HAVEN OF OBEDIENCE by Marina Anderson


PUBLISHER: Grand Central Publishing 11/2012
First published in the U.K. in 2000
GENRE: Contemporary Erotica
SETTING: England
MY GRADE: B-

FROM PUBLISHER: Twenty-something Londoner Natalie Bowen is envied by many, but her personal life is a disaster. Then she hears about an exclusive weekend retreat called The Haven, a place that specializes in introducing people to pleasures they could never have imagined. Shocked at the idea, but unable to resist finding out more, Natalie decides it's time to put her hears behind her. Once at The Haven, Natalie meets the enigmatic and disciplined Simon, a man who is used to getting what he wants. And he's decided he wants Natalie...









MY THOUGHTS: I was excited to read this but became disappointed midway. At the club early on, the way some of the characters acted made no sense, including the main character, Natalie. They constantly complained and never wanted to do what they were told even though they're paying to use the club and are there of their own free will. I got real tired of the complaints. I realize this is fiction but someone in their position, who's paying to use a sex club to be taught how to give up some control in the bedroom, wouldn't act like that at all.

My enjoyment of all the sexual senarios that went on was diminished by the excessive amount of orgasms Natalie was having. Total overkill on the author's part and it got old real quick.

The story was too condensed and rushed. There was no character development and we learned nothing about Natalie and Simon's backgrounds. Basically, the story wasn't well written and needs a lot of work...but it does have potential if it was to be reworked. It seems amateurish.

I received this in exchange for an honest review.


LORD GRAY'S LIST by Maggie Robinson

PUBLISHER: Brava, 11/2012
SETTING: England, 1820
GENRE: Historical romance
SERIES: The London List, #1
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: C

FROM PUBLISHER: The brainchild of Evangeline Ramsey, the London List features the latest gossip as well as blind advertisements. Every London resident, from the lowliest kitchen maid to the most exalted duchess, looks forward to Tuesday morning, when the newspaper publishes and speculation rises.

Baron Benton Gray is sick of finding his latest peccadilloes printed in the London List - and shocked to find his old love, Evangeline Ramsey, at the helm. He buys the newspaper from her ailing father with the intention of shutting it down, only to face uproar from its eager readers. Forced to enlist Evie's aid to re-start the newspaper, he finds that putting the paper to bed becomes an unexpected pleasure for them both...unexpected plot twists, humour, and plenty of "romangst."


MY THOUGHTS: I wasn't at all happy with this book. It's not believable that Evie could masquerade as a man for years and get away with it. I just couldn't get past that. She and Ben were likable and I enjoyed the dialogue between them, the way they were always aruging. I don't like a heroine being as old as her, thirty-two, nor do I like that Evie was slightly older than Ben, who's thirty.

I didn't like that Evie's big nose was mentioned often nor did I like the bit of violent nonsense involving Evie and another female character about halfway through the book. It came out of nowhere. Something else that had no place in the book was when some woman came to Evie and wanted her to write a bad story about her abusive husband. Ben got involved in that for no reason and I just had to roll my eyes and wonder why that character was even in the story.


I received this from the author in exchange for an honest review.


SLAVE by Sherri Hayes


PUB. INFO: The Writer's Coffee Shop Pub. House, 7/2011
GENRE: BDSM
SERIES: Finding Anna, book 1
MY GRADE: F

SYNOPSIS: Stephan has lived the lifestyle of a Dominant for five years. After several rebellious teenage years, it gave him the stability and control he had been seeking after his parent’s death.

As president of a not-for-profit foundation, he knows what his future holds and what he wants out of life. All that changes when a simple lunch with his college friend and Mentor, Daren, leads him to buying a slave.

Thrust into a situation he never thought he’d be in, Stephan can’t walk away. He is compelled to help this girl in the only way he knows how.

Brianna knows only one thing, she is a slave. She has nothing. She is nothing.

Can Stephan help Brianna realize that she is much more than just a Slave?


MY THOUGHTS: Boy, was this terrible. Brianna Reeves is a beaten down, abused, eighteen year old 'slave' in every sense of the word and seems pretty content to stay that way.

Stephan is probably at least ten years older than her (his age wasn't given) and very involved in the dark side of life. He's wealthy and though the author tries to fool the readers into believing he's a hero, hero he ain't, in my book. He buys her to get her out of a terrible situation only to put her into a new submissive one...with him, with collar and on. He's not physically or sexually abusive but ordering someone around, someone who's still a teen, and treating them like a piece of property, is abuse.

Something I find odd and totally unbelievable is, after knowing her a few days or weeks, he gets her enrolled in school to get her GED, sets her up for college, buys her a car, cell phone and all this other BS.

There was no sex in this book, except for one scene early on, and if there was more, I somehow missed it. Fine by me since I don't like either character. Stephan is pure garbage.

The only thing I liked about this was how the first person narration switched between Stephan and Brianna throughout.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


LADY GONE BAD by Sabine Starr


PUBLISHER: Brava, 9/2012
GENRE: Historical romance
SETTING: Texas, America, 1883
AUTHOR SITE: link
MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: The saloon singer known as "Lady Gone Bad" is the most drop-dead gorgeous outlaw the West has ever seen. Lady has never met a cowboy she couldn't entice, or a lawman she couldn't outrun. But when Lady tangles with a sexy U.S. Marshall, she's tempted to stick around long enough to watch him lay down the law - in her bed.

U.S. Marshall Rafe Morgan wants to lock up Lady Gone Bad for good - and he won't let his attraction to her slow him down. But when his attempt to bring Lady to justice goes awry, Rafe is nearly hanged - and by dawn, his face is plastered next to hers on every "Wanted" poster in Texas. Now on the run together, Rafe and Lady find themselves in very close quarters - and even more compromising positions. As Lady surrenders to Rafe's touch, she slowly begins to reveal all her secrets - including her real name. Maybe "Lady Gone Bad" isn't beyond redemption after all. Either way, Rafe is in for one wild ride...


MY THOUGHTS: This book was a true western. I don't really see it as romance because of how much action was in it. The hero and heroine were on the run with each other starting less than ten pages into the story and it just never slowed down, ever. Too fast, too much action for my taste.

The heroine and hero both have had tragedies in their lives and they work together to try to bring closure. The plot involving Rafe's sister just wasn't at all believable to me.

I liked the hero but the heroine seemed a bit too modern and sassy. She's twenty-seven and her real name is Sharlot but she goes by 'Lady' and 'Lady Gone Bad'. That in and of itself is just silly and annoying at the same time.

Overall, I didn't like any part of the story. It was more of an action western and that just didn't appeal to me. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


THIEF OF SHADOWS by Elizabeth Hoyt


PUBLISHER: Grand Central Publishing, 7/2012
GENRE: Historical Romance
SETTING: England, 1738
SERIES: Maiden Lane, book 4
MY GRADE: B-

SYNOPSIS: Winter Makepeace lives a double life. By day he's the stoic headmaster of a home for foundling children. But the night brings out a darker side of Winter. As the moon rises, so does the Ghost of St. Giles-protector, judge, fugitive. When the Ghost, beaten and wounded, is rescued by a beautiful aristocrat, Winter has no idea that his two worlds are about to collide.

Lady Isabel Beckinhall enjoys nothing more than a challenge. Yet when she's asked to tutor the Home's dour manager in the ways of society-flirtation, double-entendres, and scandalous liaisons-Isabel can't help wondering why his eyes seem so familiar-and his lips so tempting.

During the day Isabel and Winter engage in a battle of wills. At night their passions are revealed . . . But when little girls start disappearing from St. Giles, Winter must avenge them. For that he might have to sacrifice everything-the Home, Isabel . . . and his life.


MY THOUGHTS: I had high expectations for this. I really liked the synopsis and thought this would be an exciting read. Instead it was a bit boring. I liked both hero and heroine but something was missing and I can't put my finger on what is was.

The twenty-six year old hero being a virgin was a total turn-off and I'm not sure what the point of that was. Other than that, I like the man he is and the good deeds he's doing for children under cover of night.

I too liked the graphic sex scenes and that the heroine wasn't a dried up young widow. Since her husband's death, she's had a few lovers. I also liked little Christopher. I'm not ususally too happy about children being in romance books but I enjoyed his character a lot and found him to be a little cutie who was just looking for a mother's love. I'm not happy with the way Isobel was cold to him but I understand it a bit.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

NICHOLAS by Cheryl Holt

PUBLISHER: Samhain, 7/2012
GENRE: Historical Romance
SETTING: England, 1814
MY GRADE: B-

SYNOPSIS: Captain Nicholas Price is a man with a plan. As the newly minted Lord Stafford, he is determined to have the best of everything. Clothes, horses, women. Miss Emeline Wilson is a woman on a mission. Forced into penury by the cruel estate manager of the indifferent Lord Stafford, Emeline is determined to confront the new Lord with his callous ways. When they finally meet, sparks fly, and Nicholas finds himself knocked for a loop by the feisty, intelligent, and definitely not high-born Miss.










MY THOUGHTS: Emeline is twenty-four and responsible for her ten year old twin sisters. She’s definitely down on her luck when she encounters the hero, Nicholas. Nicholas is thirty years old. He’s beyond uncaring and is unsympathetic and isn’t very likeable. He thinks he’s above anyone else…at first. He redeems himself a bit when he helps Emeline with something that’s important to her.

The story started out interesting but I lost interest halfway through. This book seemed short and their relationship with each other was underdeveloped. Nicholas didn’t seem too into Emeline so when he confessed his love for her, I had to roll my eyes and wonder what the author was thinking.

Nicholas has a younger brother, Stephen. I liked Stephen but didn’t see the point in him having a young daughter. It didn’t add to the story and another young character wasn’t necessary since Emeline’s sisters were already in it. His affair with Josephine was mildly interesting and the author clearly wanted to make this story a 2-for-1 by making it about not just Nicholas but his brother too.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

TEMPING FORTUNE by Jo Beverley

Pub. Info: Zebra, July 2012
Original Pub: Zebra, 3/1995
Setting: England, 1761
Series? Yes, book 2
My Grade: C

SYNOPSIS: Portia St. Claire’s brother has gambled and lost once too often, thrusting her into the hands of ruthless men. To keep his life he must give up his sister’s virtue, to be auctioned off in London’s most notorious brothel.

To retrieve an incriminating letter, Bryght Malloren once broke into a house where he was greeted at pistol point by a resolute woman…a woman he could swear stands before him, masked and trembling, on a madam’s auction block.

Unable to leave Portia to such a cruel fate, Bryght turns the private wager into a very public game of seduction, one that confirms his reputation as a shameless rake and keeps all of London society breathless with anticipation. But on a night shimmering with destiny, truth, and passion, those who tempt fortune risk losing everything…including their hearts.


MY THOUGHTS: Well, the story started out really interesting. Portia and Bryght had a really interesting first meeting and the story flowed nicely. I’m not sure why Bryght was so into wanting to mary Portia. Nerissa is Portia’s married, whoring cousin and she’s quite evil and greedy. I like those type of characters so I liked her. I feel as though Portia is cowardly where her half brother is concerned. Really she has no backbone. The problem for me is that about halfway through, the story got real boring and it became a chore to finish it. Honestly, I can’t recommend this to anyone.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


It Ain’t All About The Cookin’ by Paula Deen with Sherry Cohen

PUBLISHER: Simon and Schuster
GENRE: Nonfiction/Memoir
MY GRADE: B

SYNOPSIS: Do you know the real Paula Deen? You may think you know the butter-loving, finger-licking, joke-cracking queen of melt-in-your-mouth Southern cuisine. You may have even visited The Lady & Sons to taste for yourself the down-home delicacies that made her famous and even heard some version of her Cinderella story (a single mom with two teenage sons started a brown-bag lunch business with $200 and wound up with a thriving restaurant, a fairy-tale second marriage, and wildly popular television shows), but you have never heard the intimate details of her often bumpy road to fame and fortune.

Courageously honest, downright inspiring, and just a little bit saucy, Paula shares the highs and lows of her life in the inimitable charming and irreverent style that you know from her television shows and personal appearances. She talks about long childhood summers spent in a bathing suit and roller skates and hard years living in the back of her father's gas station; a buzzing high school social life of sleepovers, parties, cheerleading, and boys; and a difficult marriage. The death of her beloved parents precipitated a debilitating agoraphobia that crippled her for years. But even when the going got tough, Paula never lost the good grace and sense of humor that would eventually help carry her to success and stardom. Of course, you can't get by on charm alone: as Paula has learned, you need plenty of willpower, hard work, and, above all, the love and support of family and friends to finance, sustain, and run a successful restaurant.


MY THOUGHTS: I enjoyed reading about someone I find to be highly entertaining. I've been a fan of her and her Food Network cooking show since soon after it began in late 2002. I first knew of her a few years before that when her first cook book was sold on QVC.

The one thing that bothered me most was how she dropped the bomb about being molested on the school bus when she was little but didn't say how often that was or anything. She mentioned it and was off onto another topic when I wanted to know more about this.

In her Foodography episode on Food Network in 2007, around the time this book was published, I thought it was real strange her ex-husband Jimmy, and father of her two sons, was mentioned only once. In her book he's talked about a lot; he's a verbally abusive piece of garbage who could never keep a job. She never mentioned if she ever sees him or if they have anything to do with each other these days. I do not like the fact that her oldest son Jamie bought him a home. I wish Jimmy had been interviewed

Overall I was happy with this autobiography but wish she had gone more in depth with certain things. I think the recipes that were peppered throughout should have been saved for the end.


Q&A With Historical Romance Author Grace Elliot, author of Ebook 'Hope's Betrayal'

One wild, winter’s night two worlds collide. Known for his ruthless efficiency, Captain George Huntley is sent to stamp out smuggling on the south coast of England. On a night raid, the Captain captures a lanky lad, but finds his troubles are just beginning when the lad turns out to be a lass, Hope Tyler.

With Hope as bait, the Captain sets a trap to catch the rest of the gang. But in a battle of wills, with his reputation at stake, George Huntley starts to respect feisty, independent Hope. Challenged by her sea-green eyes and stubborn loyalty Huntley now faces a new threat – his growing attraction to a sworn enemy. And a love where either Hope betrays her own kind, or Captain Huntley is court-marshalled, is not an easy destiny to follow.





It’s Q&A Time!

Welcome Grace! I’m Terri.

Hi Terri, lovely to meet you and your followers.

Q: Can you tell us a little something about where you grew up and what your childhood was like?

A: I’m a Yorkshire lass born and bred, who now lives just outside London. I grew up in a tight knit family; my Gran lived next door to her eldest daughter, with my other aunt living just a few streets away. The hub of my childhood was my Gran’s house – everyone naturally gravitated there. Gran’s house was made of red brick and there was always a smell of coal dust in the air, and to this day, the smell of a coal fire takes me back to that happy childhood.
There was a strong sense of community in a village where I grew up, a place that existed on the back of coal mining and the steel works. I remember neighbours calling at the back door with runner beans and sweet peas grown in their allotments, and the sense that people had time for one another.

Q: When did you first begin reading novels?

A: Talking of my childhood reminds me of learning to read on the Janet and John books – anyone else remember them? For as long as I can remember I’ve been an avid devourer of books. I had a long journey to school and used the time to read. Some weeks I’d get through five or six books, and the library was a regular stop on the way home and part of my selection criteria for my next book was that it was thick! I especially loved Arthur Ransom’s “Swallows and Amazons” books, science fiction, the classics and anything featuring animals!

Q: When did you realize you had writing talent?

A: At school I remember the English teachers telling me I didn’t need to write such long stories for homework. When given a topic the story would take root in my mind and I’d write and write until I’d got it all off my mind, even if that meant filling a whole exercise book. Those essays must have had something about them because it was not unusual for the teacher to read excerpts out to the class.
I first thought I might be a writer on a train journey when I caught myself describing the passing scenery in my head. But that was years ago and marriage, a family and a career took over. It wasn’t until a school reunion (20 year) and class mates reminded me of the stories I wrote for homework, that I had a eureka moment and decided to start writing again.

Q: When did you realize you wanted to become a writer?

A: Once I rediscovered the joy of writing, I discovered an addiction! I couldn’t stop writing; I had to do a little every day and got twitched if I couldn’t. It was more about the process of creating and expressing myself than ‘being a writer’, but it gives me great joy to share my efforts and if readers enjoy my books, then I’m thrilled.

Q: When you’re working on a book, how much time per day is devoted to it?

A: I write everyday. Since taking part in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) last November, my writing habits have changed. I used to set myself a time target, writing say for a minimum of twenty minutes a day (I also work as a veterinarian so writing isn’t my only career). However with NaNoWriMo you have a daily word target – by changing I discovered just how much time I spent getting distracted whilst thinking I was writing. So when writing a first draft, I now attempt to produce 1700 words a day – no self editing, no self criticism but just letting the inspiration flow and fingers fly over the keyboard. It’s so liberating. Of course this then needs to polished and reworked in subsequent drafts, and that’s where taking my time has its place.

Q: Who are some of your top favorite historical romance authors?

A: Some of the first historical romance authors I read were Stephanie Laurens, Gaelen Foley, Mary Balogh and Lisa Kleypas, who I love and will always go back to. I recently discovered Tess Dare and she’s my favourite author of the moment.

Q: Where did the idea for your newest release, Hope’s Betrayal, come from? I must say it’s a very beautiful cover.

A: “Hope’s Betrayal” was in part inspired by a true story. One of my favourite places is the Isle of Wight (just off the south coast of England) and the island is rich with smuggling history. One of the local legends is that in the late 1700′s there was a fisherman’s daughter, who was also a smuggler. She was so beautiful, that when one night a Revenue Officer caught her, he couldn’t bear the thought of putting her in jail and released her without charge.

This struck me as a wonderful starting point for a story. It set me asking about what happened to that officer’s career, after his authority was ruined? And what about the girl, what happened if two people on opposite sides of the law fell in love? Would her family shun her, or would her lover be rejected by his community? The result is my homage to that local legend, in “Hope’s Betrayal.”

Thank you so much for the compliment on the cover. I just love the image – it perfectly captures the allure of Hope’s green eyes, and her daring, untamed spirit.

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

A: If anyone ever tells you that when your children get older, you’ll have more time – don’t believe them! My sons are now teenagers and most of my spare time is spent ferrying them around. Apart from reading, writing and fussing cats, I have been known to jog – but not terribly fast or far!

Q: What is your favorite type of film?

A: We don’t have a cinema near us so I don’t get to the movies as often as I’d like and most of the films I see are biased towards teenage boys! However, through this I have developed a grudging penchant for Iron Man. It made a change for me to drag them to a movie – The Hunger Games – and I’m still not sure if they liked or loathed it! One of my son’s hopes to go and see Prometheus this weekend, but since I nearly fainted in the first Alien film (all those years ago!) – perhaps I’ll deposit them at the cinema and go shopping instead.

Q: What are your upcoming projects?

A: I’m currently working on the third book in The Huntley Trilogy – “Verity’s Lie.” In this book we follow Lord Charles Huntley, rogue, in his undercover role to protect the bookish daughter of a government minister. As in all good historical romance, nothing ever goes smoothly as Verity feels she’s exchanging a overbearing parent, for an domineering rogue as Charles seeks to save her from being kidnapped by the French.

Q: Please tell my readers where they can find you on the internet.

http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.com
@Grace_Elliot

Facebook.com.GraceElliot2
amazon.com/author/graceelliot

IN THE BARRISTER'S BED by Tina Gabrielle

PUBLISHER: Zebra, 7/3/12
GENRE: Historical Romance
SETTING: England, 1819
SERIES? Yes, book two
AUTHOR SITE: link
MY GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: A bastard by birth, James Devlin lives on his own terms – until a twist of fate reveals that he is the true Duke of Blackwood. Though the brooding bachelor swears to hold on to his freedom, he does intend to take back his childhood home. But once at Wyndmoor Manor, he discovers an arresting adversary in Bella Sinclair. Her hot-blooded claim to his home is amusing …and arousing. Which is why he isn’t leaving until he takes possession of everything – starting with the bewitching Bella.

Bella is furious when the Duke barges into her home, declaring it rightfully his! The wilful widow is not about to give up her haven without a fight, no matter how determined the Duke is – or how sensual the battlefield. But once she’s sharing a house with the beguiling barrister, she is in danger of losing everything – one deep, slow kiss at a time.


MY THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed this book. I never once got bored with it. Both lead characters were very likable. The hero is James, who has dark hair, blue eyes and is thirty-three years old. There was instant attraction when he met the heroine, widowed twenty-four year old Bella. She has auburn hair and green eyes. She was in a bad marriage to an older, abusive man for seven years and was very unhappy…..until James came along.

I liked the mystery that was going on in the story. Was someone out to get Bella, James, or both of them? They come out on top. This is a romance, after all.

This was an entertaining read and I’d certainly read this author again. 

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


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INVITATION TO SCANDAL by Bronwen Evans

PUBLISHER: Brava, 5/2012
GENRE: Historical romance
SETTING: England, 1809
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: A

FROM PUBLISHER: Plagued by scandalous rumors, Rheda Kerrich will stop at nothing to restore her reputation and make an honest living for herself — and she’s determined to do it without a husband. But times are hard, and smuggling is a risky though profitable trade. So when a dashing agent for the English government catches her in the act, she desperately resists his charms and conceals her illicit profession. Until she realizes he may be the key to her ultimate freedom — and unbridled passion..

Rufus Knight, Viscount Strathmore, has never had trouble beguiling the ladies of Kent. When his search for “Dark Shadow,” a cunningly elusive smuggler, leads him to alluring and headstrong Rhe, her objections to his amorous advances merely incite a tantalizing game of cat and mouse. Soon, they’ll find the very secrets driving them apart could ensnare them in a love they can’t escape…


MY THOUGHTS: The hero is 32 year old Rufus Knight. He’s got brown hair and brown eyes. The heroine is 25 year old blonde and green-eyed Rheda Kerrich. Boy, do they have an interesting first meeting! He’s attracted to her from the start and she, him. He’s in town to find out who a smuggler, who goes by the name Dark Shadow, is. After meeting Rheda he believes she knows who that person is.

Rheda is involved with things she shouldn’t be. She’s trying to be independent and earn her own money. She has turned down Christopher’s marriage proposal several times because she doesn’t want to be dependent on any man. She confides important things to him and it comes back to haunt her.

There’s also a dark sexual and sinister subplot involving a terrible person and I enjoyed that part a lot. It came to a head at the end of the story and I felt the author could have handled it better, made it less obvious who the bad person was, made it someone else. I’d guessed it early on.

I was unexpectedly happy with this story. Wasn’t sure I’d like it since I didn’t like her previous novel but it sounded good so I gave it a shot. I really liked both lead characters and thought they were a perfect match.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.



THE QUEEN'S LADY by Eve Edwards With Book Trailer

Pub. Info: Delacorte, 4/2012
Genre: Young Adult Historical Romance
Setting: England, 1584
Series? Lacey Chronicles, book 2
My Grade: B

From Publisher: When beautiful Lady Jane Rievaulx begins her service to the Queen at Richmond Palace, she is thrilled to see the court’s newest arrival . . . Master James Lacey.

No matter that Jane was previously courted by the eldest Lacey brother — James is the one who has won her heart. For his part, James cannot deny his fascination with Jane; his plans, however, do not allow for love. He is about to set sail on a treacherous journey to the Americas, seeking absolution for what he sees as past sins. But when Jane is forced into a terrible situation by her own family, only one man can save her. Will Master James return to his lady before it’s too late?





MY THOUGHTS: We first met the heroine, Jane, in the previous book. Now she’s eighteen and widowed. Her much older stepsons are very jealous of the money and property that she’s inherited from their father. They’re out to make her life a living hell. To make matters worse, her own father is a mean man who’s trying to dictate her life and has made awful threats to her.

Her first encounter with James didn’t got so well. He seems to have a chip on his shoulder. He’s scarred emotionally fromthe horrors of war, the things he’s seen and done. There’s also a new addition to James’s family by way of a new sibling.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed in this second installment. I just didn’t find it paticularly interesting, especially Jane.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


THE SEDUCTION OF LADY X by Julia London

Pub. Info: Pocket Star, April 2012
Setting: England, 1809
Genre: Historical Romance
Part of Series? Yes, book 3
My Grade: C

From Publisher: The surprising news that dashing steward Harrison Tolly, illegitimate son of the Earl of Ashwood, is the rightful heir to his father’s estate comes at a most inopportune time. With a wedding on the horizon and a baby on the way, a new life of privilege and prestige would be a blessing but for one problem: his heart belongs to another woman.

Harrison keeps his desires for his employer’s wife, Lady Olivia Carey, so hidden that even she does not know of his devotion. Her callous husband, Marquis Carey, went into a rampage after Olivia’s troublesome younger sister returned from her tour of Spain pregnant, and Harrison impulsively stepped in to save the entire family from scandal. Now, like Olivia, he is trapped in a loveless arrangement. When a tragic accident claims the marquis’ life soon thereafter, can Harrison seize his chance and cast aside one sister for another? Or will doing so expose the Carey family’s darkest secret—and ruin his only chance to win Olivia’s heart?


MY THOUGHTS: This was awful. This review contains spoilers. The hero, 29 year old Harrison Tolly, is the steward for Edward Carey. Twenty-six year old Olivia is stuck in an unhappy and abusive marriage with Edward, has been for six years. She’s physically, sexually (raped) and verbally abused by her husband.

They find out that her younger sister Alexa (she’s eight years younger) is pregnant. Out of nowhere, Harrison offers to marry Olivia when he barely knows her. He has absolutely nothing to gain by doing so. He just doesn’t want her child to be a ‘bastard’ like he was so out of pity, he offers marriage. Literally, the entire plot revolves around that. He’s in love with Olivia but she doesn’t know until much later, after he’s offered to marry Alexa. Alexa is a selfish immature character and I didn’t like her at all.

Olivia has a young maid named Rue. She’s slow mentally and boy, does the author keep reminding us of it. Almost every time the poor girl is mentioned it’s because she’s doing something wrong. It’s clear her character was created to provide comic relief for the author but I didn’t find it to be funny. Why create a character so you can laugh at her?

Olivia and Harrison get their happily ever after and so does Alexa. An unbelievable reunion of sorts happens involving her right at the end that made me roll my eyes. This was not a good story by any stretch of the imagination.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

JEMMA by Beverly Byrne

PUBLISHING INFO: Fawcett, 12/1980
GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance
SETTING: USA/Europe, 1800's
BODICE RIPPER? Yes
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: A

FROM PUBLISHER: Barmaid, society’s darling, social reformer, spy and the notorious Madam X. Jemma was all these women. And more…

Jemma’s tale is an extraordinary adventure sprawling with life and overflowing with richly realized characters. Her adoring stepmother, Phoebe, and Phoebe’s cruel and lustful husband, Amos. Milly, the devoted servant who would do anything to preserve Jemma’s happiness. The dashingly handsome Englishman, Garth Winters, who, overnight, transformed Jemma from a girl to a woman. And England’s most eligible bachelor, Lord Peter Ramsdale.

Lord Ramsdale wed her, made her the reigning queen of Mayfair society, but could not give Jemma the love she so desperately needed. Until the night Jemma discovered his terrible secret… and changed her life forever.


I first read this in 2008 and I must say this is a unique book. Wouldn't call it romance, for sure. It's got a heroine that is raped by men at different times but is also raped by a woman, has female masturbation twice, whippings, a severe beating, some erotic moments, suicide, you name it! So hold on to your hats folks, it's a dark, warped ride.

SPOILER SUMMARY: This books prologue starts in Massachusetts, April 18, 1841 with Jemma's birth. Jemma's pregnant mother, Eugenie Lalour de Crevens is from France. She's traveling to Vermont to be with the father of her child, Martin Murdock. His real last name is Marleduc but he changed it to sound more American, since he likes America so much. Eugenie is married to a man named Jacques, who's gay, so they don't sleep together. She's had an affair with childhood friend Martin. He's traveled to America and has asked Eugenie to come with him. Six months later, she decided to leave her husband in France and travel to America. She goes into labor in the coach. The coach arrives at an inn called 'Kettle of Fish' and is run by 55 year old Phoebe and her 40 year old husband, Amos. Eugenie died immediately after the baby was born. She didn't speak English so when Phoebe was asking her questions, she couldn't answer her. There was a piece of paper in Eugenie's pocket that had Martin's name and address on it. Phoebe named the baby, "This here's a little jewel of a baby. Her name's going to be Jemma. Jemma Murdock." Phoebe wrote a letter to Martin, telling him about Jemma and the mother's death. Martin left for Kansas two days after Jemma's birth so he never got the letter Phoebe sent him. Phoebe told Amos that she wanted to raise the baby.

Chapter one starts in Salem, Mass., 1858. Jemma is seventeen years old. She works and lives at the inn. She has black curly hair and green eyes, like her mother. Chapter begins with a doctor telling Jemma and Amos that Phoebe's heart is weakening. She's 72. Then she dies right then. Amos, who's never liked Jemma but has been attracted to her, arrives back at the inn after having been away for a while. He yells at Jemma and tells her the place is a mess. He raises his belt to hit her but hears their maid Milly, who's been there since Jemma was 7, coming, so he leaves without having hit her, though he has smacked her in the past. January 4, 1859, Garth Winters arrives at the inn. He's from England and is a spy. He has 'red-gold/blond' hair, dark brown eyes. At the inn, Jemma and Garth flirt with each other. Amos doesn't like it one bit. One night he goes into Jemma's bedroom, gives her and ugly, uncomfortable, stiff, skintight dress to wear and takes all of her clothes. The next day, Amos comes into her room, kicks her in the stomach and rapes her. She runs away the next day. She's walking in a blizzard and Garth, who just happens to be riding by, stops to help her. She gets in and they find an abandoned house to stay in until the snow stops. While there, they become lovers and she tells him that Amos raped her. They traveled to a hotel a while later. Garth bought Jemma clothes and jewelry. Garth had to be somewhere so he left Jemma sleeping. In the hotel lobby, he wrote Jemma a note saying where he was and when he'd be back. He put the note in an envelope along with some money. Amos, who'd been looking for Jemma since the day she left, saw Garth in the lobby telling a little boy to deliver the envelope to Jemma's room. Garth left and Amos stole the money, and note, from the boy. Jemma never got the note and thought that Garth had abandoned her. She had no money, couldn't pay the hotel bill, so she sold some emerald jewelry Garth had given her. She paid the bill and bought herself and Milly passage on a ship bound for England.

On the ship, she met an attractive forty year old man named Lord Peter Ramsdale. He showed interest in her so before they arrived in England, he asked her to marry him. She said yes, so they married soon after. Peter never wanted to have sex with her. A lady she met told her it's rumored that Peter visits brothels and even has some of them visit his home, where Jemma lives. Jemma didn't believe her. Jemma discovered a housekeeper was stealing money from them so Peter fired her. The lady left the key ring behind so Jemma took it and snooped in Peter's room, where she'd never been before. In the room she found a staircase that lead outside. That's the door prostitutes would use to come to his room. Sometime after that, she saw Garth at the theater. She was told he was married. He saw her too but they didn't speak. He didn't know that his letter to her never got to her and she just thought he left her high and dry, so there's a big misunderstanding between the two that they're unaware of.

One night Jemma went into Peter's room and asked him why he didn't want to have sex with her. He led her into another room that had whips hanging on the wall. He took her gown off, laid her face down on the bench and whipped her butt twelve times. "Jemma only moaned when the first three fell, but she was screaming by the fourth. Later she would realize that she had screamed more in terror and rage than in pain." Later, "At some point he (Peter, husband) had losed the buttons of his breeches and his engorged tool was fully evident. Without any preamble he spread her legs by forcing himself between them and he plunged his organ deep within her. The acts of whipping her were not separate; they were as one, a single unified deed of punishment and mastery. His thrusts were as rhythmic and forceful as the blows he had dealt her earlier. They built to a wild crescendo in which, head thrown back and teeth bared, he emptied himself into her, moaning and shuttering."

He apologized to her for what had just happened and told her that's why he visits 'trollops." He said he wouldn't see them any more, would only be with her and that what had happened was, for him, "the only kind of passion there is." She asked him why he married her and he said that in his own peculiar way, he loved her. The next day, Peter fired Milly. I guess he did it because he didn't want Jemma telling here about their warped relationship. Their sexual relationship continued. Jemma asked their old maid Jenny why Peter was like that. Jenny knows about what's going on because she see's Jemma's bruises. Jenny also tends to the prostitutes he brings home. He whips them too. Jenny told her that when Peter was seven, he caught his mom in bed with a man. Though she was married, she had men come to the house. I think they may have been paying her for sex but I'm not 100% sure. There relationship was bad from then on and when he was 20, he didn't go to her funeral. A year later, his father died. The father had been in serious debt and spent all the families money. Peter won a lot of money in a card game right after his father's death. He bought a mill with the money and became wealthy.

Jemma's whippings by Peter grew more violent. "When finally he was finished with whipping her he would throw himself on her in a mindless rage, sometimes not even bothering to unhorse (untie) her first. On those occasions he would grasp her bloodied, burning flesh in both hands, stretch it apart as far as it would go and thrust himself gasping and moaning into the tight aperture (anus) thus revealed."

She found out that all of his mill workers were dirt poor and lived in absolutely poverty. A 20 year old mill worker told Jemma that she was once beaten and raped by Peter. Jemma wanted to come up with a plan to help out all the workers. She decided that she could no longer live with Peter. She was 20 years old and had been married for almost 2 years. She discovered she was pregnant and that she couldn't leave him now. One night Peter led Jemma in to his room and made her strip to her undergarments. He asked her why she'd been meddling in his affairs. He smacked her then ripped off her chemise and underwear. "He was pummeling her with both hands now. Open-handed slaps first, followed by three vicious, closed first punches to the belly, which dropped her, moaning and retching to the floor. Then he was kneeling astride her prone figure and forcing her into a position that left her buttocks and back exposed for his punishing hands. The laps rained down like fiery hailstones. On and on and on, until there was no inch of her flesh that wasn't bloodies or bruised." While he was raping her, she found the strength to throw him off of her. "Now her husband lay at her feet, his pulsing male organ spilling its seed on the carpet beneath him." She told him she was pregnant and that if he ever came near her again or tried to have sex with her, she'd tell everyone all about him. She was "bloodied and bruised from head to foot." Him punching her in the stomach while pregnant will come back to haunt him, and I don't mean in the form of a miscarriage.

Peter stayed away from her from then on. The baby was born, a girl named Ellen Phoebe. The baby never really moved much and never talked. The doctor told Jemma that it was probably caused by a fall in the early stages of pregnancy. Jemma knew the baby didn't develope properly because of the punches to the stomach. When the baby was two months old, Peter, who didn't live at the house with Jemma, finally came to see her. He could tell by looking at her in the crib, just laying there, that something was wrong. Privately, he asked Jemma what was wrong with the baby. She told him it was his fault for punching her in the stomach while she was pregnant. She started hitting him and he raped her. She told him he shouldn't have done that, that she was going to spill the beans about how he is. He told her not to do that, that he would leave and she and the baby would never have to see him again.

Garth Winters is on a ship somewhere doing whatever it is he does, lol. A man was talking to him about a prostitute named Tanya. She showed up, started flirting with Garth but he wasn't interested since he's still married. In front of all the men on deck, Tanya stripped down and started dancing. The men were clapping their hands while she danced and she started masturbating in front of them all. After she 'climaxed', the men carried her off to have sex.

Are you ready for this?! Peter is at his home walking from room to room. He walked into his old nursery, got a valise he'd put there a few days before and took out a pistol. He walked into his mothers old room, remembered seeing her have sex with a man who wasn't his father, pointed the gun at the bed.....then put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. So that's the end of him. Good riddance, wouldn't you say? His funeral was four days later. The solicitor told Jemma that Peter had been bankrupt and owed sixty-thousand pounds. He told Jemma to go home to America, leave his debt behind, but she said no, the she'd pay the debt off sooner or later.

She got back into contact with her old maid Milly, whom she hadn't seen since Peter fired her. Milly told her she'd bought an old building and turned it into a whorehouse! Jemma, who needed money real bad, got an idea to go into business with Milly. Jemma wanted to turn it into a high class brothel that catered to the wealthy. She's recruiting girls from the mill to work there but won't hire virgins. One day while walking through the whorehouse, she see's a naked 17 year old Sybil rolling around on the bed. She starts to masturbate. When she finishes, she speaks to Jemma, whom she knew was watching, saying she knows it's wrong to do what she did but sometimes she has to when there isn't a man around. Jemma told her it wasn't wrong. That night, for the first time ever, Jemma 'experiments' with herself, at the ripe old age of 21.

Jemma contacted a Frenchwoman whom she'd seen recently. She'd been told the 60 year old woman, in her younger days, used to train prostitutes. Jemma wanted the woman, who's name I can't remember and I never bothered to write down, to 'train' her five prostitutes. The lady came over, was in a room with the 'tarts', had them lay down one at a time to practice tightening their vaginal muscles, I kid you not! One of the girls looked younger than she was. The French woman told her that some men would like that she looks young. She had the girl lay down and in front of everyone, she waxed the girls pubic hair in what is known as a Brazilian bikini wax. While all this is going on, Jemma was spying on them through a peephole in the next room.

Later on Jemma was talking with the Frenchwoman. The lady told Jemma that she'd taught the girls all she could. Jemma started to get real drowsy. The lady had drugged her drink with laudanum. She wanted to get a look at Jemma without her mask. Jemma always wore a mask that completely covered her face and went by the name "Madame X" while at the brothel. The lady had first seen Jemma not too long ago and thought she must be the daughter of Eugenie since she looked just like her. When at the brothel, Jemma hides her identity with a mask so she can keep her two worlds separate from each other. So to get a look at her face, she drugs her. Jemma's out of it, the lady lays her on the floor, takes the mask off, takes her dress off and starts to massage oil into her breasts. She turns Jemma over and.....masturbates her until she has several orgasms. She puts the mask and dress back on her and leaves. Jemma wakes up thinking she must have passed out. When she takes her dress off, she sees the oil on her and knows that something happened, but she doesn't remember what.

The story starts just over a year later in 1864 in London with Garth Winters discussing business with someone. Back at the whorehouse, it was to be a special night for all. The prostitutes, I think there are only 5, are going to put on a show for all the customers and Jemma. One girl pretended to be the headmistress and the other girls were to be spanked by her with a stick. So the girls took their underwear off and got spanked for being bad. The lights went out, it was pitch black, then in total darkness, the girls orgasms could be heard. It had been Jemma's idea to do that with the lights out. Jemma was aroused so when a Russian man she'd met there, Prince Dimitri, wanted to have sex with her, she took him upstairs. That was the first time she's had sex with anyone other than Garth years ago, and Peter.

A few weeks later Jemma was walking alone one night and was attacked by three me. One raped her and before the other one could rape her, the gag had fallen off and she screamed. Coincidentally, Garth and another man were walking near by and heard the scream. They got to her and the man who was with Garth ran to look for the attackers. Garth realized it was Jemma, who had passed out. The man came back, told Garth he couldn't find the men, then left. Garth hired a cab to take Jemma home. While in the cab, with Jemma still passed out, he RAPED HER, knowing she'd just been raped:
He covered her whiteness with his big frame and took her in a mindless act of both revenge and need. Her thighs were still wet with the leavings of the rapist who had had her moments before when Garth plunged himself inside that body lying so still beneath him. Jemma regained her senses just when he was shuttering with the last tremors of passion. Instantly she remembered everything that had happened and yet she could not make herself believe this last act. She could accept the vicious rape of thugs and murderers; such things happened everyday to those as careless as she had been. But her brain refused to accept that now Garth lay above her in the back of a speeding cab, taking her while she was helpless to either agree or refuse. That he of all men alive should use her so was a horror beyond her ability to comprehend.
Jemma's invalid daughter Ellen came down with a fever and died two months before her third birthday. She wasn't buried in the same cemetery as her father. Jemma was talking to Milly about selling the brothel and moving back to America. She read in the paper that Garth's wife died from an illness, leaving him with their four year old twins, a boy and girl. Even though he'd raped her, all she could think about when she read that was how happy she was that he was free. At this point, she'd been in England almost six years and was 23 years old. The civil war was now over, but they still wanted her to be a spy for them. She agreed.

They sent her to France to meet with another spy. Garth was in France too on spy business. They saw each other in the same hotel. Garth wanted to talk to her so they went to her room. They worked out their big misunderstanding, which was that Garth didn't abandon her years ago. While he was sleeping, she, like he'd done years before, left him a note on his pillow telling him she didn't love him. She did that because she didn't want to have to tell him she was a spy and had been the madam of a whorehouse. He heard her leave and followed her, without her knowing. She went to see the spy she'd been sent there to see. He thought she looked like Eugenie and recognized a locket she was wearing. That locket had been in her mothers trunk when she died. Inside, it had a photo of Eugenie in it. Turns out the man was Martin Murdock, Jemma's father. Jemma left and Garth, who'd been spying, pulled a gun on Martin and forced him inside the room. He made Martin tell him who he was, so he did.

Jemma sold the brothel and she and Milly went to live elsewhere. Garth asked Jemma's friend Edward, the teenage boy who does errands for her, where she was. He wouldn't tell her but then finally did. He went to where Jemma was staying. They all, Jemma, Milly, Garth, his twins and a few other people, sailed to America. It was early 1865.

The End!



ANOTHER EDEN by Patricia Gaffney


PUBLISHER: Leisure, 10/1992
REISSUED: Leisure, 2000
GENRE: Historical Romance
SETTING: New York, late 1800′s
AUTHOR SITE: link
MY GRADE: B-

FROM PUBLISHER: Beautiful, sensitive and aristocratic, Sara was tired of lying to protect brutal, grasping Ben Cochrane, tired of pretending that her life of luxury was anything but a gilded cage. And from the moment her eyes first met Alex McKie’s, she knew that he saw through the tissue of lies to the desperate, yearning woman beneath. Their love was forbidden, but how could it be wrong? Only in Alex’s arms could Sara taste ecstasy, and only his tender kisses could gain her entry to… Another Eden…


MY THOUGHTS: Sadly, this story was a predictable letdown. The English heroine, who I assume is in her late 20′s, is pretty passive and spineless, not at all the type of lead character I like to read about. She’s in a dysfunctional, abusive marriage and has no plans to leave it. Though it is the late 1800′s, people did get divorced and I can see no reason for Sara to have stayed married to Ben. He was wealthy and somewhere along the way she could have saved up enough money to leave with their seven year old son, Michael.

I have no complaints about the architect hero, Alex. He’s around 30. They meet because her husband, Ben, hires him to build them a vacation home/mansion in Rhode Island. Alex had an abusive childhood but has made something of himself and has become successful. I didn’t like Sara’s son Michael’s attachment to Alex and thought it very odd that Sara would allow him to correspond with Alex via letter. I don’t think that would have happened in real life.

Tasha was a scheming character and I don’t really see why she was put in the story.

The predictable part of the story: for married Sara and Alex to have their happily-ever-after, something bad (or good?) would have to happen to Ben. So, surprise, surprise, something did happen, which we all knew would.

Overall, I was really unhappy with this story. You can find the author’s complete book list here.


MASTER OF SIN by Maggie Robinson

PUBLISHER: Brava, April 2012
GENRE: Historical Romance
SETTING: Scotland 1820
SERIES: Courtesan Court, #4
AUTHOR SITE: Link
MY GRADE: A-

FROM PUBLISHER: Andrew Rossiter has used his gorgeous body and angelic face for all they’re worth – shocking the proper, seducing the willing, and pleasuring the wealthy. But with a young son depending on him for rescue, suddenly discretion is far more important than desire. He’ll have to quench his desires – fast. And he’ll have to find somewhere his scandalous reputation hasn’t yet reached…

Miss Gemma Peartree seems like a plain, virginal governess – or so she hopes. No matter how many sparks fly between them, she has too much to hide to catch Andrew’s eye. But with a stormy Scottish winter driving them together, it will be hard to keep her secrets. Especially when Andrew feels he has found the woman who can restore his soul – one kiss at a time…


MY THOUGHTS:

Andrew: He’s thrity-two, blond and blue-eyed. He had a rough childhood. His mother was a prostitue and he doesn’t know who his father is. He was taken in at seven by a grown man and molested by him. He went on to become a prostitute himself for both men and women. He doesn’t seem to have any self-worth. He’s very detached from his own son.

Gemma: She’s twenty-two, Italian, brown haired and brown-eyed. She seems pretty confident and she’s not a virgin. She’s the daughter of a courtesan so she’s got something in common with Andrew. I don’t like how she pushed herself on Andrew when he gave no indication that he was interested in her. He was indifferent towards her but she didn’t let that stop her, oh no.

I liked that there was a big age gap, ten years, between them. I always love that between the main couple. This story had the right mix of humor sprinkled throughout. I like how the author cleaverly incorporated

 the name of her Courtesan Court series and made herself Lady X, author of a risquΓ© book series.
I didn’t like how Gemma declared her love for him in less than a month’s time and I don’t really understand why they wanted to marry so soon. What’s the rush?

Overall, I really liked the story and look forward to the next by Maggie.

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.



WHEN WE WERE STRANGERS by Pamela Schoenewaldt

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins, 2/2011
GENRE: Historical Fiction
SETTING: Italy/America 1880′s
HEROINE: Irma Vitale, 20
TIMESPAN: 8 years or so
MY GRADE: B-

FROM PUBLISHER: “If you leave Opi, you’ll die with strangers,” Irma Vitale’s mother always warned. Even after her beloved mother’s passing, 20-year-old Irma longs to stay in her Abruzzo mountain village, plying her needle. But too poor and plain to marry and subject to growing danger in her own home, she risks rough passage to America and workhouse servitude to achieve her dream of making dresses for gentlewomen.

In the raw immigrant quarters and with the help of an entrepreneurial Irish serving girl, ribbon-decked Polish ragman and austere Alsatian dressmaker, Irma begins to stitch together a new life…until her peace and self are shattered in the charred remains of the Great Chicago Fire. Enduring a painful recovery, Irma reaches deep within to find that she has even more to offer the world than her remarkable ability with a needle and thread.


MY THOUGHTS: I was a bit disappointed in this novel. The plotline was interesting but tedious to read most of the time. Too much time was spent on her mundane day-to-day work as a seamstress in Ohio, then California. A couple of interesting things happened to her, which I won’t spoil, but when those parts were resolved, I got bored and was wishing the book would hurry up and end.

Heroine was totally likeable as were most of the characters, even the bad ones. A good story must have their bad characters, right? I didn’t like when she started working with the lady in the clinic or when she started going to nursing school. It just didn’t interest me.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.



INSATIABLE by Opal Carew

PUBLISHER: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2/2012
GENRE: Contemporary Erotica
SERIES: No
AUTHOR SITE: link
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: A-

SYNOPSIS: Crystal never dreamed her engagement would end this way. With her fiancΓ© breaking her heart the day of the wedding…and his best man stepping in to mend it. Now she’s about to embark on her dream honeymoon with the sinfully sexy best man. But when the groom shows up determined to win her back, she ends up in a highly unusual situation…on a honeymoon for three.

Caught between two gorgeous guys—each determined win her hand by showing her the most pleasure—Crystal has an impossible decision to make. Who will she end up with once the honeymoon is over? And how can she follow her heart when it belongs to two men at once?




MY THOUGHTS: Wow is the best word to describe this book. The sex scenes are XXX and there were so many that I lost count. There were m/f, m/f/m, m/m, and f/f, just to name a few scenarios. I don’t find the plot line to be plausible at all and is why this didn’t get an A+ from me. But I didn’t get this for the plot line, if you know what I mean.

I really liked all three main characters and they certainly had chemistry. I don’t like that their ages weren’t given but I’m assuming they were in their late 20s/early 30s. We didn’t get much backstory on any of the three and I was disappointed with that.

Overall, the sex scenes were scorching, creative and neverending and I was very pleased with them. This is, by far, the most sexually graphic novel I’ve ever read and Opal Carew has made a fan out of me!

I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.