Alphabet Regency Classics by Kasey Michaels

I was in the mood for Classics this summer and I indulged fully.  Part of my indulgence was some of the Alphabet Regency Classics by Kasey Michaels.  No, they aren't written in alphabetical order, but the titles are alliteratively amusing.  Originally published in the 80's and early 90's these books would more properly belong on Back in the Day Reviews if they had not been re-issued by the author beginning in 2011.

These books are not only fun, the omniscient narrator is completely charming.  If asked what I miss most about the good ole days, this must be up there in the top ten: a narrator that was a character whispering Great Secrets only the reader was privileged to know.  It was such a brief period (to my aging hindsight) between the inscrutable hero that had no thoughts except those the heroine misinterpreted and the years of romance being all about the lust at first sight that neither hero nor heroine really bothered to control since of course, romance without sex isn't *real*.  Best of all, these books have secondary characters that amuse, annoy and enchant.  I adore heroines and heros that don't exist surrounded by cut outs barely shading their glittering days.

I've listed the title/ pub date/ synopsis of each behind the cut with my comments on the ones I enjoyed the most.  Keep in mind, these are classic/ traditional romances.   The plots are all tweaked with humor, the writing allusion without over-dramatics and the angst so low key you'll need to have a squint to find it.  I have only read one of Ms. Michaels newer books and it wasn't to my taste but when a friend mentioned these I took a chance on Ms. Michaels once again.  I'm so glad I did!

Miss Fellingham's Rebellion by Lynn Messina

My Experience:  A
Synopsis:  Twenty-four-year-old Catherine Fellingham keeps a low profile—in society and in her family. A practical young woman, she leaves the spotlight to her beautiful younger sister and prefers quiet pursuits such as reading. But all that changes the moment she learns of her mother’s very excellent scheme to keep the family out of debtors’ prison. The scatter-brained Lady Fellingham has been selling commissions in the king’s army, and Catherine must shake off her indifference in order to save her family from a potentially ruinous scandal. Lady Arabella, her mother’s partner-in-crime, readily agrees to abandon the plan but only because she finds a more absorbing project: nabbing a husband for Catherine. 

Catherine pays no head to her ladyship’s lavish claim that she’ll have her engaged by the end of the season, but that’s before she overhears Arabella instructing the handsome nonpareil, the Marquess of Deverill, to flirt outrageously with her and bring her into fashion. Mortified, Catherine resolves not to be taken in by the charming marquess's cruel game—and even implements a very excellent scheme of her own. This sensible young lady seems to have everything well in hand. Or is she about to learn that her heart is a great deal less practical than her head?


I *love* late bloomer romances.  Add in a family that excels at unremarkable thoughtlessness, understandable irritability with foibles and I am a happy reader.  Miss Fellingham's Rebellion fit my craving for a fun, sensitive read quite nicely.  The first paragraph of the sample snagged me and I didn't bother to read more just hit "purchase with 1 click."  I was not disappointed.

Swept Away by Vanessa Riley

Note:  Reviewed for Romance Reviews Magazine
My Experience:  C+
Synopsis:   Charlotte Downing, the Duchess of Charming, wants what she wants. Today, it's a fine pair of lacy slippers crafted by the renowned Ella's Establishment. To be picture perfect for her presentation to the queen, Charlotte will survive crashed ceilings and falling bricks. Yet, has she met her match in the conservative merchant, whose autumn-colored eyes make her pulse race, especially when he says no? 
Caught between the glittering world of the ton and the respectable profession of selling shoes, Edwin Cinder can't understand the lady's persistence or the fire lighting her blue eyes when she's challenged. With his lack of pedigree, there's no chance for this common God-fearing man to win her hand, but he'll risk all to save the duchess from the ravages of a London gale.

"Swept Away is a Regency retelling of Cinderella with a twist."

Overall, I believe many weary evening readers will enjoy this short fairy tale.  Swept Away follows the [by now] familiar pattern for inversion of gender stories.  We all know how hard authors work to make sure heroines are strong, independent, fully functioning beings with beauty unsurpassed.  That is, they don't *really* need anyone; therefore it takes a fairy tale, or incredible sexual prowess, to make everlasting love believable these days, snuggling with your stuffed bear and / or eating too many M&Ms is optional.

The Escape by Mary Balogh

Note:  I received a NetGalley copy in exchange for an honest review.  This will be my last NetGalley review.
My Experience:   Reading is A/ Cover is F
Synopsis:  After surviving the Napoleonic Wars, Sir Benedict Harper is struggling to move on, his body and spirit in need of a healing touch. Never does Ben imagine that hope will come in the form of a beautiful woman who has seen her own share of suffering. After the lingering death of her husband, Samantha McKay is at the mercy of her oppressive in-laws—until she plots an escape to distant Wales to claim a house she has inherited. Being a gentleman, Ben insists that he escort her on the fateful journey. Ben wants Samantha as much as she wants him, but he is cautious. What can a wounded soul offer any woman? Samantha is ready to go where fate takes her, to leave behind polite society and even propriety in her desire for this handsome, honorable soldier. But dare she offer her bruised heart as well as her body? The answers to both their questions may be found in an unlikely place: in each other’s arms.

A gentle awakening that is worthy of the characters!

Inconvenient Trilogy by Audrey Harrison

My Experience:  Three New Books for my Keeper List
Synopsis:  Each Book is a Stand Alone - but you'll want to read them all!

Gorgeous covers, engaging characters, well paced story telling, creative dialog, attention to detail,  plus darling secondary characters with villains that are really rotten earn these books Precious Space on my Keeper's List.  I know I'll read these books again.  [One little quibble was the repeated use of gentile for genteel and several minor grammatical or conversion errors. A gentile is a non-Jew; genteel means polite, refined, respectable.  Every instance made me smile and whisper: Curse you auto correct!]

Very few series books end up with the final book being as good as the first.  In this case, the third book surpassed the first and is actually my favorite [even though it made me snivel].  Each book ends, complete, an entire story.  There is chapter one of the next book offered at the end but they are all available now so you won't have to deal with that gut churning fear exacerbated by eons of time waiting on the next book.

You know that fear, don't you?  It is fed by monthly visits to an author's website where you encounter pet photos, publisher adds, and restless diatribes about annoying reader expectations interfering with The Muse.  All you wanted was news of the next book's release dates, maybe an anecdote or an index of the back list, really that would be enough. You didn't want to take on the author's angst, canary molting issues or publisher's cookies. Worse, by the time the next book is out, your experience is all but ruined when you know Chapter Five's big scene was actually written as a sly payback against a certain segment of not-really-the-right-kind-of-fans discussion/ comments on a topic that had nothing to do with the book....

For this reason, I try and avoid series books [and author's websites] until they're all out ... in this way I'm always behind.  ::shrug::  What can I say, I'm a wimp.  Make a sam-mich or popcorn, grab a beverage of choice, and then click ==>

Lord Somerton's Heir by Alison Stuart

Note:  I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, via Romance Review Magazine
My Experience:  B+
Synopsis:  From the battlefield of Waterloo to the drawing rooms of Brantstone Hall, Sebastian Alder’s elevation from penniless army captain to Viscount Somerton is the stuff of dreams. But the cold reality of an inherited estate in wretched condition, and the suspicious circumstances surrounding his cousin’s death, provide Sebastian with no time for dreams — only a mystery to solve and a murderer to bring to justice.
Isabel, widow of the late Lord Somerton, is desperate to bury the memory of her unhappy marriage by founding the charity school she has always dreamed of. Except, her dreams are soon shattered from beyond the grave when she is not only left penniless, but once more bound to the whims of a Somerton.
But this Somerton is unlike any man she has met. Can the love of an honourable man heal her broken heart or will suspicion tear them apart?


I absolutely enjoyed Lord Somerton's Heir.  In this romantic mystery, Sebastian Alder survived Waterloo, barely.  As he recovers, a woman appears to inform him that now, he is Lord Somerton.  Removed to better chambers and an increased hope of actual recovery, he finds the legacy a great deal more trouble than it seemed to be worth.

Me & Georgette by D.B. Schaefer

Note:  I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, via Romance Review Magazine
My Experience:  B
Synopsis:  Devorah Asher is blessed with beauty, brains, and a great collection of Georgette Heyer novels. What 30-year-old Devorah doesn’t have is one of the most highly prized commodities in her Orthodox Jewish community—a husband. Even when an eligible man does appear on the scene, she fumbles the opportunity by falling off a chair...and landing in Georgette Heyer’s Regency England. 
She is taken under the wing of the very rich and very charming Duke of Ravenscroft, who suspects that Devorah is Jewish and would therefore be the perfect wife for his Jewish tenant, Jonathan Whyteman. First, though, the Duke needs to enlist Devorah’s aid with fending off the advances of the very persistent Lady Albinia Brinkburn. 
While the world thinks the Duke is planning on marrying Devorah, she is slowly becoming attracted to Mr. Whyteman. But it’s the wrong place and the wrong century. So even though she has finally found The One, how can she straighten out this convoluted match? 


What a Fun book!

She knew, then, what had come of reading too many Georgette Heyer novels.

Though I love Dr. Who and Back to the Future, I usually avoid time traveling romance books like they are loaded with transfats and over processed sugars.  They cannot end satisfactorily for me.  Someone in the timeline is going to  suffer, even if it isn't the romantic couple, it is family or others left behind at one end of the time stream or another.  When I want to read about paradoxes and continuums of historical necessity, I read science fiction.  I can't take that kind of angst in a romance unless it is in the past or middle. I read  romance for happily ever after. However, this book made me giggle like a debutante at the end.

Lord Grenville's Choice by G.G. Vandagriff

My Experience:  B
Synopsis:  Alexander Lambeth, 5th Earl of Grenville, only had eyes for the fair Lady Elizabeth during his first London Season. Unfortunately, Elizabeth’s father brokered her marriage to another. Fancying himself broken-hearted, Alex consented to a loveless union with Lady Felicity, daughter of wealthy Lord Morecombe. 
Five years into his marriage, his first love is widowed, and Alex’s wife seems to believe he will waste no time making Lady Elizabeth his mistress. As Felicity chooses to live apart from him, a surprisingly difficult choice is thrust upon Alex. Whom does he truly desire—the ethereal Elizabeth or the maddening Felicity?

As Bugs Bunny would say:  What a mar-oon Alexander Lambeth, Lord Grenville is.  I wanted to bop him on the head with something extremely heavy and sharp for most of the book.  Sure, he groveled, and did the pretty but even so, how a man could be such an idiot .... well, actually, that was the essence of the story. Man has a choice, will he chose to remain an idiot or grow up and get over himself.  G.G. Vandariff explores the emotions involved in a love triangle with a steady hand, using the tension of the subject to provide an interesting character study as well as a romance consistent with period values.

The Mad Harringtons by Jane Myers Perrine

Note: I received a NetGalley copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
My Experience:  A
Synopsis:  Aphrodite Herrington has always been the prim and sensible member of an otherwise outrageous family—her parents frequently display an unseemly amount of public affection, while her siblings must forever be rescued from their own compromising situations. And as much as she loves them, she’s grown weary of being their keeper and wishes only to find a steady man with whom she can have a calm and quiet marriage. Thankfully, the very staid and predictable Frederick Horne has made just such a proposal to her.
Thomas, Viscount Warwick, is everything Frederick is not. As one of society’s most scandalous rakes, Warwick has a reputation for openly moving from one flirt to another without a care for their well-being. With a bemused smirk he’s vowed never to fall in love himself, but happily joins his cousin Frederick at their family estate to celebrate the forthcoming announcement of Frederick’s betrothal to Aphrodite.
But Warwick and Aphrodite share a secret from their past, a chaste yet meaningful kiss that broke her heart and left him wanting more. As Aphrodite’s family descends on the estate in their usual chaotic fashion and all the partygoers strike up new and surprising liaisons, a suddenly love-struck Warwick and passionately awakened Aphrodite must decide whether to throw caution and common sense to the wind to embrace the promise of a true love they’ve found in each other.


There are many tropes in historical romantic fiction.  One I generally find amusing is:  Woman desires matrimony.  So, of course, She chooses the most Unsuitable Suitor for herself while longing - consciously or not - for someone that everyone else in the story would open a vein for, if only he'd look their way.  Intelligent, beautiful, of sound emotional and mental health; She can't see the forest for the grass framing the path to damnation.  Keeping the reader from despising her for being too stupid to find love even when she trips over it is difficult.  When you add a large family, society and Mommy-Dearest-In-Law, it's a Great Challenge.  Enjoying the bewilderment of all as the conflict escalates to inanity is what makes a Romp worth reading.

Ms. Perrine was up to the Great Challenge. The Mad Harringtons was a completely charming romp.

Her Defiant Heart by Jo Goodman

My Experience: B
Synopsis:  When Civil War veteran and hero Christian Marshall attempts to aid a mysterious young woman escaping a New York City asylum, he is reminded that good intentions count for nothing and painful memories are best drown in a good bottle of whiskey and the arms of a whore.
Jenny Holland discovers the respite and refuge she needs at Marshall House. To remain in this sanctuary and protect her life-and-death secrets, she must make herself necessary to its master. But serving at the will and pleasure of such a dark and dangerous man might not be enough, and her attempts to heal his wounds will expose her own.

This is a Special Author's Cut Edition of Midnight Princess (1989) with an author note:  The story held up, I thought (rather immodestly), but the hero did not. He needed to find a gentler side. I used so many exclamation points on the first go round that it seemed he was shouting at everyone. More judicious punctuation had a moderating affect on his disposition, if not his drinking. Oh, he is still a brooding, wounded soul in need of healing, angry certainly, impulsive often, but with more awareness of his demons this time. What I could not repair with word choice or character insight, I left in the capable hands of the heroine and my faith in happily ever after.

If I could carry only 100 books on my reader [thank God that thought is just a nightmare], 10 of them would be Jo Goodman's. You cannot imagine my squee of happiness when scrolling through a newsletter I discovered two of her books have been re-issued.  Two that I haven't read!   Yes, it has a Man-Boob cover but I'm trying [not very hard obviously] to get over That Issue.  And ... I wish the synopsis [previous and current] didn't sound like a porn movie.  [someone out there with a Degree and Big Income no doubt has statistics proving readers are like Pavlov's dogs, easily conditioned to spend our money on waxed chests and innuendo.]

For the record, I bought the book in spite of the cover and blurb.  I was not disappointed and agree with Ms. Goodman's statement that the story held up, but can't comment on Christian's former characterization as I was deep in the toddler years when this came out.  I see glimmers of West and Breckenridge in him and since they are two of my favorite heroes, I was quite, quite happy!  After all, there will probably never be another Restell Gardner. I've almost accepted that.

The Quality of Mercy by Anna Fisher Kruse

My Experience: A
Synopsis:  As much as Mercy Patience Hawthorne wants to escape her name, she cannot help who she is. Mercy has taken care of other people since her childhood. Now, heiress to a fortune, she no longer has obligations to others, and is anxious to begin a new, exciting, and independent life. But fate intervenes when a carriage accident on the way to London forces her to rescue three small children. When she attempts to deliver them to their father, she discovers that they have been orphaned and will now be in the care of their stiff and duty bound-- but ever so handsome-- Uncle Phillip, newly the Earl of Standridge. 
Mercy's impetuous instincts to offer help whenever it is needed regardless of threats to her reputation, drive the proper Phillip mad, yet draw him to her warm generosity at the same time. As much as Phillip wants to consider his attentions to her merely his duty, he cannot escape his attraction. What will it take for them find a way to balance her impetuous compassion and his dutiful propriety?

I was nervous reading the sample pages, fearing I was in for a whiny heroine but the synopsis and writing persuaded me to risk an author new to me.  I am SO glad I did!

A Broken Promise by Kyla Harmon

My Experience:  C
Synopsis:  The Society wedding of her dreams turns to kidnapping, betrayal, and murder… The country home of the Earl of Devon is a rambling limestone edifice just outside Exeter. The stately woods and meadows surrounding it contribute to its widely acclaimed warmth and charm. But when a mysterious fire destroys the family apartments, the earl, his countess, and their lovely daughter, the Lady Alexandra, are all believed dead. Mourning the loss of his fiancé, Oliver, Duke of Somerset, marries another to secure the line of succession.
Struggling with betrayal and resentment, Alexandra tries to piece together what went so very wrong in her life. Escaping from the sanatorium where she’s been kept captive for three years, she’s determined to discover who was responsible for her parents’ deaths and her confinement. But when she finds Oliver—now widowed and with a child—she realizes things have changed. And they only become darker when she learns the treachery runs deep…


Recently, I wanted a break from the Modern Formula of the Red Headed Beauty and Lord Man Boobs.  I found myself longing for an Old Style Regency Formula with a peaceful, maybe a bit intrepid, woman and a hero worthy of loving from the very beginning. I wanted sympathetic characters that love in spite of obstacles that were not each other, an out and out villain, a bit of suspense and if possible, a touch of gothic shiver.  Reading the sample pages and synopsis, this book fit the bill.

What Not to Bare by Megan Frampton

My Experience:  C+++++++++++++
Synopsis:  Lady Charlotte Jepstow certainly knows how to make an impression—a terrible one. Each one of her ball gowns is more ostentatiously ugly than the one before. Even she has been forced to wonder: Is she unmarried because of her abysmal wardrobe, or does she wear clashing clothing because she doesn’t want to be pursued in the first place? But when Charlotte meets Lord David Marchston, suddenly a little courtship doesn’t sound so bad after all.
David will be the first to admit he’s made some mistakes. But when he gets yanked from his post by his superiors, he is ordered to do the unthinkable to win back his position: woo his commander’s niece. If David wants his life back, he must use his skills as a negotiator to persuade society that Charlotte is a woman worth pursuing, despite her rather unusual “flair” for color. But David does such a terrific job that he develops an unexpected problem, one that violates both his rakish mentality and his marching orders: He’s starting to fall in love.

Sprinkled between chapters of this enjoyable book are snippets from the The Fashionable Foible.  I confess this device [reminiscent of Lady Whistledown] is what hooked me and loosened the strings of my purse.  Before I dive in to my review, in tribute, I offer my own Advice to Gentle Readers of Romance....

The Scotsman and the Spinster by Joan Overfield/ Carolyn Madison

My Experience:  A
Note:  This is an E-book edition of 2000 release under the name Carolyn Madison.  
Synopsis:  A Reluctant Gallant … Ross Maccailan, a lifelong Army man, never wanted his newly-inherited title. And as a proud and rugged Scot, he never dreamed that he would become a member of effete English society. But his stern sense of duty brought him home from the front, to campaign for war funds in the House of Lords. His first priority was learning the ways of the ton – and the lady assigned to tutor him, Miss Adalaide Terrington, was as exacting as a drill sergeant! 
A Mistress of Manners … Adalaide, “the Terror of the Terringtons,” had transformed many an awkward relative into an elegant gentleman. But this headstrong soldier was her most challenging pupil yet! As Ross made him bow to society beside her, they were about to find the maneuvers of the heart were as intricate as etiquette and as dangerous as any battle.

This version of My Fair Lady with genders reversed and thankfully, no high pitched wailing over taking a bath, is absolutely wonderful.  I did not want this book to end.  Is there a more eloquent praise, if so, it eludes me.

Loving the Earl by Sharon Cullen

My Experience:  A
Synopsis:  Having vowed never to wed again, widowed viscountess Claire Hartford is about to do the unthinkable: travel unaccompanied across the continent in search of a lover. Her adventure begins sooner than expected, when she meets a magnificent cloaked stranger on her ship’s gangplank. He is Lord Blythe, a man whispered about in London’s ballrooms and drawing rooms, a scandalous rogue hell-bent on seduction. 
Nathan Ferguson curses the day he agreed to look out for his best friend’s wayward sister. The charismatic earl is traveling to Paris to uncover the truth behind his father’s death, but his desire for Claire threatens to be his undoing. From France to Italy, on a journey of passionate discovery and danger, Nathan is honor-bound to protect her—from himself most of all. What can he offer Claire? Only love, as he sets out to prove to the woman of his dreams that she belongs to him—body, heart, and soul.

Despite the Half-a-Face Man Boob Cover and cheesy blurb I purchased this book on the recommendation of a friend.  I'm glad I did. I enjoyed every single page of this romantic adventure.  I laughed, giggled and once or twice might have snorted in an unladylike manner.  [Please, don’t tell my mother!]

Amanda's Return by June Kramin

Note:  I recived a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review
My Experience:  A
Synopsis:  After a move and name change, Amanda thought her days with dealing with the FBI and Mob were over. Her past comes back to haunt her as Eddie, the right hand man of the kingpin himself tracks her down, claiming to need her help. Amanda’s instinct is to refuse, until she discover what it is he needs. The return of the kingpin’s son, Angelo.
Vince Menusco’s men are being killed off with no explanation of who is behind it. Learning of Angelo’s disappearance is enough for Amanda to agree to return to the streets of New York and help find him. Against her wishes, Hunt goes along to help.  Even after getting Angelo to safety, Eddie refuses to free Amanda from their deal. Threatening her family, he insists she puts an end to the killings. Finding out who is causing them and why was more than Mandy was prepared to deal with.

Additional Note: You can read this well paced action-adventure romance as an adrenaline rush, or you can read a bit deeper and catch the subtle battles beneath the war.  If you haven't read Hunter's Find, I wouldn't skip it.  It's possible to read this book and understand what's going on but it won't be as interesting, trust me.

Honestly...?  I wasn't sure I wanted to read Amanda's Return.   I loved Hunter's Find, the conflict, the confusion, the confrontation of idealistic naivety and reality; the role reversals that weren't anything but a man and a woman living up to their full potential.  What troubled me at the thought of a sequel is how easy it would be for full potential to equate with thuggery - is that a word.  I dreaded seeing Amanda devolving in to a  characterization of a female  bully with semi-automatic style.  There were some tense moments, and a few when I just wanted to give up on her, but overall, Ms. Kramin pulls it off, again.

Always a Stranger by Amara Royce

Note: I received a NetGalley ARC in exchange for an honest review
My Experience:   A-
Synopsis:  An international affair, London's Great Exhibition has taken the city by storm. As its newest Royal Commissioner, Lord Skyler Ridgemont must ensure the performers are properly contracted. Among them is the delicate and graceful Hanako Sumaki. Draped in vivid silk robes, Hanako's exotic Japanese fan dance captivates Skyler--and he longs to learn more about her. . .
But Hanako's enigmatic employer keeps his exquisite charge very close. The consummate artist, she shows the handsome nobleman many faces, but never her true heart, which holds a desperate secret. When Skyler learns the real reason Hanako has been brought to London, he will risk his entire world to win her trust--and save her from losing both body and soul. It's a feat that will require the type of courage only love can give. . .

Framed by the Great Exhibition, Skyler Roderick, Earl of Ridgemont, and Hanako Sumaki confront the prejudices of the time as well as those within themselves.  Comfortable as the second son, eager to embrace his gifts of architectural vision, his lordship struggles to fulfill his new obligations and still remain true to his own nature.  Hana juggles the knives of a horrifying situation while admitting "one can only climb so high before running out of mountain."  Like embroidered silk, these characters and their story dazzle even as it snags at your sensitivities.

Silken Promises by Lisa Bingham

My Experience: A
Synopsis:  When Fiona McFee first meets the straight-laced deputy Jacob Grey, he is naked and bound in a field of foxtails. A con man’s daughter through and through, Fiona leaves him there as he swears to never forget her. True to his word, Jacob tracks Fiona to Chicago years later, and he has an offer for her that she can’t refuse: A full pardon for her and her father in exchange for her help in catching a counterfeiter. All she must do is pose as a wealthy British widow and play poker on a tourist train heading West.
With her freedom at stake, as well as another chance to outwit Jacob, Fiona must perfect her poker face as she gambles for the fate of her future. But neither she, nor Jacob, can ignore the undeniable attraction between them, and as the stakes of their deadly game soar to new heights, the thin line between inevitable danger and unyielding desire begins to blur.

I thoroughly enjoyed Silken Promises, a re-issue from 1994.  Silken Dreams is the story before, but I read this one without need of reading the first.  Set in Chicago in 1885, a cross between My Fair Lady and Maverick (the movie), I was hearing stirring theme music before the third chapter.  The plot seems to be predictable, but it isn't - well, except for the two elderly aunts that steal a bag of dynamite, "to get rid of gophers and other varmints."  But even if it was, this is totally a character driven story with incidentals of violence, villainy and believable sexual tension that keeps you reading, laughing and cheering them on.

A Question of Class by Julia Tagan

Note:  I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
My Experience:  B+
Synopsis:   United to exact revenge on a common enemy, they discover passion is the ultimate reward.
On the strength of her wit and intelligence, Catherine Delcour climbed from Connecticut poverty to opulent Paris society. But once in New York, her lowly past is a scandal her wine merchant husband won’t tolerate. After five years of marriage, Morris announces their union isn’t valid and reveals his plan to send her to the West Indies. So long as she behaves, he’ll continue to provide for her until the ship leaves. Fearing she’ll end up destitute, Catherine schemes to escape--and secure her future with his treasured bottle of wine.
Under the guise of supervising Delcour’s wayward wife, Benjamin Thomas seeks to avenge his sister’s death by ruining him. But Catherine isn’t the spoiled society wife Benjamin expects. His growing affection for Catherine threatens more than his carefully constructed plans. His vow to never touch another man’s wife has never been harder to keep than when he’s around the beguiling beauty.
When Catherine and Benjamin join forces, their sensual natures collide even as their individual desires for passion, vengeance, and escape threaten to tear them apart.  

This is a shiny debut novel that opens with a blessing and curse:  “Unfortunately, my dear, we were never married.”  I loved how that declaration made me gasp and Catherine reel.  Within the first paragraphs I despised her not-husband, Morris Delcour.  I held my breath when she made her first escape attempt and failed; was impressed that she managed to return without losing her dignity or dinner.  That Benjamin Thomas has the honor of being her salvation and the enforcer of her captivity before the end of chapter two set the pace for this riveting novel.  It did not falter throughout.

Mine, All Mine by Ella Quince

My Experience: C+++++++++++
Synopsis:  Scandal and treason force the privileged daughter of a duke to disappear. Lady Lillian St. James runs from the only life she knew and finds work masquerading as a cooks assistant. She adopts a new identity and immerses herself in the role of servant until she can escape London without her stepfather finding her--and the priceless stolen jewels she took from him! But, her refuge is not as safe as it seems. When she finally meets the master of the house she discovers the new Earl of Redwick could be a danger to her masquerade and her heart. 
Dominic Coel, Earl of Redwick, must find the missing daughter of a duke and stolen royal jewels. Dominic is desperate to finish this last mission and begin a life without murder and intrigue, but while he must focus on his duties, he can’t help but be distracted by his lovely new cooks assistant. 
As her masquerade unravels, Dominic begins to separate fact from romantic fiction. His conduct has been less than gentlemanly and now he must face his true feelings as he changes from Lilly’s greatest obstacle to her greatest ally. Can he save her from her stepfather? Can he deny his own desire to keep her for his own? With the help of their friends, Dominic and Lilly must court further scandal to trap a traitor and risk it all to claim their own happy ever after. 


Part One of the Fated for Love Series
          The Hero You'll Enjoy Hating & the Heroine That Deserves Him

The hero's best friend says:  "Being a rake requires a lot of work and is entirely too fashionable right now. Mothers have taken it into their heads that a reformed rake makes the best husband."  If you substitute Writers for Mothers - you have the theme of this book.  It isn't handed to you on a lace doily surrounded by china figurines either.

[This is a long one folks, but I do have a point, get some popcorn and a glass of tea]