IN YOUR ARMS by Rosemary Rogers

PUBLISHER: Avon, 12/1999

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England/USA, 1808-1814

MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: Orphaned by a tragic accident, sixteen-year-old Amalie Courtland set sail from America for a new life in England with her godmother. What she didn't expect to find was Lady Winford's handsome rogue of a grandson, Robert Holt Braxton, Earl of Deverell. Immediately smitten by Holt's careless good looks and smoldering blue eyes, Amalie's naive young heart fell in love. Little did she know Holt was trying to resist his own temptation --- by having his grandmother take Amalie away.

Years later, Holt is shocked by the change in the one-provincial Amalie. The tawny-skinned enchantress with raven hair and lustrous green eyes has become a cool, composed beauty. Soon Amalie is lost in the arms of this experienced rake as they succumb to the tempestuous passion of their hearts and bodies. Then, when Holt learns of her brother's plot to destroy his business holdings, he suspects Amalie has betrayed him and he vows revenge. But not even he can deny the all-consuming storm of desire that threatens to drown them both ...

MY THOUGHTS:  Amalie is pretty passive and I don't like that in a heroine. She is able to stand up to the hero, Robert, aka "Holt", (his middle name.) She's aged 17-23 in here, not sixteen at the beginning like the synopsis says. She has dark hair and green eyes and is tall. Her brother Christian, aka "Kit" is two years older. SPOILER>>>He disappears for most of the story then reappears in the last part, but you can see that coming. He's taken to a life of crime as a pirate.

Holt is eleven years older than Amalie. He has dark hair, blue eyes, and dark skin. He's cold and angry towards her for no reason. He cares nothing at all for her throughout the whole book. He wants revenge on her because he assumes she's involved in something bad against him when there was no reason to think that. She hadn't done anything to him, ever, that would make him think she's that kind of person. Their love for each other came out of nowhere at the very end of the story and we're supposed to believe it. I don't. We saw no signs that they were falling for each other. We're just told that they're in love. He's also verbally abusive towards her, calling her a bitch and slut.

As I always say, I love a villain and there was one in here by the name of Alex. We didn't get to see the bad side of him until the last 100 pages. He's after revenge on Holt.

This story was pretty uneventful after Amalie sailed from Virginia to England, which happened early on, about page 53. Even after 200 pages not much went on. We didn't get to see her life in England at all. She's there one minute and the next, it's 3.5 years later and Holt reappears. The story is divided into four parts and each part jumps ahead 1-3 years. The last 109 pages was basically a history lesson about war and I didn't appreciate so much of that being in a romance book. I had trouble following along and I didn't know how much of it was factual. It took place in Louisiana.

Two things that I did like was Amalie's godmother (grandmamma) Lady Winford and the banter between her and Holt. I also liked the old school feel of this novel.

A DARING PASSION by Rosemary Rogers

PUBLISHER: HQN, 2007

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England/France

MY GRADE: B-

SYNOPSIS: Headstrong but sheltered, Raine Wimbourne longs for adventure--and when her ailing father reveals a closely guarded secret, she seizes her chance. Disguised as England's most notorious highwayman, Raine vows to uphold her father's legacy as champion of the poor. Then a midnight encounter with the powerful Philippe Gautier shows her the price of protecting her family's honor...

 Philippe Gautier has a mission of his own--and the beautiful impostor he's delivering to justice may hold the key to saving his brother's life. He will stop at nothing to keep Raine close. But as they travel from the town houses of London to the streets of France, can he convince his untamed captive to risk it all on the promise of passion? 

MY THOUGHTS: The years this took place weren't mentioned but Napoleon was so it's gotta be the early 1800's but he works for King George IV, doing dirty deed for, so I have no clue. I'm not sure of the timespan either. Early on it jumped ahead two months and later there was some traveling to France, so let's say at least three months. Then the last chapter jumps ahead one year to Portugal.

Philippe is on a mission to find out who framed his younger brother Jean-Pierre, who's been sent to Newgate prison, accused of treason. Raine's dragged along for the ride from early on. The "free Jean-Pierre" plot took over this entire story and I got a bit bored with it, hence the B-. It just never let up. So it's fair to say I was disappointed in this. Oddly enough we never even meet Jean-Pierre!

Raine is a typical headstrong Rosemary Rogers heroine. She's got amber hair and "dark" eyes. Her mother died when she was little and she was raised by her almost-forty-year-old father, who's a secret criminal. Raine's been unaware of that until recently. Her age isn't given but since her mother died sixteen years ago when Raine was little and she'd been in a convent for the past seven years, she's at least in her early twenties, I would think. We only got one incident of her being the highwayman, "The Knave of Knightsbridge", which was disappointing.

Philippe has dark hair and green eyes and is thirty-one. He's from France but has lived mostly in Portugal. He's arrogant, self-centered, for the most part, arrogant, and possessive. Everything I could ask for in a fictional hero. He's an investor and does do good things for people, so he's got a good side to him as well. He kidnaps Raine and cares nothing for her feelings. They bicker a lot but get along alright when they're not.

Carlos is his good younger friend whom he grew up with in Portugal. They're like brothers but Carlos is not a good friend. He's let it be known to Philippe that he's interested in Raine. He's let Raine know several times that he wants her, has kissed her, and is having inappropriate thoughts about her, "He wanted to tug off that delicate ivory gown and reveal the slender beauty that was hidden beneath." 

Rosemary died in November 2019.

SAPPHIRE by Rosemary Rogers

PUBLISHER: Mira, 11/2005

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: British West Indies, England, USA, 1831

BODICE RIPPER? Yes, mild

STEPBACK: link

MY GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: Despite her privileged life in the sultry paradise of Martinique, the beautiful and daring Sapphire Fabergine will never be satisfied until she claims the honor and legitimacy that has been denied her. Sapphire sails to London to confront the aristocratic family who had disowned her before she was even born --- only to find that her biological father is dead and that his title has passed to Blake Thixton, an attractive yet loathsome distant American cousin.

Convinced Sapphire is determined to bring about his ruin, Blake kidnaps her and sails back to America, where he presents her with a choice: become his mistress or serve him as a maid in his waterfront mansion. Without means in this unfamiliar land, Sapphire is trapped. But she will not compromise her quest for honor so easily --- not even for the man she has come to desire.

MY THOUGHTS: I really liked this. It's a mild bodice ripper and if I didn't know better I'd have thought it was from thirty years ago, and that's meant as a compliment. The timespan is about a year, maybe a little more.

Sapphire is living with her father Armand, adopted sister Angelique (a true tramp who's one year older than Sapphire), and her dead mother's friend Lucia in the French West Indies. Sapphire is twenty, with auburn hair and one blue and one green eye. She learns of her true parentage, including her mother Sophie's shady past, so she sets sail for England with Angelique and Lucia to claim what's hers. 

Blake is a very successful merchant. He's ten or so years older than her (his age isn't given but Sapphire thinks he's 10-12 years older than herself) with dark hair. He's from Boston, USA, and went to Harvard. Blake had an abusive father and I wanted to know more about him. I don't think his mother was mentioned so I'd have liked more background on his childhood and parents. He has no desire to be in England and wants to settle his dead relative's estate as soon as possible. Enter Sapphire. He thinks she's lying about her parentage and wants nothing to do with her at first. He's arrogant and irritable and won't hear her out. He comes to her rescue in England then ruins it by kidnapping her. She won't give in to his request of her becoming his mistress yet sleeps with him anyway while forced to be his hired help. 

I like when Sapphire runs away, disguising herself as a boy, but don't like how she ends up making her living. It's farfetched and uninteresting. Her reunion with Blake during that time is too coincidental so I wish the author had put more thought into how to reunite them.

While not the fasting moving story, I enjoyed it. Like most books, this one is longer than it needed to be. The only thing this book lacked was a villain. There are two other new relationships in the story, Angelique and Henry, Lucia and Jessup, and that's two too many. 

The author died in California in November 2019.

 

JEWEL OF MY HEART by Rosemary Rogers

PUBLISHER: Mira, 12/2004

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England, Jamaica, India, 1888

STEPBACK: link

MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: Wild child Madison Westcott detests convention and has no desire to marry. Thumbing her nose at London society, she deliberately turns her coming-out ball into a spectacle by unveiling a scandalous self-portrait. To avoid further damage to her reputation, she is whisked away to the family's lush Jamaican plantation by her wealthy aunt and the dark, mysterious Jefford Harris, for whom Madison soon feels a powerful attraction she is desperate to deny.

But when the fires of revolt sweep across the island, Madison and Jefford flee to India, a shimmering land of jasmine and jewels. At the court of the Raja, Madison finally succumbs to Jefford's commanding touch. But not even the passion of their one forbidden night can protect them from an unexpected danger that threatens the unspoken love between them -- and their very lives...

MY THOUGHTS: Another dragged out story that should have been 100 pages shorter, and this was almost 500 pages. Time span is about a year, then the epilogue takes place three years later. I've had this for 12.5 years and it's not one I'd have bought now, as the synopsis doesn't appeal to me, since it takes place in multiple foreign lands. Boring is the word that describes this best.

Madison is feisty and I like her. She's twenty-one, blonde, with blue-green eyes. She's an artist, though her work's never been for sale, so I guess you could say she paints for fun. It's says once in the book that Madison's middle name is Ann (p. 20), another time it's Elizabeth (p. 60), a third time it's Anne (p. 145). I think once her blue-green eyes are 'blue.' As the synopsis says, she purposely reveals a scandalous (nude) portrait of herself then acts like that's normal and doesn't understand why people are shocked. What I really wish had happened with that is someone in her household, such as a jealous female servant, switched one portrait for another to humiliate her in front of a crowd of guests. That would have been much more believable than what happened. She travels to Jamaica, then India, with her wealthy aunt Kendra, who's her deceased father's half-sister, and her son, Jefford. 

Jefford is thirty-five, with dark hair and dark brown eyes. He and Madison don't like each other from the start for really no reason and I never felt their attraction for one another. Turns out he's half Indian and meets his father for the first time and later, his father and Kendra rekindle their love. I really like Kendra but her silly expressions got on my nerves. One thing she did involving drugging someone just was implausible and it shouldn't have ever been done because she's have never actually done that to that specific person.

I like the bad character in this, Englishman Carlton Thomblin because he's interesting. He's blond and in his mid-30s. He owns a plantation in Jamaica, is deep in debt, and is into human trafficking, murder, and rape. One thing in particular that he did shocked me (on page 274.) Something bad happens to a secondary character in here that Carlton's involved with and instead of that person being rescued liked you're fully expecting to happen, she isn't, and I'm pleasantly surprised by that. The other thing I liked about this book is the old school feel it has (age gap between hero and heroine and multiple locations) but it was just so boring, except for the parts involving Carlton.

A ROSE IN WINTER by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

PUBLISHER: Avon, 12/1982

GENRE: Fiction/Historical Romance

SETTING: England, 1792

MY GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: Erienne's father had given her hand to the richest suitor. She was now Lady Saxton, mistress of a great manor all but ruined by fire, wife to a man whose mysteriously shrouded form aroused fear and pity. Yet even as she fell in love with her adoring husband, Erienne despaired of freeing her heart from the dashingly handsome Yankee who couldn't forget her. The beautiful Erienne, once filled with young dreams of romance, was now a wife and woman...torn between the two men she loved.

MY THOUGHTS: This was very good but slow until the last 100 pages (of a 564 page book) or so, then it really picked up. Time span is just a few months. 

Erienne is twenty with black hair, violet eyes, and is very spirited. I really like her. She's a very strong character who knows how to stand up to people. She's got an eighteen-year-old brother, Farrell. Her mother died years before. She lives with her horrible father, Avery, who treats her like garbage and reveals secrets to Erienne. He's sheriff but that's just a cover for the bad things he's doing. I found him to be very annoying because he spoke like a country bumpkin and it got on my nerves.

Christopher Seton is cousin to the man she marries, Lord Stuart Sexton. Christopher has russet-brown hair, gray-green eyes and is thirty-three. He's madly in love with Erienne from the start and pursues her, even after she's married. He's been living in American for awhile and most call him 'Yankee.' He's very likable and I absolutely love the way he antagonizes Erienne at every turn. He loves to ruffle her feathers and she falls for it every time. She hates him for wounding her brother and wants nothing to do with him.

Stuart has returned to the semi-burned home, Saxton Hall, after being presumed dead for a few years. He wears a black hood to cover his burned face and gloves to hide his burned hands. Everyone's disturbed by his appearance, most especially Erienne, who's reluctant to consummate their marriage. After marrying him she thought "he looked like he crawled from the pits of hell."

Claudia Talbot's a minor character for most of the story. She's a nasty young woman who resembles Erienne. She has the makings of a good villain and I wish more had been done to make her one.

There's a great twist in the last 150 pages involving Stuart and Christopher that I didn't see coming. Erienne thought she's figured it out (out of nowhere, of course) but it turned out to be something even crazier. I prefer her original thought though I'm happy with the actual twist. There's someone known as a night rider who's out killing people but turns out that person, who I didn't suspect, isn't really the one doing the killings, so that was a bit confusing.

Erienne should have felt some angst because of having to deal with being strongly attracted to Christopher while being married to Stuart but there wasn't any.

I'm so happy with this plot but the book shouldn't have been so long, almost 600 pages. The twist seems unique to me and I liked it a lot. I've read four of her books and this is the only one I've liked. The original cover of this, which I've used in this post, is beautiful. I wish I hadn't waited 12.5 years to get around to reading it.

Other Woodiwiss books I've reviewed:

The Flame and the Flower

The Elusive Flame, sequel to The Flame and the Flower