Desire by Nicole Jordan

Synopsis: Lucian, Earl of Wycliff is determined to marry and when he spots the siren emerge from the waves he knew he must have her. By coincidence she is the sister of the man he came to Cornwall to investigate for dealings with treason. He coerced her into marriage by promising to provide for her youngest brother. She is concerned about her ancestral curse which dictates that men would desire her but any she cared for would die. He did not believe in curses but concedes that theirs would be a marriage of convenience and after she begets his heir she is free to live her life.

Brynn was attracted to Lucian which rang alarm bells in itself but when her overbearing husband becomes more solicitous it is difficult to hold herself away from him. For his own safety she must continue being stern with him, it is only between the sheets that she cannot help but melt. She knows he is a spymaster but never suspected he had his eyes on her brother, even worse that her brother was truly involved in treason.

Rating: 3/5

Comments: It was good…only reason not a 4 cause it was a bit drawn out with evidence of her curse. Nice parts throughout the book like the one where he left her on his wedding night and she had to face her debut in society practically alone…the part where she lied to him and he caught her in the lie…when he found out he was going to be a daddy and he froze…the ending was the best part. The shared dreams thing was really cool, especially the last one in the end. Concerning my weakness for spy books, he didn’t do any actual spying unless you count keeping a calm face when he knew she was lying so it doesn’t count.

Loved by a Warrior by Donna Fletcher

Synopsis: Reeve MacAlpin was returning from a mission for the ‘true king’ of Scotland when he encountered a lady in distress. She offers payment to him not only for saving her but for the home he promises her at his village. He only accepted the money because it would aid his cause for the king. He felt a great bond with her even though they just met and cannot keep away despite her warnings that she is a ‘death bride’ and is a danger to all men.

Tara had been on her way to marry her parent’s choice in husband when her entourage was set upon. She had already decided she wasn’t going through with the wedding but the fracas was the perfect excuse for her to escape her father’s plans. As no one in her new home knew of her past transgressions she began to make friends within the community and especially among Reeve’s family. Her position was too exalted for her family or her expected husband to forget her though and it is only through marriage to Reeve that she is safe. Unfortunately she cared too much about him to let him sacrifice himself to her curse.

Rating: 3/5

Comments: Part of a series. Original content to date. Her intended was surprising and very relevant to Reeve’s cause. Her father was a true boor and wasn’t Reeve wonderful to stand up to him. Funny how Reeve’s mother didn’t know how to cook and Tara had to teach her. Poor Tara was so isolated before Reeve and she still felt her burden of a curse every day, interpreting danger as her fault.

Warrior’s Redemption by Melissa Mayhue

Synopsis: Elesyria, a staunch follower of the Faerie faith, demanded a boon from her goddess that she may reward or avenge the responsible parties for her daughter’s disappearance. When she realized her son-in-law had allowed her daughter to leave this time with her soul mate she decided to reward him by bringing his soul mate to him even though she came from the future. Malcolm was not pleased, he already had enough to worry about with his half-brother trying to destroy him and his sister held prisoner by him he did not want to deal with the pretty lass that was sent to him.

Danielle Dearton had always believed in faeries. She believed the faeries had a higher purpose for her and it did not involve her staying where she was. She just didn’t expect them to send her back in time with all those germs! Her soul mate was not amenable to his destiny but she cannot deny their instant attraction or that she felt more at home here than she’d ever felt in her whole life.

Rating: 3/5

Comments: Liked the faerie magic and the fact the brother was otherworldly gifted. Would have been nice if Malcolm had some powers we only know Elesyria felt the power but this is his story and we don’t know what his strength is. Was it his uncanny ability to heal? Dani really had no purpose in the past. She didn’t really relieve Colm’s suffering nor did she help his people in anyway. It could be argued that she was just meant for him but one would think if she felt like she belonged in the past then why so? I didn’t get it.

What a Duke wants by Lavinia Kent

Synopsis: Isabella Masters was running from the law and her brother, though which she feared most was still uncertain after 2 years. Her latest post was as a companion/nursemaid to a social climber on her way to London’s coronation of the king. At an inn on the way she was rudely told to take the crying baby outside because the Duke need his sleep. While in the barn she encounters a respectful stranger who eagerly agrees to hold the baby while she rests. She believes him the Duke’s man sent to ‘cover the cock’. She does not suspect that he orquestrates their nightly meetings, she does not wonder why a Duke would sleep at some of the inns they stop at, she just wants to spend time with him. When she was willing to give herself to him, they are interrupted and she discovers his true identity and is dismissed.

He could have helped her otherwise but he wanted her close and propositioned her as his mistress. She reluctantly agrees and it is then that she understands he has two personalities: the Duke and her Mark. Her presence in London has two consequences: her family was nearby and a witness to her crime wants to blackmail her also she finds she cannot bare to live like a mistress…

Rating: 3/5

Comments: Shocking, who the blackmailer is and how her family reacted to her return. Liked that she was like a Cinderella, surprising the duke with her costume especially when he thought she was somebody else. Haha.

Secrets of an Accidental Duchess by Jennifer Haymore

Synopsis: Olivia Donovan and her father contracted malaria shortly after they moved to the island of Antigua with their family. She survived, he didn’t but she would have relapses throughout her life. This in turn made her family very protective of her and she never revealed her illness to outsiders. On a reunion trip to England to visit her married sisters, her eyes connected with a stranger’s across a London ballroom. However her opinion fell of him when she noticed him speaking with the vile lord who’d propositioned her. Months later her stranger was invited for a hunting party by her sister’s husband and they spent months together. He was a future Duke but he would always remind her of their first encounter and that he was always Max, to her.

Max and Lord Fenwick had always been rivals since their school days. Max never instigated it but it stuck in his craw if Fenwick ever won. He was not thinking clearly when he signed his name to the bet in White’s. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of Olivia in the ballroom and Fenwick used it against him. He forfeited his winnings the moment he got to spend time with her. She was a joy and her illness made him more protective of her. When he came into the title and left her while he sorted his new post, he had every intention to court and then marry her. Fenwick was a sore loser, however, and kidnapped him and then Olivia. He revealed to Olivia about the bet and when they escaped, she needed time apart to think but Fenwick did not give up so easily…

Rating: 3/5

Comments: The Donovan sisters series. The first one was better but this one was nice. Liked she was sick and he was really worried for her and that she almost died. The book had a good pace not overly monotonous or exciting.

No longer a gentleman by Mary Jo Putney

Synopsis: Grey Sommers had been a cocky young English lord who believed his bedroom skills would induce the wife of an alleged French anarchist to reveal secrets about him. As punishment, the husband imprisoned him in his personal dungeon for a slow, pain filled death. Grey would have gone mad if an old priest had not been placed in the cell beside his own walls. After 10 years of the same routine, he was shocked when his cell door suddenly opened to reveal an old woman claiming she’d come to rescue him. Not so shocking, he felt embarrassed when his body was attracted to hers. He felt less so when he realized she was younger than she seemed yet wise on how to recondition him into society.

Cassie Fox was the latest alias Cassandra went by. Once a treasured English miss who got trapped in France during the revolution, she eventually escaped to England and presented herself as a spy against France and the dictator who inadvertently killed her family and made her lose everything. She favored the disguise of an old woman and could not miss the opportunity to rescue the jailed men, thankfully one was the man she looked for. It was a long journey back to England when one was being chased but together they returned closer than ever. They did not wish to part but he was a future lord and she considered herself unworthy of him despite his protests. She would do one last favor for him by pretending to be his fiancé when word of his father’s imminent death was announced. He was not ready for society. He did not like crowds and there was an animalistic rage inside him that only her gentle voice and touch could calm but she did not want him dependent on her so she left. She had to return when she discovered the old priest had been recaptured and that Grey would want to rescue him. He was not going to let her leave him a second time…

Rating: 3/5

Comments: I liked that she was a spy and the disguises she used throughout the book. She had a difficult few years and it is understandable why she didn’t return to her lordly uncle: She wanted revenge and she did not feel as innocent as they would want her to be.  They caught me, I thought the brother was gonna be the bait instead so nice one! Overall I liked it. It was one or two of the Lost lords series I’m sure I read one of their books before…

A Warrior’s Promise by Donna Fletcher

Synopsis: Bryce was on a mission to locate and rescue a spy with intelligence for the true king of Scotland. His size and strength made him stand out and in a time where nobody trusted their neighbour, nobody would talk to him. Luckily they would talk to an underfed, inquisitive lad who could be snatched up by the King’s soldier’s for his army at any moment. For this reason and because the lad was uncommonly skilled with a bow and arrow, Bryce felt blessed the day he rescued Charles from imminent slavery.

Charles was on a mission to locate and rescue his father, he was also smart enough to join forces with Bryce as their mission coincided. It was only a matter of time however when the intimacy of their travels revealed that Charles was really Charlotte. Their easy comraderie was changed from that day and Bryce could not help but look at her differently. Ultimately however their missions would take them on parralel  paths and they must separate. Untill then, they had each other.

Rating: 4/5

Comments: Loved it! Girls in boy disguises are always hillarious what they discover. His mother was not happy with her because she distracted him and she hinted at a secret that unfortunately was not revealed towards the end. She was daring and protective. I loved the dog. Nice ending with a ‘to be continued…’ feel to it.

Till dawn with the Devil by Alexandra Hawkins

Synopsis: Gabriel Housley, Earl of Reign, best known as Reign to the ton  didn’t know weather it was the presence of his ex-in-laws or that Lord Enright was nearby but he could not stop himself from boldly whisking the beautiful lady he’d spotted across the ballroom into a dance. The lady was as enchanting close up. It was only as her protective brother rescued her from his kiss did he realise her identity.

Lady Sophia had lost partial sight when Reign’s violent father had given her a blow so hard it almost killed her. She’d lost both parents that night and Reign’s father had taken his own life. She did not blame Reign for the past but her brothers were not so forgiving. When her oldest brother needed funds, he arranged to marry off his sister, luckily Reign caught wind of the plot and married her to save her. It was a marriage of convenience but they were meant to be together. Not everyone was happy with the union and would even kill to destroy it.

Rating :3/5

Comments: Lords of Vice novel. Pace was good. He believed she could do more than she believed she could. Complete surprise who the murderer was. Did not understand how her brother had arrived just in time with Reign but being shot made up for it. I especially liked the end when she threw up on Frost.

If You give a girl a viscount by Kieran Kramer

Synopsis: Daisy Montgomery was treated less than a servant by her step- family so it was with great hope that she  discovered she had a Godmother who wanted her. Unfortunately her saviour was on holiday and could not be reached, she had also left the care of all her particulars to her grandson, Charles Thorpe, Viscount Lumley.

Charles decided to change his ways beginning with a trip to visit his grandmother’s distressed goddaughter. He will forgo all his wealth and travel there with the clothes on his back, assist her however he can and return a renewed and enlightened man more appreciative of money. At least that was what he hoped. He did not expect to betrothe himself to the lady for his own protection nor that he would be responsible for her people.

Rating: 1/5

Comments: Cinderella story gone bad. Such potential. The step mother had spent all the tax money on clothes and Daisy needed to raise money to pay the tax and fulfill her dream of repairing the castle to its former glory. Luckily Charles had some experience with building wealth.

Never a Lady by Jacquie D’Alessandro

Premonitions of Death forces Colin Oliver, Viscount Sutton to fulfil his duty to his title by finding a wife in the Ton. On the prowl, he was surprised to encounter the thief he’d never forgotten being hailed as  Madame Alexandra, the renowned and much sought after fortune teller.

Alex had thought about him in the four years since and she  quickly hid herself in case he recognized her in her newest guise. Unfortunately while hiding, she overheard a plot to kill an exhalted ton member at a specific ball. Her conscience made her leave a letter explaining her discovery but it was just her luck that the person she addressed it to was murdered and that she is under suspicion as she was seen exiting the room the murder took place. Colin, former spy could not help but sacrifice his retirement to discern if the former thief was innocent or not. Her card reading indicate danger would befall him as he drew closer to a dark haired woman. They both knew it was her, but neither could stay away…

3/5

Moments of comedy especially between brothers. Also like how each was jealous of the other and that the barrier of their class made it interesting. Like little Robbie. However I expected more danger than what was hinted at. The culprit was unexpected though.