of the first order, Simon St. Maur spent his restless youth burning every bridge he crossed. When he inherits an earldom without a single penny attached to it, he sees a chance to start overāprovided he can find an heiress to fund his efforts. But his wicked reputation means courtship will be difficultāuntil fate sends him the most notorious missing heiress in history. All he needs now is to make her into a lady and keep himself from making the only mistake that could ruin everything: falling in love. . . .
Click cover for excerpt and more info
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6) Out June 28 *Book Two in Regency Rogues*
Summary:
Injured in the line of duty, Young Corinthian agent Marcus Maxwell, the Earl of Weston, travels to his country estate to recoverāor so he believes. His superiorās request that he investigate a smuggling ring run by Napoleon sympathizers seems ridiculous at first, but then becomes all-too threatening as pieces of a treacherous puzzle begin to fall into place. And the most troubling piece of all is Miss Sarah Tisdale, an unconventional beauty whose lust for life is rivaled only by her ability to drive Marcus to distraction. When her family comes under suspicion, Marcus must watch her very, very closelyā¦even if her touch ignites the deep, fiery desire burning just beneath his cool faƧade.
When it comes to suitors, Sarahās lush curves and perfectly kissable lips arenāt enough to compensate for her outspoken and willful nature. Sarahās tasted disappointment before, and she long ago decided that sheās better off without an overbearing husband. Still, flirting with the sinfully handsome Marcus is a pastime worth savoringāeven when it leads to wicked pleasures. But when Sarahās life is in jeopardy, Marcus discovers that the fire between them can no longer be deniedāand that heāll do anything to keep her in his arms.
Click cover for more info!
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7) Out June 28 *Book Three in London’s Greatest Lovers series*
Summary:
They are masters of seduction, London’s greatest lovers . . .
Renowned for his bedchamber prowess, Ransom Seymour, the Duke of Ainsley, owes a debt to a friend. But the payment expected is most shocking, even to an unrepentant rakeāfor he’s being asked to provide his friend’s exquisite wife with what she most dearly covets: a child.
Living for pleasure, they will give their hearts to no one . . .
Lady Jayne Seymour, Marchioness of Walfort, is furious that such a scandalous agreement would be made. If she acquiesces, there must be rules: no kissing . . . and, certainly, no pleasure.
Until love takes them by surprise.
But unexpected things occur with the surprisingly tender dukeāespecially once Lady Jayne discovers the rogue can make her dream again . . . and Ransom realizes he’s found the one woman he truly cannot live without.
Click cover for more info on the series!
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8 ) Out June 28
Summary:
It was the moment she had been dreaming of: a stolen kiss at a masquerade ball with the dashing Camden St. Giles. He may not have known who she was, but Christel would never forget . . .
Nine years have passed since that magical evening. Now Camden, the seventh earl of Carrick, is widowed with a young daughter, a man with a heart in need of healing. And Christel has just stolen onboard his ship bound for Scotland. Neither has forgotten the kiss that had set their hearts ablaze. The longer she remains with him, the hotter his desire burns. But as they grasp their second chance at love, will the secrets from his past threaten to destroy the one love true enough to free his tormented heart?
Click cover to view author site…
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9) Out June 21 (LATE ADD)
Summary:
With the scandalous nature of her birth to live down, Isabella Fairmont dreams of a proper marriage ā even if a passionless one. She saves her deepest desires for the novel she dares to pen, wherein a handsome lord with dark powers seduces her. But then her courtship with an appropriate suitor is threatened by the sudden attention of the Earl of Black ā¦whose pale blue eyes and brooding sensuality are exactly as she described in her book.
Isabella tries to resist the mysterious Earl of Black. Yet as he pursues her with inexplicable knowledge of her past and kisses that consume her, Isabella fears she will succumb.
If only the earl could tell Isabella the truth. With very real and treacherous thieves endangering her life, Black will need to protect Isabella from the very people she trusts the mostā¦
Born on the wrong side of the blanket, matchmaker Sophie Reynard understands the consequences of unbridled desire all too well. Despite the many highborn friends she has matched, falling in love with an aristocrat without a pedigree of her own would be an act of futility. But that doesnāt stop her from succumbing to one evening of anonymous passionā¦
A Lifetime of Desire
Nicholas Tenbury, Marquess of Ancroft, knows nothing of Sophieās lineage. He knows only that the enchanting beauty captured his heart in one night and then fled, leaving no trace of her identity. But when he seeks answers from Londonās finest matchmaker, he finds none other than the woman herselfāstubbornly refusing to acknowledge the attraction they share! Now the enamored Marquess has no choice but to sway Sophie with seductionā¦
Dun dun dun–New month, new romances! Enjoy a preview of what’s new…
*UPDATED*
1 ) OUT NOW-Kindle version available March 1st *Third in Scandal series*
Summary:
If there is anything Tristan Adam Hargrove, fourth Marquis of Moreland, has learned to avoid, it’s scandal. For the dark and dashing lord is not only an honorable gentleman who would never seduce a woman for his own gain, he is also the author of How to Avoid a Scandal, the infamous red book that has swept like wildfire through the better part of London society.
From the first glimpse he knew he must have her-even if only for a single nightā¦
Powerful, ruthless, seductive-the lord of Londonās underworld-Roman Merrick gets anything he wantsā¦and he burns for Charlotte Chatsworth, a polished jewel in the glittering ton. So he engages her debt-ridden gambler father in a game of chance, wagering ten thousand pounds against one night with the manās exquisite daughter. And Roman Merrick never loses.
But one night is never enoughā¦
Charlotte is devastated to learn that her reprobate father has lost her in a card game to the most dangerous man sheās ever met. With the threat of ruin behind every corner, Charlotte embarks upon a perilous path with the man she can not forget. But in truth, itās Roman who has everything to lose-for a game undertaken for pleasure alone soon has him gambling his heart. And love and passion unleashed could bring his great, dark empire tumbling downā¦
After seven years of battling for survival on a pirate ship, Kit Frazier returns to England to right a wrong and make peace with what he lost. But once in London, he finds himself unexpectedly at sea, caught in his swirling attraction to the beguiling and elusive Maddy.
A WOMAN DETERMINED TO BE FREE…
Maddy will do anything to escape the desperate circumstances of her life, and helping her cousin Rose catch the man of her dreams seems an easy enough task–until Maddy meets the handsome pirate captain Kit. The dashing rogue has only two purposes: to rescue the boy in his care and to seduce Maddy into his bed.
A LOVE WITHOUT END
With each heated encounter, Kit pulls Maddy off her stated course. But when treachery threatens them all, she will have to choose between a respectable future and wicked, wonderful seduction.
Youth and beauty are a courtesanās greatest assets. At forty-one, Lady Ruth Attwood appears to have lost both, as her latest lover just abandoned her for a younger mistress. Struggling with the knowledge that sheās no longer considered desirable, sheās uncertain whether to be offended or flattered when a younger man makes her an unusual offer. In need of funds, she agrees. But then she does the unthinkable. She falls in love.
Despite his reputation as a manās man, Baron Garrick Stratfield has never been with a woman. His physical impairment is such that he knows not even a whore will touch him, and he needs a mistress whoās willing to be kept without sharing his bed. But passion is just a delicious kiss away because his new mistress is wreaking havoc with his senses. Worse yet, someone is not only out to ruin his reputation, but frame him for murder.
At twenty-one, Sebastian Goddard, heir to the duke of Roxbury, desperately sought diversion from a life smothered by peerage and position. His quest led him to one night of reckless passion, resulting in betrayal by his oldest friend Frederica Wells, and the discovery of his fatherās darkest secret. Reeling from the devastation, he embarked on a ten-year debauch that well earned him the nicknameāāLord of Sin.ā
One delicious bargainā¦
Now Sebastian has returned to find his late fatherās estate in ruins and Freddie more seductive than ever. Heās determined to drive her from Goddard Castle to pay her back for her deception and to protect his own dark secret. But Freddie makes him an offer he canāt resistā¦sheāll be his mistress for a month if heāll consent to sell her the crumbling castle afterward.
Everything he could desireā¦
The Lord of Sin plans to shock and scandalize Freddieāto tease her every desire and leave her wanting. But his fiery-willed lover soon teaches him the past may not be what it seemed, the present more tempting than he could have imagined, and the future filled with more promise than he dared dream. For thirty-one nights is not nearly enough when youāve been given a license to do any wicked thingā¦
When Oliver, Earl of Stewkesbury, asks the dashing Lady Vivian Carlyle to ensure that his American cousins meet the cream of London society, he doesnāt anticipate the danger she will pose to his own self-control. Thrown into intimate contact with the lovely lady, Oliver finds he cannot stop thinking of Vivianāof her wit, of her smile . . . of her lips.
And when Vivian, who has sworn never to subject herself to the bonds of matrimony, boldly suggests that she and Oliver become lovers instead, her scandalous proposal is temptation indeed! But with an alarming series of jewel thefts rocking London, the ever-outrageous Vivian insists on trying to discover the perpetrator despite Oliverās admonitions. And when a bold lady steps into danger, it is a gentlemanās duty to protect her at all costs. What neither Oliver nor Vivian can anticipate, however, is that the ultimate cost may be both their hearts. . . .
Excerpt coming soon!
7 ) Out March 29 *Third in Inferno Club series*
Summary:
She has loved him for as long as she can remember…
Once, she had vowed to marry the Earl of Falconridge. Now, she vows to forget him. After he abandoned her for a life of shrouded secrets, Mara, Lady Pierson, has succeeded in keeping him away, until he appears in London unexpectedly, making her fall in love all over again.
Forced back into Maraās life by duty, the earl quickly stays for love. He has never forgotten this passionate beauty and never meant to break her heart. But their newfound happiness is endangeredābecause the Inferno Club demands much of its members, and his vital mission is exposing a deadly plot that could threaten their very lives.
Serena Carlyle dreams of a happily ever after. Firmly upon the shelf at twenty-five, instead she’s determined to find the perfect match for her beautiful younger sister. What better prospect than their neighbor, the wealthy, rakishly handsome Earl of Savege? Now Serena can beg his help in halting a local band of smugglers. Then, one night, stealing away from yet another disappointing ball, Serena finds herself trapped alone with a stranger . . .
Until he captured herābody and soul
His kiss was irresistible, his caress unforgettable, and he hides a devastating secret. A Robin Hood upon the sea, Alex Savege is the brazen pirate Redstone, seizing the yachts of spoiled noblemen to settle an old debt. Serena needs a hero, but her heart is in the gravest dangerāfor it is soon to be captured by a man as skilled at seduction as he is at plunder.
Excerpt coming soon!
9 ) Out March 29 *DEBUT*
Summary:
If Lady Isobel Maitland is caught even speaking to an incorrigible rogue like the Marquess of Blackwood, she stands to lose everything she holds dear. Strict rules in her husband’s will ensure that if she remarries or even forms friendships her mother-in-law does not approve of, then she will never see her young son again. But one night, in a dark garden at a masquerade ball, Isobel gives in to temptation, and lets an innocent flirtation turn into seduction.
Phineas Archer, the notorious Marquess of Blackwood, may hold the reputation as the worst rake in London, but as a spy for the crown, he merely plays the role of a fool to learn the most closely guarded secrets of the ton.
As a new threat to England’s success in the war against Napoleon emerges, Phineas must foil a plot to kidnap the exiled Bourbon heir to the French crown. Every clue seems to lead to his mysterious lover, but while Phineas can spot trouble a mile off, and see through the cleverest of disguises, he cannot find any trace of his elusive femme fatale. No man alive would imagine the prim widow Maitland could be his dream lover. But behind the mask and the secrets, Isobel is everything Phineas has ever desired….
We asked our readers what story they would most like to see from four bestselling authors. They responded . . .
A handsome hero returns from war, battle-scarred and world-weary. But family duty calls and he must find a bride.
A young lady facing yet another season without a suitor never expects to find herself the object of his affections.
It Happened One Season
Four amazing talents
Stephanie Laurens Mary Balogh Jacquie D’Alessandro and Candice Hern
have come together to create one of the most unforgettable events of the year. The results are spectacularāeach story is as unique as a lover’s first kiss.
Sheās been burned not once but twice by Londonās so-call ed gentlemen . . .
Gwen Maudsley is pretty enough to be popular, and plenty wealthy, too. But what sheās best known and loved for is being so very, very nice. When a cad jilts her at the altarāagaināthe scandal has her outraged friends calling for blood. Only Gwen has a different plan. If nice no longer works for her, then itās time to learn to be naughty. Happily, she knows the perfect tutorāAlexander Ramsey, her late brotherās best friend and a notorious rogue.
So why wonāt a confirmed scoundrel let her be as bad as she wants to be?
Unbeknownst to Gwen, Alexās aloof demeanor veils his deepest unspoken desire. He has no wish to see her change, nor to tempt himself with her presence when his own secrets make any future between them impossible. But on a wild romp from Paris to the Riviera, their friendship gives way to something hotter, darker, and altogether more dangerous. With Alexās past and Gwenās newly unleashed wildness on a collision course, Gwen must convince Alex that his wickedest intentions are exactly what she needs.
Click on cover for more info
Review:
I have to say I was really looking forward to the good girl gone bad story especially when it seemed to involve a hero who didn’t want to see her change. I suppose I have a thing for the underdog, the nice girl that people will use unfairly.
It started off well but I felt it didn’t hold up after the middle of the book. The book wasn’t terrible, it just could have been better. I did love how there were a lot of historical details thrown in and enjoyed being taken on a tour around 19th century Paris which I had never read before. That part was well-written and obviously well-researched. However, the book fell flat for me after the mid-way point and I found myself wanting to just finish it quickly so I could start a new book.
The heroine Gwen was well-written as a three-dimensional character in that you could see how she could have some naughty in her behind the nice-ness. She did evolve well in the book, but at times I felt that she was very immature and sometimes a bit too dramatic. The hero Alex, who apparently won a K.I.S.S award for best historical hero, was just ok for me. He didn’t seem to have much personality and just seemed like cardboard cutout of the ‘perfect man.’ I will admit that he was pretty sexy at certain points though š
As a couple, the two just didn’t have enough chemistry. Gwen just seemed too young and naive, and Alex seemed too worldly for her. I didn’t really get into their romance. That may also be because there weren’t really any obstacles in their way.
The best part of this book for me was the historical details and the tour around Europe š I learned some interesting places of interest and even a bit of French! Plot-wise, the book had a great start what with the tour and Gwen getting to try new things but after all that, it dragged.
Overall, the book suffered from a lack of chemistry between the leads, a lack of conflict and intrigue. On the plus side, Gwen’s evolution to less nice was well-written and the historical details very well researched.
Sensuality Level: Pretty warm (Short but explicit love scenes)
Final Verdict: Just ok. Read it if you’re bored, but otherwise don’t.
Are you as excited as I am for the following month in romance novel releases? Plenty of exciting releases from new authors as well as old ones, as well as eagerly awaited sequels. Without further ado, I present the list of upcoming romances!
1) My Lord Scandal by Emma Wildes
Alexander St. James may be a thief of hearts, but he is no burglar. Nevertheless, he must recover and item belonging to his family to avoid a scandal, and so he has stolen into the home of Lord Hathaway, only to come upon the beguiling and chaste Lady Amelia in her bedroom, wearing little but a look of surprise. Alexander leaves Amelia breathless-but is it from fear or excitement? Captivated by her beauty and charmed by her intellect, he ignores the scandalous whispers as he sets out to seduce the woman of his dreams…
**This is book one in the Notorious Bachelors series**
In the three years since her husband left her, Lady Kathleen Carhart has managed to forge a fulfilling life for herself. But when Ned Carhart unexpectedly returns, she finds her tranquility uprootedāand her deepest secrets threatened. Though she has no intention of falling for Nedās charms, Kate can no longer deny the desire that still burns in her heart.
Ned is determined to regain his wifeās trust by using unbridled seduction. But just as Kate surrenders to Nedās passion, her carefully guarded past threatens to destroy her. Now Kate must place her faith in the only man sheās ever loved, and the only one who has ever betrayed herā¦
Lady Diana Fanshaweās impeccable bloodline doesnāt stop society from laughing at the antics of her eccentric family. She knows a proper marriage is her one chance to make her way in the worldāwhich is precisely why she will marry Lord Blakeney, though sheās certain sheāll never love him. But then sheās kissed by the brilliant and unconventional Sebastian, Viscount Iverley . . . and her well-laid plans tumble into disarray.
Sebastian wants absolutely nothing to do with love or marriage. But when he arrives at his hated cousin Blakeneyās house party, Sebastian is smitten by the tantalizing Diana. But Diana is āthe marrying kind,ā and Sebastian has no wish to risk his freedomāthough the passion between them is hard to resist. Should the lady follow her heart in an attempt to win Iverleyās, though it seems hardened against herāor should she sacrifice her love for respectability?
The child is his: Jack, or rather, Lord John Redgrave knows it the instant he glimpses the blue-eyed girl who was abandoned on the steps of his gentlemanās club. Her mother came to his room one dark night more than three years agoāand spurned his proposal the very next day. But when Jack visits Amaryllis Clarke to demand an explanation, he receives the shock of his life. For it wasnāt proud, worldly Amaryllis with whom he spent that soul-stirring night. It was her infatuated younger sister, Laurel.
Laurel was only seventeen when she gave her innocence to Jackāand paid a steep price. She might be overjoyed about her reunion with little Melody, but Laurel wonāt surrender to her desires again. Jack, meanwhile, has no wish to give up the daughter he never knew he had. Nor will he part with the sensual woman who makes him feel alive with longing. He intends to use any means possible to convince Laurel to stay. After all, allās fair in matters of seductionāespecially to a scoundrel in loveā¦
**This is the final book in the Runaway Brides series**
Level-headed Lady Elinor Standon will not allow her greedy stepfather to wed her younger sister to the highest bidder! The only way to stop this evil plan is for Elinor to to gain control of her sisterās guardianship, but to do that she needs to get married. Convinced that nothing less than a duke will do, she hires Mr. St. Maur, Esq. to help her land her lofty lordā¦ However her plans go awry as she discovers that beneath her solicitorās rumpled coat and haughty demeanor is a man all-too-desirable to ignore and she finds herself falling for more than his unconventional legal advice.
James Tremont, the ninth Duke of Parkerton, is astonished by the freedom and anonymity heās gained simply by donning his brotherās ill-fitting jacket, especially when an exquisite, peer-hunting beauty mistakes him for a solicitor… Now he finds himself tangled up by more than her legal woes. For until he can undo the straight-laced yet delectable Elinor, his identity must remain a mysteryābecause by not having revealed it immediately, this dedicated bachelor may have already sabotaged his one chance for the madness of finding his one true love.
**This is the second book in the Standon Widows series**
Grace Gauthier had taken a position as governess hoping to find security and peace in a life that had very little of either. Sheās always yearned for a good marriage, a family, and a home, but it was not to be.Ā And when the brutal murder of her employer leaves her unprotected and aloneāas Scotland Yardās prime suspectāshe has no one to turn to except the mysterious and reclusive Lord Ruthveyn.
A dark-eyed Lucifer, Ruthveyn guards his secrets carefully. His shadowed past as the Queenās most trusted agent in India is the stuff of whispered rumor, as is his mixed ancestry.Ā Deeply moved by her plightāand haunted by her beautyāRuthveyn is determined to save Grace by unmasking a killer. But his growing passion for her soon places his own heart at risk and threatens to expose his dark giftsāand his dark societyāto the world….
**This is the first book in the Fraternitas Aureae Crucis trilogy**
A well-practiced rake, weary of easy conquests and empty pleasures, Tarquin Vale, Earl of Ashcroft, knows womenāand his every instinct warns him to beware of this one. Diana Carrick’s brazen overtures have thrown the haunted, sinfully handsome lord completely off his guard. Why, the exquisite temptress stated outright that she wishes to be his lover. But it is neither Diana’s boldness nor her beauty that intrigues him soāit is the innocence he senses behind her worldly mask.
Intent upon the seduction that will finally free her, Diana has set her sights on the notorious Ashcroftānever dreaming that there is much more to the enigmatic rogue than sin and deviltry. His kiss is bewitching, his caress intoxicatingāand even the dangerous secret Diana must protect cannot shield her from Ashcroft’s dark allure.
Unwittingly yet most willingly, they are playing with fire. Now the fuse has been lit and there is no escape . . . except surrender.
Click cover for more info
Review:
Anna Campbell is truly gifted. Every year she comes out with another book that’s just beyond amazing! Her books never feature characters that are the same or plot ideas that are repeated. Each book is a superbly crafted and complex piece of romance fiction that always leaves you satisfied.
What can I say about this book except that I completely and totally loved it? As a veteran romance reader, I’m used to what a usual romance novel entails but it takes a truly original novel to keep me hooked to the story. This was one of those books. I seriouslyĀ could not stop picking it up to read a little more and when I was not reading it, I was thinking about it. Now that’s a sureĀ sign a book is a hit š
The hero of the book is the dashing Tarquin Vale, who we meet and are introduced to as a rake with no principles. Naturally, it turns out that we’re wrong and he does have his own sense of honor and principles. The very first time he hid our heroine’s face in his coat to protect her identity, you just knew. I fell for him right along with Diana. And boyy, does that man know how to please a woman in bed š I must have blushed at least a hundred times during the course of the book! He’s generous, kind, thoughtful, forgiving-a genuine jewel in disguise! He may be my favorite Campbell hero yet!
The heroine on the other hand is much harder to like. Once you discover how great Tarquin is, you can’t believe Diana would deceive him. Still, though there have been a lot of conflicting views on this point, I have to say that I felt an affinity with her and couldn’t completely hate her. It was hard to get over the fact that she sold her body for a house though. But after wards, I began to understand her and empathize with her. A very complex character but likable at the end of the day, I say.
When it comes to the writing, there’s no one like Anna Campbell to really get you into the mind of the characters. Though at times, the writing was a bit over the top and too wordy for my tastes, it was spot on and amazing when it came to divulging the characters’ thoughts and emotions. I felt like I really knew and understood these characters and I could place myself into their shoes. The plot was hooking and kept me interested the whole way. I have to say that I found the ending a bit rushed and cheesy though and personally I would have liked a little more groveling on the hero’s side. It was the book’s only flaw in my opinion that kept it from being perfection.
As for the love scenes… well it’s an Anna Campbell book. If your tastes don’t run to explicitly detailed and very long and spicy love scenes than you should probably stay away. There were alot of love scenes in the book but they weren’t gratuitous. Campbell doesn’t write sex just for sex’s sake. The love scenes had a purpose in the development of the plot, which made it ok for me as I usually don’t like too much sex. At times it did feel like the couple were into each other just for the sex. They had an undeniable sexual tension thoughout the book which was their relationship starting point.
Still, all in all a great, complex, hooking, well written romance novel that I would definitely read again. Can’t wait for Anna’s next!
Sensuality Level: EXPLICIT (Very detailed love scenes and numerous in number)
Verdict: Spicy and romantic, with an amazing hero and a plot so hooking, it will have you up all night!
This site reviews and previews the best historical romance novels set in the late 1700's until the early 1900's England, including Georgian romances, Regencies, Victorians and even some Edwardian romance! Enjoy your visit here! :D
I love historical romances that aren't overly sexual, with great chemistry and witty dialogue. I don't like it when a H and H jump into bed with each really quickly and if a romance can give me that warm, fuzzy feeling after I read it, it's considered a great read! I don't mind if a romance is slightly modern and I'm a huge Jane Austen fan so Regency romances will always have a special place in my heart. :)
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Historical Romance Addicts 