I've Got the Duke to Keep Me Warm by Kelly Bowen - Glom and DNF project

October 23, 2018

And we're off!!
http://www.kellybowen.net/
You know I lose track of things. And, somewhere along the way I lost track of Kelly Bowen, until I found her again. In my TBR pile I had her debut novel I've Got the Duke to Keep Me Warm. It was just sitting there. Having just finished Ms. Bowen's more recent books I decided to go back and glom her first series, The Lords of Worth. As I started to read this book, it began sounding familiar and then it dawned on me. I had attempted to read it before and for some reason couldn't finish it and I sat it aside. Light bulb going off!!! That means that I've Got the Duke to Keep Me Warm is a DNF and I can use it to not only glom an author but to start my DNF project. Yes, I am going to reread some of my DNFs - we will see how long I can keep that up. Anyway, I was a happy camper, glomming and DNFing all in one book.

Well, I started. Then I stopped. Then I started. Then I stopped. I'm not sure what the deal was with the first three chapters of the book, but they gave me some trouble. Maybe it was the heroine in disguise theme, which I will admit is not one of my favorite plotline devices - but then that's me, so I must rise above it. Maybe it was the name Gisele. You know authors have no idea what might be triggered in a reader’s psychic when they chose a name. Gisele, I must rise above it. I pressed forward. And, do you know what happened? All of a sudden I realized I had been captured by the prose.

Gisele Whitby is hiding out from her abusive, psychopath husband. How is she hiding out? Well, she very spectacularly fabricated her death, and adopted a new identity. She is now helping other women who were much like she was, trapped in a marriage with a man who beats them. She and her group of cohort’s help these women disappear into the landscape. But she is having a dilemma when this story begins; she needs another helper because her last one fell in love and is on his honeymoon. Gisele is desperate. It seems that her husband has found another woman to marry. She cannot let history repeat itself. Gisele needs to break up those marriage plans and she is on the lookout for a man who can help her. Enter James Montcrief.

James is a great hero. He is also down in the dumps. While his father, the duke did actually marry James' mother, he was a tad bit late and didn't marry her until after James was born. That makes James a bastard. It also makes James' brother, the second son the Duke, the heir. But that isn't why James is blue, no he's accepted that - sort of. He's down in the dumps because of the things he saw on the battlefield, including the death of another one of his brothers at Waterloo. Now he is drowning his sorrow in alcohol and doing odd jobs just to pay for it. This was not a story about his drinking problem; in fact that sort of disappeared once James joined Gisele in her endeavor. We do get to see him come to grips with his brother's death and all the demons floating around in his head.

Gisele has a number of plans to break up the upcoming nuptials of her husband and his fiancée. I do acknowledge when I was reading these plans my eyes kept rolling. The funny part was, Jamie and Gisele were doing the same thing - discarding ideas because they were just outrageously bad. Now, if you think this story sounds like a boo-hoo downer, it's not. One of the patterns I found while reading so many of Ms. Bowen's books in a roll is that she balances them with just the right amount of humor and just the right amount of drama. We are never overwhelmed with either one. The characters of Jamie and Gisele played off of each other marvelously.

Secondary characters. There were a number of well-written supporting cast introduced in this story. Sebastian, Eleanor, Duchess of Worth, Eleanor's companion and Eleanor's son, and a few others. All of these characters managed to pique my interest and at the same time they didn’t take over the book. I believe most of them will have their own stories. Eleanor, Duchess of Worth was actually quite funny, as was her son's reaction to her antics.

Villain. This book has an absolutely menacing villain in the character of Adam Levire, the Marquess of Valence. His abusive actions in this tale are written realistically. There is a wonderful tension which permeates the narrative after Gisele and Jamie put their plan into action. Quibble. I would have liked for Gisele to have escaped out of the story without being snatched by her husband again. However, this is not a perfect world and I knew beforehand that probably the author wasn't going to let that happen. I guess the hero had to ride to the rescue one last time. But that was just a minor quibble.

Overall, I liked this book even though I had a hard time starting it. In the end it was full of wonderful moments, great dialogue, and chock full of fascinating characters. It would have received a higher rating from me if I hadn't stumbled at the beginning and the kidnapping at the end hadn't troubled me. I didn't think it was necessary to add that piece of drama. I do recommend this book! I'm having a lot of fun with my short glom.

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Hot!

The Lady in Red by Kelly Bowen - short glom project

October 19, 2018

Short and Sweet
http://www.kellybowen.net/
Have you ever wondered why we read short stories? Especially when there are so many dreadful ones out there. I have a number of reasons. Sometimes I'm just lazy. Reading a short story just seems to be relaxing. They are also something I don't feel guilty DNFing. Sometimes, I'm in the mood for something I can zip through in a matter of hours. Of course, occasionally one discovers a new exciting author hiding in an anthology. Through years of reading romance, I’ve read my fair share of short stories/novellas/anthologies, and I’m always delighted when I find an author who can make the short story format shine. I've always thought it was probably harder to write a short story than a longer narrative. It seems to me it would be tough to do any kind of character development when working with fewer pages. I'm always impressed with an author who can conquer the short story format. Much to my delight Kelly Bowen seems to be one of those authors who can make a few pages come to life.  She's also not too bad with the longer version.

The Lady in Red appears to be the connecting thread between two series': Season for Scandal and the Devils of Dover. It ends the one and begins the other. This story is also not about lords and ladies, but dreamers and creative people. Both the male and female leads have aspirations to become great artists.

King. Let me expound on one of my more recent favorite supporting characters, King. King was introduced in the Season for Scandal series. I could tell that Ms. Bowen had trouble subduing him. Yes, he's one of those characters who steals scenes. When he's in a scene, he is the one we are focused on. Well, he makes a brief appearance in this one, and I do believe Ms. Bowen has created a monster. And, I mean that in a good way. Every time he shows up in one of her books, I want to see more of him. I can hardly wait for him to have his own story. Ms. Bowen, King may just be your Derek Craven, Sebastian Ballister, Rothgar. He's going to need a really strong woman to cope with him. But back to The Lady in Red.

Our heroine, Charlotte, wants to be an artist, but being a female artist in a male dominated world is pretty hopeless. Which is why, with the help of King, she becomes Charlie and is soon an associate of Flynn Rutledge. Flynn isn’t all that thrilled with having another artist forced on him. He wants to be left alone in his grumpy world and whine about losing his muse. His creative juices have dried up. However, he still has a bit of an artist ego going on. Once he overcomes his resentment of Charlie being shoved down his throat, he discovers that he/she is a pretty good artist and he finds himself once again excited about his work. Flynn and Charlie become friends and they start working together as a team to create twin murals for a church. Then he discovers she is a woman.

When Flynn found out that Charlie was actually Charlotte, I expected him to throw a fit – but he didn’t. After the initial shock wore off, he accepted her and her ability to create something beautiful. Eventually they become lovers, and then grow into a great couple.

This was a charming story, without too many aristocrat showing up and a couple who respected each other and brought out the best in each other. It didn't have the feel of a short story, but was fully-developed narrative. I do recommend it.

Ms. Bowen, a hint: we want King! we want King! we want King! we want King! we want King! we want King! we want King! 

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/Hot

Last Night with the Earl by Kelly Bowen

October 17, 2018

"He that lieth down with dogs shall rise up with fleas"
http://www.kellybowen.net/
You know, for some reason I purchased Kelly Bowen’s debut book, I’ve Got a Duke to Keep Me Warm, but never finished reading it. It also appears I didn’t buy any of her books until her Season for Scandal series. So, you know what that means. It means that not only can I pick a book from my DNF pile to read, I can also do a short author glom. (The author isn't short, the glom is.)  Sounds like a great idea to me. We will see, we will see. Oh joy! Oh Rapture! And, now we turn to Last Night with the Earl.

Last Night with the Earl is the second in the Devils of Dover series and while I didn’t like it as much as I did A Duke in the Night, I still liked it quite a bit, and I do recommend it. I especially liked the hero Eli, I thought he made for a wonderful angst-filled hero-with-a- scar character. In this case a biiiigggggg scar. The heroine on the other hand was a little bit harder to like – she could be quite an aggressive, unforgiving, virago at times. And, that’s ok, except, she was also blind to her own faults.

If you read the first book in the series you will know that Rose is the artist sister with a chip on her shoulders. We never really found out in the previous story just why Rose was so surly. All we know is that the chip on her shoulder somehow involves her ex-fiancé/boyfriend/grand love, Anthony Gibson. We find out in this book Anthony was pretty much a horses-baaa-tooty; however he can no longer be reproached about his actions because he's dead. Which is one of the reasons she so angry with the world. That rotten-to-the-core Anthony Gibson left a number of scarred people behind, including Rose, and his best friend Eli, the Earl of Rivers.

Eli has scars on the inside as will as on the outside.  The description in the book indicates that his physical scars are not just itsy-bitsy, but his face is actually pretty mutilated. He scares little kids, which is why he doesn’t return to London but journeys to his country estate Avondale. Ah, Avondale, a place to hide. But wait! Unbeknownst to him, Avondale is now a school for gifted young women and it is run by Clara (A Duke in the Night) and her I-have-a-grunge sister Rose. Well, it seems that at one time Eli loved Rose, but he stepped aside for his best friend Anthony – he still luved Rose silently from afar. Spoilers. Now, Anthony was a big stinking cad. Even though Anthony courted Rose, he also had some pretty salacious caricatures of her which he passed around to his buddies and then made public. When this happened, society being society ridiculed Rose. While Eli didn’t know the extent of what Anthony was doing, he was aware of how Anthony treated women. The things Anthony did made Eli uncomfortable and he disapproved of Anthony’s antics. But the problem was, he didn’t say anything to Anthony, he didn’t denounce him, he didn't drop him from his friend list. And by his silence, he became an enabler. He gave his silent consent.

Rose thinks Eli is made of the same cloth as Anthony – he would be the flea to Anthony’s dog. Maybe she couldn’t do anything to Anthony –' cause he’s dead – but Eli is a different matter. Rose is not gentle with Eli, she is filled with animosity and she blasts him, blames him for what happened with Anthony. Rose pulls no punches, she feels no sympathy for his injuries. In fact, she berates him for feeling sorry for himself. He’s a mopey-gus and she’s a hornet. So, as a couple in a romance novel, they are not off to a very good start.

Ms. Bowen takes Eli and Rose on a nice, slow journey as they learn truths about each other and themselves. They learn to trust each other and eventually become friends, then lovers. Through Rose's strong encouragement, Eli confronts his fears. He is able to see things through her eyes and becomes a better person for it.

And, now I have to ask: couldn’t we have just one romance book where there was only one person with a problem? Through most of the book, our focus is on Eli’s problem. Oh sure, Rose is antagonistic but we (the reader) think she’s hostile because of Anthony. And, that’s partially true. However, it isn’t until Eli has confronted his problems that Rose’s big impediment is introduced into the story line. Because of her big issue we have a misunderstanding. I would have been happier if Rose’s problem had cropped up earlier in the book or not been there at all. As it was, it was presented in the last few chapters of the book and seemed to be there to add a word count. But this is a minor quibble.

Overall, this was a great read. I liked it very much and I’m really glad that Kelly Bowen decided to join the world of Romanceland in 2014. I do recommend this book, even if there was one to many issues to conquer.

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Hot

Holy Guacamole!!! Upcoming Historical Romance and Historical Fiction!!!

Authors with an asterisk*, I'm picking up! For more Upcoming Releases that aren't historical see HEY DELIA!! October 15, 2018 to November 14, 2018. By the way, it is not my fault if a publisher changes the release dates - just so you know, they do not consult me.
**New this month I have decided to read a book by an author who is either new to me or has fallen off of my list.

Historical Romance 

	Anna Bennett First Earl I See Tonight A Debutante Diaries series October 30
	Anna Bradley** More or Less a Temptress The Somerset Sisters series November 13
	Carol Arens A Texas Christmas Reunion October 16 - Paperback, November 1 - ebook
	Colette Cameron Only a Duke Would Dare Seductive Scoundrels series October 17
	Elle Daniels Once Upon a Duke Ever After series October 30
	Grace Burrowes* My One and Only Duke Dukes in Disgrace series November 6
	Grace Burrowes* Jennifer Ashley Christi Caldwell Louisa Cornell Eva Devon Janna MacGregor Jess Michaels Tis the Season - ebook October 23
	Jillian Hunter* Duke of a Thousand Desires - ebook Boscastle series October 2
	Joanne Wadsworth The Prince's Bride Regency Brides series October 26
	Julia London* Seduced by a Scot Highland Grooms series October 30
	Laura Martin The Viscount's Runaway Wife October 16 - Paperback, November 1 - ebook
	Marie Tremayne The Viscount Can Wait Reluctant Brides series October 23
	Maya Rodale Duchess by Design Gilded Age Girls Club series October 23
	Mary Wine Between a Highlander and a Hard Place Highland Weddings series October 30
	Sarah Mallory Beauty and the Brooding Lord Saved from Disgrace series October 16 - Paperback, November 1 - ebook
	Tanya Anne Crosby* Darcy Burke Amy Jarecki Julie Johnstone Julianne MacLean Lauren Royal A Night to Remember November 13
	Terri Brisbin A Healer for the Highlander Highland Feuding series Oct 16, 2018
	Tessa Dare* Sarah Maclean Sophia Jordan Joanna Shupe How the Dukes Stole Christmas October 15
	Vanessa Kelly The Highlander Who Protected Me Clan Kendrick series October 30
	Vanessa Riley The Butterfly Bride Advertisement for Love series October 22
	Valerie Bowman Kiss Me at Christmas Playful Brides series October 30
	Wilma Counts It Only Takes a Kiss October 16

Historical Fiction

	Barbara Kingsolver Unsheltered November 1
	B.A. Shapiro the Collector’s Apprentice October 16
	Edward Carey Little October 23
	Julian Stockwin A Sea of Gold Thomas Kydd series November 1
	Louisa Hall Trinity October 16
	Margaret George Emperor Nero: The Splendor Before the Dark November 6
	Therese Anne Fowler A Well Behaved Woman October 16
	William Westbrook The Black Ring Nicholas Fallon series November 1
	V.A. Shannon When Winter Comes October 30

How to Tempt a Rogue without Even Trying by Ava Stone

September 27, 3018

Twitches do not a romance make.
http://www.avastoneauthor.com/
I picked up How to Tempt a Rogue without Even Trying by Ava Stone because I thought the title was amusing. Not being familiar with Ava Stone’s writing and always on the lookout for a new author, I thought I’d give it a try. After I finished the book I was left with a vague sense of dissatisfaction and I wasn’t quite sure why. So, I had to do some pondering – some examination of my reaction. While I was pondering I did some checking of her website. She seems to have been publishing books since 2011 and by my count she has released 25 novels and 12 novellas. That is not counting all the contribution to anthologies she’s done. That’s a lot of writing, pondering, editing, and developing in seven years. I also found reference to “new adult” books as part of her repertoire. While I don’t have a problem with teen/young adults/new adults for teens, for myself, I like a little more mature, seasoned narrative. But I was determined to finish this book.

How to Tempt… was pleasant enough, and there were even parts of it which reminded me a little of the old Signet Regency books. The big difference between this story and a Signet was most Signet characters were fully developed. How to Tempt… had the feel of a short story. Then there were the Twitch Teases.

Now, I am not really sure where I was, or what book I was reading when I first encountered the manly “twitch” of a hero’s willy-wanka-doodle, but the term “twitch” seems to be used quite a lot lately in Romanceland. Usually it’s an indicator that there will be more hubba-bubba action later in the story. I guess that will show me not to expect something based on a lifetime of reading romance. There was no hippidy-hopping in this story. In fact, there was hardly any kissing. I found this odd considering our hero had two Mr. Toad-willy-dink twitch episodes. And yes, I counted them. Oh no, no, no, I did not keep track of them while I was reading. The twitching did not throw me out of the story, but at the end of the story I remembered them. Why would one remember two Mr. Toad-willy-dink twitch moments? Well, I’ll tell you. After I finished reading the book it dawned on me that they just didn’t fit into the narrative. I had to ask myself – why were they there? They didn’t blend with the rest of the story. They were glaring in their presence in the storyline and they definitely didn’t make the book anymore sensual.

More pondering. I’m an old-school romance reader, I’ve read traditional Regency stories which didn’t even have one kiss, let alone a twitch. But, what a whole lot of those old Regency books had was a strong sensual atmosphere built between its main characters.  Shall I name some old authors from Signet? Mary Balogh, Patricia Rice, Anne Stuart, Eileen Jackson, Edith Layton, Barbara Metzger, Joan Wolf, Sheila Walsh…I could go on and on. Some of those authors are sadly no longer with us, but some of them have gone on to bigger things. All of them have one thing in common – they could write fully-developed characters with oodles of sexual tension and nary a single twitch in sight. And, it’s the twitches in this story which finally solved the mystery of what my issue with this book was.

I analyzed my reaction to How to Tempt…, and then it dawned on me.  I felt as if I had just read a high-school literature project. It was as if someone had been told to take all the elements of a romance and put them together. A formula. And, you know, I dislike intensely that romance books are often accused of being all formula. All books have a formula, a beginning, an ending, a puzzle being solved, a vampire sucking – all formula. However, this story didn’t seem to have any substance behind the formula. I don’t know, maybe it was written for younger readers – maybe they would appreciate it more than I did. All I know is when I opened it up I was expecting one thing and I got something else. Sort of like opening a package of M and M’s and getting Good and Plenty instead. It’s a shock to the system. And now I ponder some more.

More pondering. When I was growing up my reading habits were never limited to my age group. I always read books beyond the ones specific to my age. I found books created for my age group to be boring. I even remember reading Peyton Place when I was eleven, and that was definitely not my age group. Did it warp my outlook on life? Don’t think so. Did I understand everything in the book? Nah, but I asked my mother. Did my mother yank the book out of my hands? Nope. She never once discouraged me from reading beyond my comprehension or my age group. And finally, I just quit reading books which were age appropriate and I have never looked back. I’m not sure why I’m saying this, except I don’t always understand the reason behind age appropriate genres, especially for adults. Wait a minute! Maybe it’s not the age appropriateness which bothers me, maybe it’s the stories and characters which are not fully developed which is the problem. I guess, bottom line, even if the books is for teens/young adults/new adults, they should have fully developed narratives. So, I’m done digressing.

For me, this book was middling. It wasn’t fully developed, the characters lacked chemistry, and it had an incomplete, rushed feel about it. And the Romanceland standard twitching Mr. Toad winkee-dink-doodle didn’t add anything to the story. The completeness I have come to expect in my romance books was not there.

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Two Twitches

The Governess Game by Tessa Dare

September 21, 2018

At Last...
At last a good book has come along
My lonely days are over and life is like a song, la la
la la la la

http://tessadare.com/
Finally, a book I can gush about! I'm happy enough to burst into song. This may be one of my favorite book I’ve read this year. It may also be my favorite Tessa Dare book. The Governess Game is the second book in Tessa Dare’s Wages of Sins series. While it is true I was not impressed with the first book in this series, The Duchess Deal, I was enchanted by The Governess Game. It also prevented me from sleeping until I had finished and then I didn’t want it to end. Tessa Dare has stepped up her game. Why did I love this book so much? Well, my little Petunia's I'll tell you. The characters - the unforgettable characters. 

Before I begin, I am not getting paid for this review nor am I a friend of Tessa Dare’s – this review is a sincere love gush. Anachronisms. Yes, there were anachronisms throughout the book. However, in this case, I was so wrapped up in the story I ignored the anachronisms. Where to begin? Let’s begin with the wonderful characters – Alexandra Mountbatten and Chase Reynaud. Chase needs a governess. He really needs a governess. He has the guardianship of his two young nieces, Rosamund and Daisy. These children are also wonderful characters. They are also troubled children. They have been passed from one relative to another and now their Uncle Chase wants to ship them off to school. They have come to believe that no one wants them, and I have to say, I don’t think anyone does. These children have turned into agitators, devious-almost-bad-seeds and have driven off governesses, one after another. Chase, who is a rake, is desperate. Being the standard Romanceland rake, he just does not have time for these young girls – they scare him. Oh, I don’t mean they scare him like in Boo! No, they scare him because he is starting to care for them and being a rake, he doesn’t have time in his agenda for caring. He only has time for wine, women and song – not necessarily in that order and you may want to cross song off the list. So, Chase is desperate. Enter Alexandra.

You may or may not remember Alexandra from the previous book, The Duchess Deal. She’s the one who sets clocks with her handy dandy chronometer. She’s arrives at Chase’s place to fix his clocks. He’s busy making a manly-man room with a bed and mirror on the ceiling. When Alex shows up Chase mistakes her for the new governess. Even when she tells him the truth he is so desperate he offers her the job. She at first turns him down, leaves, loses her chronometer, returns and accepts the job. She immediately runs into trouble with the two girls. Thus begins the roller-coaster of character interaction. Alex is above all, an independent, strong, woman. We know that by her actions not by someone telling us.

I had a smile on my face throughout most of the book, why I even chuckled out loud a few times. Chase and Alexandra have great dialog written for them. They banter, they circle each other - it is all so charming. Alex is wonderfully practical, she is also very smart and soon the girls are responding to her. The chemistry between all of them was well written - Alex and the girls, Alex and Chase, Chase and the girls – all fully developed and at times even intricate.

As I said earlier, there were numerous 21st century references, but I didn’t find them irritating. In fact, I chuckled at a number of them – see, that is what happens when you are absorbed into the story.

I highly recommend this book. Let me repeat myself - I do believe it is one of the best ones I’ve read this year – and it’s been a looonnngg year. The chemistry between Alex, Chase, Rosamund, and Daisy was incredible. The dialog, humor and banter was great. It was awesome watching this couple overcome their insecurities and fall I love. Read this book.

Time/Place: Regency England - I think
Sensuality: Hot

And now for the real song lyrics:
"At last my love has come along
My lonely days are over and life is like a song, oh yeah
At last the skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up clover the night I looked at you
I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill I've never known, oh yeah
You smiled, you smiled oh and then the spell was cast
And here we are in Heaven
For you are mine at last"
Songwriters: Harry Warren / Mack Gordon - 1941

An Earl Like You by Caroline Linden

September 12, 2018
Close, but no cigar

http://www.carolinelinden.com/
When an author takes a theme, which may not be prove very popular and attempts to turn it into a good romance, I always keep my fingers crossed. Of course, an author can always take the easy way out and write about something safe. In An Earl Like You, Caroline Linden has undertaken a set-up which changes the hero into someone not quite so heroic, something not safe. I must give Ms. Linden some kudos for the attempt, even though I don’t think she quite succeeded. This was just me - I became very irritated with the hero. But I think the problem lies not with the hero but the heroine. Let’s take a look at my reaction to this book, because in the end it is all about me.

Let’s start with Hugh Deveraux, Earl of Hastings. Hugh idolized his father. His father was a wonderful man. His father also loved his wife and family. He would do anything to make them happy, that included spending copious amounts of money building things, buying things, being just as careless with money as he could possibly be. So, when he dies he leaves behind a mountain of debts and as far as we know there is no way to repay them. Here was the first of many hurdles for me, the reader, to climb over. Ms. Linden put so many road blocks in our hero’s way, and the only solution, of course, was through marriage. I’ve always questioned the amount of money a heroine would have to bring into the marriage to reclaim some of the huge estates which litter the English countryside and not go broke herself. But, that is just a passing thought, the real issue I had with Hugh was when he found out the condition his father had left his family in he didn’t tell his family. That was a big short-coming for me. These were the people who were directly affected by his decision to keep the debts secret – his mother and sisters. Then there was his "hero plan" on another way to get out of debt. He would go to a gambling hall and gamble. What a great solution to money problems! I thought these were gi-normous character flaw in a hero and it made him appear weak. But for me there was something else which made him seem weak – the heroine.

Eliza Cross. Eliza was a nice person – really, really nice. And, even though she was pretty much aware of her gigantic worth to aristocratic males which populated England, she wanted some one who loved her for more than just her money. She wanted someone who loved her. She seems to have an inner radar built in which could spot a money-grubber from far, far away. But it isn't working when it come to Hugh. Here’s the thing, Ms. Linden has written Eliza’s character as very naïve when it comes to our handsome hero Hugh. For some reason, she just cannot see his deception. And, his courtship is a deception. A big deception. Her father is coercing Hugh into courting, marrying and impregnating Eliza.

The deception. This is not the first time in a romance book the hero has deceived the heroine. Some of those books work and some of those books don’t work. This one almost worked. Ms. Linden did a wonderful job of letting us into Hugh’s mind as he struggled with his deception, but for me I could find no sympathy for him. The problem for me was Eliza’s character was toooooo nice, toooooo naïve, tooooo accepting, toooo good. Her sweet character was not a good balance for Hugh’s underhanded courting. The sweeter Eliza became, the weaker Hugh became. Eliza’s goodness only made Hugh’s indecisiveness all the more obvious. When we look at our heroes, whether they are Alpha or Beta, even when we are presented with their flaws and weaknesses, we like to find some nobility in their character. I could find none in Hugh and that was mainly because the balance between Eliza’s goodness and Hugh’s deception was off.  Eliza needed to be just a little bit more aggressive, she needed to be someone Hugh could bounce off of. I wish she had caught on to him sooner and had realized all by herself what he was up to.

Bottom-line. I was looking forward to Ms. Linden’s book. I congratulate her on her attempt at a hard plot-line to do in Romanceland, but for me it didn’t work. Eliza and Hugh did not balance each other out; they did not cast positive reflections off of each other. So I cannot fully recommend this book. How's that for wishy-washy?

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm/hot