VIXEN by Jillian Larkin (Flappers book 1) with Book Trailer

PUBLISHER: Delacorte Press, December 2010
SETTING: Chicago, USA, 1923
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PART OF SERIES? 'The Flappers', book one.
HEROINE: Gloria Carmody, 17
GRADE: A

SYNOPSIS: Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun . . . or are they?

Clara Knowles, Gloria’s goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch—but Clara isn’t as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she’ll do anything to keep hidden. . . .

Lorraine Dyer, Gloria’s social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria’s shadow. When Lorraine’s envy spills over into desperate spite, no one is safe. And someone’s going to be very sorry. . .

MY THOUGHTS:

Gloria Garmody- She's the heroine and has red/copper hair and green eyes. She's a seventeen year old high school girl who lives in Chicago. She comes from a wealthy family. She's engaged to a twenty-three year old young man named Sebastian Grey, who has dark hair and green eyes. He's only after her money and he's a shady character.

Lorraine Dyer- Gloria's best friend since they were eight years old. She has dark hair and hazel eyes. She's very jealous of Gloria and has the hots for Gloria's close male friend, Marcus Eastman. He's got blond hair and green eyes. Lorraine is a villain who seems to only care about herself.

Clara Knowles- She's Gloria's eighteen year old cousin who's from Pennsylvania. She's got golden blond hair and blue eyes. She's got some skeletons in her closet and those are revealed near the end of the book. She's very likable.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a 'young adult' book but ignore that. The lead characters are seventeen and eighteen but they certainly don't act like teens. This is a book for adults. Gloria falls for a black piano player named Jerome Johnson who works in a jazz club and there's some serious drama with that toward the end of the story. I can't wait to find out what happens with that in the next book, Ingenue.

I happen to like villainous females in fiction so I'd have to say Lorraine is my favorite. She makes a mess of things and later gets involved with a gangster named Carlito. Carlito is out to get Jerome for something horrible that happens.

At first, I really didn't like Jerome's younger sister, Vera, but she makes another appearance near the end and we find out she's in cahoots with none other than Sebastian! She doesn't like that Sebastain's girlfriend, Gloria, is involved with her brother Jerome, so she sticks her nose where it does't belong and things go downhill fast.

I'm so glad I read this. I've never really known much about the 'Flapper' time period and thought it truly original to begin a series during that time.

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

WAKING UP WITH THE DUKE by Lorraine Heath

PUB. INFO: Avon, July 2011
SETTING: England, 1860
HEROINE: Jayne Seymour, 25
HERO: Ransom 'Ainsley' Seymour, 28
GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: Renowned for his bedchamber prowess, Ransom Seymour, the Duke of Ainsley, owes a debt to a friend. But the payment expected is most shocking, even to an unrepentant rake -- for he's being asked to provide his friend's exquisite wife with what she most dearly covets: a child.

Lady Jayne Seymour, Marchioness of Walfort, is furious that such a scandalous agreement would be made. If she acquiesces, there must be rules: no kissing... and, certainly, no pleasure.

But unexpected things occur with the surprisingly tender duke -- especially once Lady Jayne discovers the rogue can make her dream again... and Ransom realizes he's found the one woman he truly cannot live without.

MY THOUGHTS: Wow. What a letdown. I wanted to read this book because it's not everyday a book with this type of plotline is published. Well, it was boring, to say the least. The husband, Walfort, didn't seem to have any problem whatsoever with what he'd asked his wife, and cousin, to do. I don't feel that he loved Jayne at all. He'd even admitted to her that he didn't start to love her until after his accident three years before. The author didn't do a good job of showing us his affection for her. Jayne loved him too but I didn't believe it. It didn't take her long to agree to what he wanted her to do with Ainsley.

I thought it was odd that she'd go away, alone, with Ainsley for a period of time. It wasn't at all necessary. Ainsley could have stayed at her and Walfort's home without anyone thinking anything of it. He and Walfort are cousins, after all. That she just disappeared for a month is not believable to me.

Walfort is a whoring piece of garbage with a mistress and children to prove it. He truly had two lives and I had no sympathy for him. I'm unhappy with what happened to him near the end. I think the author should have done something very different with part of the story, such as suicide. It would have been much more dramatic.

Ainsley was an alright character, nothing special. Like the other two, he didn't seem to have a conscience about what he was doing. There were two scenes where he was rubbing Jayne's feet and it made me sick, seriously. I could have done without it. He'd already been lusting after her and obviously jumped at the chance to bed her. Of course, he fell in love with her and she with him.

One of the worst scenes of the entire book is them getting married while she's giving birth. I'm far from a romantic but that was too much for a 'romance' story. I don't believe anyone reading it would have been happy with that scene or could have found it romantic in any way, shape, or form.

The only other books with this theme that I know of are:

Arrow to the Heart by Jennifer Blake
Blackheart by Tamara Leigh
Deceptive Heart by Madeline Kurr
Kissed by Shadows by Jane Feather
Midnight Waltz by Jennifer Blake- does without her knowledge
One Wicked Night by Shelley Bradley
Prisoner of My Desire by Johanna Lindsey
Secrets of the Night by Jo Beverley
The Fulfillment by LaVyrle Spencer
Waking Up With a Duke by Lorraine Heath
Wicked Little Games by Christine Wells

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

THE DEADLIEST SIN by Caroline Richards

PUBLISHER: Brava, 2010
SETTING: England, 1800s
GENRE: Historical romantic suspense
HEROINE: Julia Woolcott
HERO: Alexander Strathmore
GRADE: C

FROM PUBLISHER: They had haunted Julia Woolcott all her life, but the strangest of all began with an invitation to a scandalous house party and a game more dangerously arousing than any she'd ever imagined.

Driven by his ruthless ambition, Alexander Strathmore would do anything to come face to face with the mystery man who'd challenged him to first debauch Julia, then destroy her.

A wild shot...a frantic carriage ride through the night...a forbidden seduction. Rakehell adventurer and sheltered spinster, Alexander and Julia will break every rule of propriety to chase down their nemesis and consummate their unlikely passion.

MY THOUGHTS: I was a bit confused when I started reading this and stayed a bit confused throughout. It seemed like part of the beginning was missing, like a chunk was accidentally left out when it came time to publish it. I didn't learn anything about the hero and heroine's past, which is always disappointing. I found both characters to be likeable even though the hero was originally supposed to do something terrible to the heroine. There was chemistry between them but I never wanted them to become a couple, for some reason. This being what I consider to be a non romance, more like romantic suspense, I was OK with a hero like that. I don't need a sweet beta hero at all, nor do I want one. I also don't understand the relationship between Julia's aunt Meredith and Faron. I could have and would have enjoyed the mysterious plot more if I'd understood it better. I as just left awfully confused by the whole thing.

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

TEARS OF GOLD by Laurie McBain

PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks, August 1, 2011
ORIGINAL PUB: Avon, April 1979
SETTING: Louisana & California, 1850
TIME SPAN: A year or so
BODICE RIPPER? No
PART OF SERIES? No
RAPE? No
GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS:

MARA O'FLYNN
To many, she has a perfect life-freedom to travel the world, expensive gifts from wealthy men. Consummate actress though she is, she can never make herself believe the love is real. One more job. That's all she needs to ensure her family's financial future. And California is just teeming with gold. There, her daring impersonation will fool everyone...except one man.

NICHOLAS DE MONTAIGNE-CHANTALE
The wealthy Creole's dreams are haunted by her laughing golden eyes. He will not rest until he has his vengeance for what the temptress did to his nephew, no matter how far he as to go to find her. But once he meets Mara in the flesh, he sees through her façade of rigid control and begins a new pursuit...one that will make her abandon everything to desire-this time to stay.

MY THOUGHTS: This didn't live up to my expectations in any way. Mara, 20, and her older brother Brendan, 26, involved themselves in an odd charade that didn't make much sense to me. When the hero, Nicholas, 35ish, discovered it, his reaction should have been more explosive than it was.

This wasn't much of a love story. The main couple didn't meet until over 100 pages in. They didn't spend too much time together until about the last third of the story. I never sensed an emotional connection between them. Yes, they were attracted to each other and it was evident with Nicholas but Mara, she always seemed indifferent toward Nicholas. They admitted their love for one another at one point but I was left feeling cold about it. They never seemed like a true couple to me.

I didn't care for Mara's brother Brendan at all. The story could have done without him. He was prominently featured throughout most of the story. I found him to be very annoying and I didn't like this personality or he way he spoke. I did like his six year old son, Paddy, a lot. Brendan and Paddy's mother are married yet estranged from one another. She's a pretty evil woman and you'll get to read about her should you ever read this book.

I wasn't particularly interested in the heroes family and he sure had a lot of it. One male relative in particular is pretty evil. Nicholas wasn't as exciting a hero as I'd have liked for him to have been. He wasn't alpha enough for me. Mara, she was OK as a heroine but nothing special. I liked that she was helping her brother raise Paddy and Paddy saw her as his mother.

Overall, this was a pretty boring story that was filled with unmemorable characters. It could have been 150 pages shorter too.

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

RAPTURE BECOMES HER by Shirlee Busbee

PUBLISHER: Zebra, June 28, 2011
SETTING: England, 1790s
HEROINE: Emily Townsend, 26
PART OF SERIES: No
HERO: Barnaby Joslyn
GRADE: B

SYNOPSIS: To save her village and what's left of her family fortune from her wastrel cousin, gently bred Emily Townsend secretly leads a ring of smugglers. With the king's forces and deadly rivals closing in, she has but one last dangerous shipment to acquire. But when her men rescue an injured stranger from the sea one stormy night, Emily faces her most formidable - and tempting - adversary ever...

Barnaby, the new Viscount Joslyn, is determined to uncover who tried to kill him the moment he set foot in England. But proving to the spirited Miss Townsend that he can also be trusted with her deepest secrets is a challenge as intriguing as eluding danger. Now Barnaby and Emily's boldest gambit rests on unthinkable risk- and surrendering to an irresistible love...

MY THOUGHTS: I enjoyed this but it didn't have much romance in it. I liked the suspense of finding out who was trying to harm the hero, an American named Barnaby. He's from Virginia and owns a plantation. All the secondary characters were likeable, even the villains. I do like villains, even in romances. I do think there were a few too many secondary characters, and they were there from the beginning. It can get confusing for me to have to learn so many names right off the bat. The synopsis makes the book sound deeper than it really is.

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

FORBIDDEN by Jo Beverley

PUBLISHER: Zebra, June 2011
ORIGINAL PUB: Zebra, 1994
SETTING: England
HEROINE: Serena Riverton, 23
HERO: Francis Middlethorpe, 25
GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: Finally freed from a cruel, depraved husband, Serena Riverton wants nothing more to do with men or marriage. Fate and her brothers give her no choice except to flee - into a storm, and into the arms of a stranger. Without friend or fortune, Serena seduces the handsome lord. But just one night together will start a sequence of events that threatens to destroy them both.

Francis, Lord Middlethorpe's life is planned and orderly, including marriage to Lady Anne Peckworth, a rich and suitable lady. But now he is haunted by memories of one passionate night with Serena, the wicked siren who tempted him with pleasures he had never known. Caught between duty and desire, he must choose between his reputation and a love like no other.

MY THOUGHTS: I didn't care for this novel at all. It was very slow moving. I was totally unsatisfied with this story and found it difficult to get though. I thought the heroine was very weak and whimpy and didn't have much of a personality. She seemed a bit beaten down and not at all interesting to read about. She'd survived being married to a sexually deviant husband and it seems to have taken a toll on her.

The hero, Francis, was a virgin and I found that a bit hard to understand. He didn't want prostitutes because they were dirty yet, without hesitation, he slept with Serena, believing her to be one. He was very beta and I didn't like that at all. Their relationship was underdeveloped. I don't like that they tried to make a marriage out of nothing at all. They didn't really even know each other yet here they are marrying. All of that happened a bit too early on.

There were three villains in the story, two of which were Serena's brothers. They're nasty and evil. One other villain was after Francis's mother. I liked her character but felt she wasn't in the story enough, which was odd considering she was part of the plot.

I received this book from the publisher in 2011 in exchange for an honest review.

A GENTLEMAN NEVER TELLS by Amelia Grey

PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks, July 2011
SETTING: England, 1800s
HEROINE: Gabriella Austerhill, 19
HERO: Judson 'Brent' Brentwood, 29
GRADE: C-

SYNOPSIS: As if from a dream, Lady Gabrielle walked from the mist and into Viscount Brentwood's arms. Within moments, he's embroiled in more scandal than he ever thought possible...

Beautiful, clever, and courageous, Lady Gabrielle needs Brent's help to get out of a seriously bad situation. But the more she gets to know him, the worse she feels about ruining his life...

Enter the unforgettable world of Amelia Grey's sparkling Regency London, where a single encounter may have devastating consequences for a gentleman and a lady...

MY THOUGHTS: Dreadful. I didn't enjoy anything about this story. Both hero and heroine were very bland. The heroine had no personality and was very passive. There were no sparks, no chemistry or anything between the two. There were a few subplots, one involving the heroine's younger sister, Rosabelle, and one involving the heroes younger twin brothers. Both of those were much more interesting than anything involving hero and heroine.

By far, the worst part of the book was the hero searching for his.......dog. Probably at least once every five pages his missing dog was discussed and this went on for the entire story and really annoyed me. I don't ever want a pet to be featured throughout a ROMANCE book.

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

SEA OF DESIRE by Christine Dorsey

PUBLISHEER: Zebra, 4/1993
GENRE: Historical Romance
SETTING: England & US, 1777
SERIES? Book 2
AUTHOR SITE: Link
MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: The daughter of a debt-ridden English gambler, Lady Merideth Banistar was shocked to discover her father had been selling information to the American revolutionaries. But now he was dead, and his murderer--the notorious colonial privateer Jared Blackstone--dared to accuse her of harboring treasonous secrets! Worse, the seductive scoundrel had managed to escape his prison cell and spirit her aboard his France-bound ship--there to awaken her passion with his smoldering sea-green eyes...and caress her until she cried out for more of his arousing, consuming touch!

Hailing from a long line of lusty, seafaring men, Captain Jared Blackstone had spent most of his life roaming the storm-tossed waters of the world's vast oceans. But now a false murder charge hung over him--and only one woman could help the rugged patriot clear his name. With kisses of pure molten fire, he'd coax the name of the American traitor from her honeyed lips And, as his ship pitched and rolled beneath them, he'd freely roam Lady Merry's lush, captivating curves until she surrendered--over and over again--to the raging passion that ruled them both body and soul!

MY THOUGHTS: In a nutshell, the story is all about the hero, Jared, trying to find out who killed her father, Alfred, and who was after Meredith. That was the only interesting part and it's what kept me reading this. The murderer wasn't a surprise at all, as I'd suspected them since soon after they were introduced.

I've been on a bad reading streak lately. Most that I've read weren't very good. This one falls into that category. Boring best describes it. Both hero and heroine were alright characters. I don't believe their ages were given, which annoys me. They began a sexual relationship with each other even though they were suspicious of one another for most of the book. What doesn't make sense is Meredith having sex with Jared when she thinks he's responsible for her father's murder.

A DANGEROUS MAN by Rosemary Rogers

PUBLISHERE: Avon, 11/1996
GENRE: Historial Romance
SETTING: California, 1848
SERIES? No
MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: Victoria Ryan tasted sweet freedom -- and love -- in Boston, far from the cast-iron code of behavior that shackles women in Alta, California. Now she has come home to find nothing has changed -- that she is to be married against her wishes by her father's decree. And she will share a hidden fortune with anyone who helps her escape.

Rugged and rough, Nick Kincade carefully guards his secrets as he lives by his own law. Yet the cold-as-steel ex-Texas Ranger is willing to escort the bewitching, headstrong lady back East. For the past has already linked Victoria's destiny with his. And anything can happen on the hard, twisting trail -- especially for two strong courageous hearts who are irresistibly drawn to adventure ... and to the searing, white-hot flame of perilous desire.

MY THOUGHTS: I was so uninterested in this story. Though it was released in 1996 it does read like one written at least ten years earlier and I mean that as a compliment. The story was even divided into five parts which was a common thing back then the 70s and 80s). I think the story spans about a year and most of the story takes place in California. At the beginning the story takes place in Boston, Massachusetts and Mexico. The majority of the story is Nick trying to hunt down the two men who raped and murdered Gisela Perez, a woman he had a sexual relationship with when he was in Mexico. I didn't care for any part of the story. Too much stuff was going on; Nick trying to find the murderers, her father, then uncle, wanting/forcing her to marry a man named Rafael, the government trying to find where her father hid money he'd earned by selling guns to 'foreign powers' and so on.

Tory was engaged to Peter Gideon in Boston, months before meeting Nick. We never met Peter. She's from California but has been living with her aunt and uncle in Boston for years. I feel a bit bad for her because when she wouldn't marry Rafael she felt she had to flee...and it was downhill for her from there. She and her maid were being chased by her brother and uncle Sebastian and then she met up with Nick, who helped her get away from them.

There's one part near the end where Tory is kidnapped and almost raped by two men. What annoys me about that is if they'd wanted to rape her they'd have done it when she was first kidnapped. Nick came along and saved the day.

Tory confesses her love for Nick at the end but I'm not buying it. They weren't together much throughout the entire novel and she couldn't stand him and all of a sudden she's in love? This is certainly no love match. They get married in the epilogue but I just don't see why they're married. They only spent a lot of time together while he was helping her escape. Their relationship is severely underdeveloped. I don't see Nick as a 'dangerous man' as the title says.

This was a huge disappointment and I can't recommend it to anyone. This isn't part of a series and the author has no website.

DEATH AND THE COURTESAN by Pamela Christie

PUBLISHER: Kensington, 6/2013
GENRE: Historical Mystery
SETTING: England, early 1800s
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: C

FROM PUBLISHER: Since the age of sixteen, Arabella Beaumont has been happily employed as a highly paid woman of pleasure. True, respectable ladies of the ton would never deign to call at Lustings, her delightful home. Then again, Arabella has no desire to make dreary small talk and sip tea when she could be enjoying the company of amusing, intelligent, and extremely generous gentlemen.

But while Arabella’s admirers are legion, she also has enemies. A paper knife stolen during one of her salons was discovered near the body of a former rival. Arabella was entertaining her wealthy benefactor on the night of the murder, but the engaged duke can’t provide the alibi she desperately needs. It falls to Arabella and her resourceful sister, Belinda, to clear her good—or at least innocent—name. Utilizing all the talents in her arsenal, the irrepressible Miss Beaumont will endeavor to catch the real culprit, before the hangman catches up to her…

MY THOUGHTS: Arabella is in her mid-twenties. We got no backstory on her at all which is a big mistake for an author to omit that information. I learned nothing about how she came to be a courtesan. Why someone set her up to be accused of murder is a mystery too. The story was silly and dull, PG-13 rated and just too plain and simple. I felt Arabella didn't take the murder accusation too seriously. Yes, she, with the help of a few people, tried to solve the mystery on her own and did solve it. That part was just not believable. How the real murderer came to be arrested was not believable either.

This seems like a short story that was written by a thirteen year old and I can't recommend it to anyone.

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