Sophia Nash: Secrets of a Scandalous Bride

Secrets of a Scandalous Bride: B+
Elizabeth Ashburton & Rowland Manning
Historical - British Regency

Elizabeth Ashburton lives behind a charming, happy façade in an effort to forget her former life. But when she is forced to confront the devil from her past, her friends in the dowager duchess’s widows club can not save her, and Elizabeth turns to the last man on earth willing to help her…

The extraordinarily powerful Rowland Manning has never pretended to be anything but a bastard, in every way imaginable. Through innate grit and determination, he built an astonishing empire and he’ll do anything and everything to save it. Yet, the one thing he secretly craves . . . something even he cannot name, can never be purchased with his kingdom of riches.

Each has something to win. Each has something to lose. Only love will determine if the price of redemption and sacrifice is too high. (author's website)

Elizabeth Asbhurton has a secret. She is also running from someone who really wants to marry her, but he happens to be someone she cannot trust, so she runs into the arms of Mr. Rowland Manning (tall, dark, and handsome - why would you not run into his arms?).

I don't really remember the back-story with Rowland, but apparently he has done some low, scum-like things in previous books: something along the lines of kidnapping someone and trying to hold her ransom...from his legitimate, half-brother. But then, you find out Rowland's past and you realize why he is the way that he is.

One thing that was really interesting was Rowland's dislike of food and of hunger, in general. When Elizabeth runs into his arms, he covers for her and demands that she repay her debt by temporarily working as a housekeeper and cook in his home. Rowland works hard and spares little time and resources for unimportant things like food. She sees this and cooks him (and his men) sumptuous meals, forcing him to eat it as he tries to deny it.

It's pretty much representative of the love he feels for her.

But in the end, all of the nastiness gets solved and Elizabeth gets him, despite having sacrificed herself (in having plans to marry untrustworthy man to save Rowland).

Aw! Happily ever afters are awesome!

Bottom line: Good read. Alice recommends!

Liz Carlyle: Beauty Like the Night

Beauty Like the Night: A-
Helene de Severs & Camden Rutledge, Earl of Treyhern
Historical -British Regency

The daughter of London's wickedest widow, Helene de Severs left England in disgrace and has struggled to overcome her heritage. Renowned within Europe's emerging psychiatric field for her gift for healing children, she returns to England confident she has learned to govern her reckless emotions. A disastrous marriage left notoriously ruthless Camden Rutledge, Earl of Treyhern, with a traumatized child and he decides to hire a governess so that he can concentrate on other family fires. Yet the moment Helene arrives, Treyhern's cold reserve is melted by desire he long thought dead. With her elegant clothing and mountain of luggage, the woman is not who he expected. Or is she? Sometimes the workings of the mind are as dangerous as those of the heart. And soon, danger is truly everywhere... (back cover)


I like Ms. Carlyle. I feel that she stays true to the dialogue and the nuances of eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain.

I also happen to love reunion stories. You know, the cheesy first-love, you're-the-only-one-for-me stories where years have passed and yet, the hero and heroine are still in love with each other. What is more romantic than that? (answer: nothing!)

As a novel with the two above-mentioned aspects, I devoured this rather lengthy (419 pgs) story in a matter of hours.

Helene and Cam grew up with each other due to the affair between Helene's mother and Cam's father. Both adult figures were less than stellar parents. Cam's father was inebriated most of the time, flitting from woman to woman while Helene's mother - well, she was a demimondaine.

They fell in love in the wild, unrestrained way that seventeen/eighteen year olds do. But it was more than mere teenage histrionics; lo behold, eleven long years have passed since Helene and Cam were separated and when they meet - Helene is hired as Cam's daughter's special governess - it is hard for them to control their emotions. Whatever happened in the past ...is the past... right? (Wrong!)

The angst that Helene and Cam face, I feel, is founded on realistic doubts and insecurities: both people work hard to avoid turning out like his/her respective parent, but at the same time, they struggle with the depths of their feelings they have for one another.

As I've stated in previous blog entries, I'm not fond of kids that play a vital part in the romance equation because the focus is then not on the hero and heroine, but on the child as well. And dammit, those children need a lot of attention! Though Beauty Like the Night featured Cam's little daughter, she played a cool and un-bratty character. I had no desire to, like, smack the child upside the head.

There is also a tiny little mystery-adventure at the end. It's as adventurous and thrilling as one might expect an adventure in a romance novel to be. (I mean, how can it be super duper mysterious if you know all's going to turn out well in the end?) I realize I'm being somewhat vague with the plot, but I can't help it. I dislike spoilers and so I will leave you with:

Read. Be happy. Ignore the giggle-inducing cover.
(Really, were gentlemen's breeches that tight? Because... uh... IthinkIseemalecoverartmodel'sbuttcrack. I can't ignore it, really - it's smack-dab front-center! See for yourselves!)

Lisa Kleypas: Where Dreams Begin

Where Dreams Begin: A-
Lady Holland Taylor & Zachary Bronson

Zachary Bronson has built an empire of wealth and power -- now he needed a wife to help secure his position in society...and warm his bed in private. But not just any woman will do for a man whom all of London knows is not a gentleman. Then he unexpectedly swept Lady Holly Taylor into his arms for an unasked for -- but very alluring -- kiss, and suddenly he knew he had found a woman whose fierce passions matched his own.

Lady Holly Taylor was beautiful, generous, and, as a widow, destined to spend her life playing by society's rules, even when they went against her bolder instincts. But Zachary's kiss had aroused her, and though the shocking offer he made didn't include marriage, she was compelled to risk everything and follow him to the place where dreams begin. (amazon)

I was surprised I enjoyed this book so much. Holly emerges as a strong character; when given the opportunity to support herself and her daughter by the enigmatic Zachary Bronson, she takes his offer, to the surprise and shock of her late husband’s family.

Zachary’s offer is scandalous and Holly knows that her reputation would be beyond saving once she chooses to move in with him as his younger sister’s tutor/ social guide. She is necessary for his sister to succeed in the social graces of the ton because they are “base-born”; Zachary was born poor and through successful business enterprises, amassed a huge fortune, all but forcing the ton to acknowledge him.

Holly moves in with him and is plagued by her attraction to Zachary. She is still haunted by her love for her late husband and strives to keep him fresh in her memory, punishing herself for living. When Zachary makes a move on her, she feels guilty for feeling pleasure and tries to resist him… something that Zachary won’t allow because he is convinced she is the one for him.

As I’ve said, it was a bit irritating to read of Holly’s struggle; I’m sure it’s real and that it happens to widows. The grief that Holly feels, her attraction to Zachary, her despair and confusion are all emotions that Ms. Kleypas makes tangible through her writing. You can just about feel the pain that Holly feels. It goes on for a good portion of the book, making sense because her late husband’s death is something that cannot be easily remedied – she loved him deeply.

Normally I have a problem with this: I’m all right if the heroine/ hero is a widow but if the former husband/wife was a jerkface/ adulteress/ adulterer/ abuser/ rapist… That way, when the protagonist finds his “real love,” you know that the former marriage means nothing.

That is not the case with Holly’s story – she loved her husband dearly and was shattered by his death – dearly. It was to the point where I was left wondering if Holly would ever get over the death of her husband and move on, as hard as it would be. Since authors can’t portray this well enough for me (Julia Quinn’s When He Was Wicked is an example of this; I disliked the book) I don’t read stories with widows still in love with their spouse’s ghost.

It came as a shock to me that I enjoyed reading Holly and Zachary’s story, even though Holly’s journey of re-claiming her life.

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(This might be a Victorian historical, I'm not quite sure. I would check but I don't have the book anymore. Sorry!)