MY Reviews of Books

 

Honest reviews don't always meet with author approval. Sad fact!




To Risk All For Love is labelled book one of two murder mystery books involving the Dempsey family. In this book the heroine is the Lady Anne who has set her heart on a young man from a far distant country. His tribal society is surprisingly more appealing to this twenty-first century reader than male society in Georgian England ever was. Be warned this is a multi-racial romance in which Ms Howarth blends historical fact seamlessly with fiction, and spins a convincing web of deceit with a thrilling assassination and its aftermath.



Scarcely has forbidden romance bloomed than a near death experience for Lady Anne Dempsey requires close guard protection at all times. While protecting her was routine in the past the oath the gallant warrior hero swore to her father he pledges to uphold for her sake. That’s all well and good if he was not in love with her, and she not in love with him. Mixed marriages were rare and risqué within Georgian England at a time when slavery was rife. Notwithstanding the difficulties of the era the story is plausible on grounds of wisdom and historical intellect. Well written this novel leaves the reader feeling extremely well read.



And the heroine undaunted by social conventions plots and plans escape for happiness out of wedlock. Her plans are soon dashed as new characters enter stage left and right. And who is friend and who foe is never a foregone conclusion. It can be said thrilling suspense throughout builds and builds and ends with a happy ever after for Anne and Faris. 



There's a heart touching epilogue. Written from Faris’s viewpoint he allows the reader to see his life from his perspective. It is a lasting image of his past and what he will make of himself. Then a letter arrives addressed to him. The content of the letter he must keep secret from his wife while danger still exists for her brother. Hence a second book (also on my kindle). 




At the end of the book readers are treated to a thrilling opening scene from To Tempt A Duke.   The sample read is thrilling and I can’t wait to get stuck in.


~*~





Book's Premise:
Captain Theobald Raynalds lost his leg at the Battle of Trafalgar and with it, his belief any woman could find a cripple like him unobjectionable enough to love.
Louisa Bennet finds Theo incredibly attractive—both as a man in his own right and as an alternative to the odious cousin her heartless father has arranged for her to marry.
First, however, she must convince the Captain her interest in him stems from the man he is, scars and all, and not on his being the lesser of evils...


My Review:

Reviewer at Romantic Times, Romance Reviews, and Romance Reviews Magazine UK.


Foremost and not least, The Captain of Her Fate came to my Kindle for an honest review. While I have no experience of previous books by this author I very much liked the author's credible expertise for her sharp, focused, plot driven narrative. The author drives the hero and the heroine on at a fast parallel course too, their inner desires and dreams hopelessly incompatible - as crossed my mind at first. Alas, inner pain, humiliations, and rejections of one sort or another hound their thoughts. All in all tension and desire builds nicely between them. But in getting ahead of the story, I must back-peddle to Louisa Bennet, who is seeking a way out of marriage to a hateful cousin.


Immediately on *news* of Captain Raynolds arrival in Derbyshire the poor man, is as a good as any man if Louisa can trap him to save her pretty neck. Nothing does she know of his circumstances and Louisa is not at all slow in offering herself up to the handsome captain, as she might have to any other man who leased Greystone Hall. The captain I thought was rather too nice for the likes of Louisa, and I can’t say I liked her all that much to begin with. However, my opinion of her improved as time went on, and to say more will spoil a story laced with unrequited love; imminent forced marriage; a good many shocking family secrets; family abduction; elopement to Gretna Green; and all sprinkled with a little coarse spicy language and hot sex in places.


Throughout this fast paced novel quotes and passages from Jane Austen’s tomes add delightful insights to the minds of fanciful misses who compared themselves and others with characters in romance novels. Though one notable incident seemed unlikely at best and I couldn’t envisage any ex naval officer retelling a case of near sodomy to his lady love. Add to that several research mishaps the author may want to revise. Footmen and gentlemen of the Regency didn’t wear 18th century Periwigs which impressed upon me the author is unfamiliar with Georgian England and the Regency era in particular. Perchance the mistakes were an oversight hence Tailcoats and Peruke wigs escaped her research notes.

Amazon








Reviewed by Charlotte.

The Book’s Premise:


Did you love the wit and elevated dialogue of Pride and Prejudice, yet always wish you got to see Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have it off? Set in England in the early 1800's, with hoydens, lords and rakes, this is the witty and sexy regency romance you have been waiting for...


London-hating dreamer, Lydia Norwood, has failed spectacularly as a débutante. Now an encoretante whose family has lost a fortune, Lydia discovers that the beau monde is hard on a nouveau riche social climber, particularly one who is no longer riche and only wants to climb trees. Lydia must stave off the effrontery of rogue lords and conniving competitors long enough to make a good match, or else incur society's scorn by earning her own money. Falling for the unattainable Lord Aldley is a distraction she cannot afford. But they share such an enchanted history, how can her heart resist?


The tragically virtuous Earl of Aldley is tired of ambitious families hurling debutantes at his head, but cannot hide in France forever. He returns to London to seek out the mysterious tree-climbing girl who once saved him from a scheming chit, and finds more than he bargained for. Abductions, seductions, trickery and injury all endanger Lydia, but Lord Aldley's heart is imperiled beyond rescue. He has only just found her; will he lose her forever to his enemy, his best friend, or his own dangerous mistake?


My Review:

First off the premise and title reveal almost all the major plot points including one or two plot spoilers. Though why Jane Austen’s wit and elevated dialogue in Pride and Prejudice gets a mention I know not after reading Three Abductions and An Earl.


Apart from the revealing premise the story started well with a little intrigue, and it progressed at a steady pace with amusing asides and character introductions. Though it slowed a great deal and required a good many chapters until the scenes were set for envy, conflict, and disreputable intrigue. Even so, the way Earl Aldley and Lydia Norwood hedged around each other with words and secret thoughts was mildly amusing to begin with. All the while the sub-characters Tilly and Rutherford (for this reader at any rate), more than edged ahead of the hero and heroine and they did thank God carry the plot forward after the first abduction took place. Here Rutherford took the lead role as the wounded hero and Lydia had every reason to be grateful to him.


Things then turned silly when Lydia revealed bluestocking dreams of going into trade, which became an ancillary thread amidst a lengthy period of comings and goings and spiteful rumours and female rivalry escalated. Funnier still Aldley who at the start is a well travelled aristocrat turned into a lovesick whimpering puppy panting and wagging his tail every time he gets close to Lydia, and then abduction two happens and the end result is a carriage accident.


Poor bedridden Lydia is then confused while the earl resides in limbo land not knowing if he can have a place in her life, and to the sidelines Rutherford and Tilly making out in the sick room brought me to tears because believe me the second half of the book is as funny as the premise promises even though it takes a long time to plough the farce and reap the sinful harvest of lustful hopes and dreams.


Reviewer aside:

At 20 plus Kindle pages per chapter it’s a long slow read with 58 chapters in all. While the first half of the book has a good literary edge with formal permutations relevant to on dit [they say] and pen rép [error] the second half falls away to a more relaxed style and strangely less formality all told.










It was interesting to learn from Ms Lower’s profile at Amazon she has written a series of novels with American settings and themes, and how Regency Yuletide is her first English Regency romance.

What I liked best about this sweet novella was the way the author threw London’s seasoned soirées out of the carriage window. Instead a bleak Cumbrian landscape is where the heroine’s story opens the door on her life. It was a nice change to meet a heroine who cringed in expectation of a forced second season of attendance at soirees in the City of London. And thank goodness Ms Lower avoided a popular and ludicrous plot of young suitors on wild chargers in Hyde Park in pursuit of rebellious heroines. Wise move Ms Lower to steer away from that old trope, and her version of an elopement plot has a refreshing twist to it as well. Poor Sophie is a country girl at heart, and destined as wife to the local vicar’s son. I say poor Sophie because I was rooting for excitement to explode into her life. And Sophie’s dismal prospects then turn for the better when a young man rocks up on her doorstep asking for help. Enter the hero Jeremy who has two companions stranded in a coach and its bogged down in mud and snow. Better still it’s Christmas and with a runaway couple heading for Gretna Green a cottage in the middle of nowhere is suddenly a godsend. And within a short while and seasonal charity Sophie’s little haven of tranquillity becomes a hotbed of lusty dreams, joyous cheer, and budding romance. Oh what a lovely time is had by all. But all good things must come to an end and it does. Poor Sophie is left pondering what if? And after a little heartache and soul searching that what if comes full circle and Sophie has her happy ending. I did like this story very much. It’s simple. It’s sweet. It’s a charming yuletide tale. Well done Ms Lower. Cumbria is a bleak place.









As shape shifter romances go A Devilish Slumber ticks all the boxes for a dark mysterious and magical plot and I would have liked it better if it had had a Victorian setting as the whole story seems Dickensian from start to finish and ill fitting as a Regency romance. The story worked fairly well when I let my imagination run with Victorian overtones, though fast paced it isn’t. Rating it a Dickens style tome seems a more appropriate description because the plot gets bogged down a lot with domestic stuff. And while the Regency backdrop didn’t work for me it might be okay for other readers who are happy if the Prince Regent gets a mention and other things allude to that period. The fantasy of it all with the added spice and a changeling coven and a murder mystery, made it a fascinating read and the book stands alone as the first in a series.  


With hindsight I’m not sure the romance angle added all that much to the story, and I wish I hadn’t guessed the outcome from reading the highlighted passage at the very beginning of the book.



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The Book's Premise.

Autumn 1763. Career diplomat Alec Halsey has been elevated to a marquessate he doesn't want and Polite Society believes he doesn't deserve. And with the suspicion he murdered his brother still lingering in London drawing rooms, returning to London after seven months in seclusion might well be a mistake. So when a nobody vicar drops dead beside him at a party-political dinner, and his rabble-rousing uncle Plantagenet is bashed and left for dead in a laneway, Alec’s foreboding deepens. Uncovering the vicar's true identity, Alec suspects the man was poisoned. But who would want a seemingly harmless man of God murdered, and why?
Lucinda Brant’s Alec Halsey mysteries explore the darker side of her deliciously romantic 18th century world. Along with trademark wit and high drama there are deeper subplots and even quirkier characters that will have you shuddering and laughing in equal measure!


My Review of Lucinda Brant's novel.

It has a long list of 5 star ratings at Amazon and sort of lived up to expectations.
My grumps with this book were few all told.
Number one the character dialogue at vital moments was too long winded.
And secondly there was a lot of irritating author intrusion.

Ms Brant kept prompting with reminders of previous chapters. That was unnecessary and insulting as though the author thought a reader wouldn't remember what had happened earlier in the novel. The plot is really not at all that complicated and was easy to follow and I don't think the author has quite got a handle on writing suspense novels. The plot was a little too predictable and short on convincing red-herrings. My rating is 4 stars and that's generous because the author does do a good job at describing clothes and characters.

Recommendation. It's a non taxing brain read for a lazy weekend and although I think a little overrated on star quality plot wise, the historical value was there twofold.

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