If I Fall by Kate Noble

Setting: Regency 1823

Summary:

Every great romance comes with a risk…

After a duke’s betrayal, the resilient Sarah Forrester reinvents herself as the Golden Lady: society’s leading light, the beautiful and witty life of the party. It’s all a façade of course-one that protects her from another intimate disloyalty. When her old friend, Lieutenant Jackson Fletcher, returns to London, he is determined to rediscover the true and trusting Sarah he once knew. It’ll take more than a kiss and a promise. It might even call for an innocent and necessary deception.

Then Jackson is enlisted to help capture the lead suspect in a murder— a man who happens to be Sarah’s most ardent suitor. Jack must continue the deception, and weathering this newest and gravest betrayal will be Sarah’s ultimate test. But as Jack’s passion for her grows, he must also reveal his own secrets. And as the killer turns his attention to his pursuers, more than love and trust is put at risk.

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Review:

Anyone who loves the work of Tessa Dare will enjoy this fresh, witty, sparkling Regency romance with a twist!

This is a redemption story featuring the jilted fiance from Follow My Lead and her childhood friend. Brokenhearted, Sarah has decided to make herself over and becomes a cold, calculating b—-. Well you get the idea. The only person capable of saving her from herself is the one man who knew her best as a carefree, friendly child.

Things progress predictably at first with Jackson meeting our aloof heroine and wondering what happened to the nice girl he once knew. But things take an unexpected turn when Jackson decides to disguise himself as Sarah’s childhood idol the Blue Raven (a famous national spy) in order to elicit a reaction from her and discover if the real Sarah is still there. The premise is a bit far fetched but it’s fun and makes for a lot of funny scenes. And things get even more interesting when Jackson’s disguise leads him to a real murder!

As a couple, Sarah and Jackson are wonderful together especially those moments when Sarah lets down her guard. It was a great idea to make Jackson a childhood friend as it made it a much more satisfying ending for a heroine I felt very sorry for in the previous book. I would have liked to have seen more of Jackson and Sarah reminiscing on their childhood memories though as I felt the mystery aspect took away from that.

Another great thing about the book was the history. You can tell Ms Noble did her research and there were a lot of new things I learned about the 1800’s like the war between Britain and Burma. I love the way she writes as well: It flows, it’s poetic, funny and very witty.

Part mystery and espionage, this light, happy read will be sure to put a smile on your face. Remember: If you fall, let it be because of a good book like this one 😉

Sensuality Rating: Very warm!

Verdict: Funny, fast-paced and exciting! An exhilarating ride! 😀

Rating: 4 and a half out of 5 stars

A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare

Setting: Regency

Summary:

Welcome to Spindle Cove, where ladies with delicate constitutions come for the sea air, and men in their prime are…nowhere to be found.

Or are they?

Spindle Cove is the destination of choice for certain types of well-bred young ladies: the painfully shy, young wives disenchanted with matrimony, and young girls too enchanted with the wrong men. It is a haven for those who live there.

Victor Bramwell, the new Earl of Rycliff, knows he doesn’t belong here. So far as he can tell, there’s nothing in this place but spinsters…and sheep. But he has no choice, he has orders to gather a militia. It’s a simple mission, made complicated by the spirited, exquisite Susanna Finch—a woman who is determined to save her personal utopia from the invasion of Bram’s makeshift army.

Susanna has no use for aggravating men; Bram has sworn off interfering women. The scene is set for an epic battle…but who can be named the winner when both have so much to lose?

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Review:

I’ve always loved Tessa Dare’s poetic way of writing. As someone who enjoys writing herself, it’s a joy reading her lyrical prose. Tessa never fails to disappoint and I had so much faith in her writing, I had to get this book. Sadly, it didn’t quite meet my expectations and I found myself wondering what went wrong with her usually brilliant 5 star plots.

The premise itself was great. A secret village full of independent women which is invaded by a bunch of military men which cause things to get turned upside down. Such a great fresh idea! My problem in this book though, lay with the hero and the heroine and their lackluster romance.

Bram is your typical alpha male hero, though a leg battle wound has left him with a few scars. Susanna is your feisty, strong independent women but she’s also got some scars (caused mainly by a horrible bloodletting experience she had as a girl). The thing was the romance failed to impress mainly because there was no struggle. The back of the book was misleading, suggesting an epic battle of wits and a love-hate relationship ala Pride and Prejudice. What we get instead are a few fights and the hero and heroine are in love and pretty much together already halfway through the book! So much for romantic tension!

I also had to sometimes roll my eyes at the cheesiness and some of the love scenes which were a bit and over the top and happened too soon especially given how the heroine was supposed to be a leader of this man-hating community.

On the plus side, the characters were fleshed out, the dialogue was witty and entertaining, a lot of the scenes between the men and women fighting over Spindle Cove were hilarious and the plot was very engaging. I just wish the romance could have been better written.

Still, this was a very good start to a very interesting series and I’m looking forward to reading book 2.

Sensuality Rating: HOT!

Verdict: Not amazing but still a good read!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Proposal by Mary Balogh Book Trailer!

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The Duke is Mine by Eloisa James

Setting: Regency 1812

*Book 3 in Eloisa’s Fairy Tales series*

Summary:

Tarquin, the powerful Duke of Sconce, knows perfectly well that the decorous and fashionably slender Georgiana Lytton will make him a proper duchess. So why can’t he stop thinking about her twin sister, the curvy, headstrong, and altogether unconventional Olivia? Not only is Olivia betrothed to another man, but their improper, albeit intoxicating, flirtation makes her unsuitability all the more clear. 

 Determined to make a perfect match, he methodically cuts Olivia from his thoughts, allowing logic and duty to triumph over passion…Until, in his darkest hour, Tarquin begins to question whether perfection has anything to do with love. 

 To win Olivia’s hand he would have to give up all the beliefs he holds most dear, and surrender heart, body and soul…

 Unless it’s already too late.

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Review:

Eloisa James gets better with every new book. This third entry in her Fairy Tales secrets is the best one yet-a very original adapted fairy tale full of drama, humor, passion and adventure.

I don’t know where to start with telling you how amazing this novel was. From the moment it began, I was so hooked. The writing was so funny and witty and the characters grab you with their exaggerated personalities. Olivia was a joy to read, with her bawdy comments and the naughty twinkle in her eye. Yet, she was so easy to relate to, as she isn’t perfect physically-at least not according to Regency standards. The perfect way to describe her would be a ‘juicy peach’ as her sister puts it. She struggles with confidence issues like all of us and that made her even more lovable.

As for Quin-he was an interesting hero as he was not perfect either-having an Aspergers-like problem of not being able to express emotion. I loved reading how these two ‘imperfect’ characters find each other and the novel had me sighing at how perfect they were together. They had such amazing chemistry!

The implementation of the whole Princess and the Pea thing was very cleverly done as well. To my mind, the original fairy tale is one that is very hard to adapt what with the stack of mattresses and the tiny pea the princess can feel through all of them-how to translate that to Regency England? I won’t spoil things for you, I will only say you will be pleasantly surprised by how well it is written in.

The plot itself was brilliantly done and so full of twists, I didn’t quite know where things were going next! It made me laugh, cry and stay up all night just finish it! Out of the three fairy tales, this novel did stray the furthest from the fairy tale it is based on, but the importance of the original moral is still preserved in this wonderful update. This book is an amazing achievement that pushes the boundaries of what can be done in romance and answers that all important question: “Is perfection really that important when it comes to love?”

I can’t wait to read Eloisa’s next! 😀

Sensuality Rating: HOT! (Love scenes are long and explicit)

Verdict: Fresh, sexy and fun-A must read! 😀

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Trailer for Brenda Joyce’s new book Seduction!

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RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 31, 2012

Trailer for Downton Abbey Christmas Special!

Who else is looking forward to the return of the Earl of Grantham’s family and servants? 😀

So many questions to be answered!

Will Mary and Matthew finally get together?

Will Bates and Anna finally catch a break?

Watch the new one minute preview of Downton Abbey now!

Catch the special airing on December 25th on ITV1!

Promise Me Tonight by Sara Lindsey

Setting-1798, Georgian Period

Summary-

Isabella is determined to marry James…

Isabella Weston has loved James Sheffield for as long as she can remember. Her come-out ball seems the perfect chance to make him see her in a new light.

James is determined never to marry…

James is stunned to find the impish girl he once knew has blossomed into a sensual goddess. And if he remembers his lessons, goddesses always spell trouble for mortal men.

A compromise is clearly necessary.

When Izzie kisses James, her artless ardor turns to a masterful seduction that drives him mad with desire. But, no stranger to heartbreak, James is determined never to love, and thus never to lose. Can Isabella convince him that a life without love might be the biggest loss of all?

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Review-

I bought this book full intending to love it and was ready to enter this world of connected characters (this is the first series I’ve read).

Alas, though I liked it, i could never really adore it like I adored some other novels. The beginning was very promising, what with Isabella being in love with her brother’s best friend who is years older than her. And then the promise to dance with her at her come-out ball was great. All was fine until about a quarter of the way in when it became clear these two don’t have much of a connection-Most of their interactions involved alot of crying (on Isabella’a part) and then alot of sexy stuff to make us feel these two belong together.

As for the characters, Isabella Weston was not my idea of a heroine. It said that she was radiant and she brought light into James’s life but she spends nearly half the book in tears and moping around. I did not see her as radiant. In fact, I could not understand why James would fall in love with her. It said that there was a history between them since childhood and perhaps if this was shown, I might be able to understand how a connection could be forged between these characters. Because I tried to make sense of it and the only thing I could see was that they were very much in lust with each other.

The book did pick up towards the end though and I did find it an accurate portrayal of why people do the things they do. There was some history in there which I enjoyed as well. Some of the interactions between the characters was very funny and true to life. As for the writing, it was good and funny at times.

The ending did really pick the book up although not enough for me to love it. A great start, a blah middle and a nice ending.

The concept was good, it just could have been pulled off a lot better. I’m willing to give Sara’s next book a shot though because she does have potential and debuts aren’t always  the best things to judge by.

Sensuality Level: Pretty hot (Love scenes are long and detailed)

Verdict-Just ok

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars