Holy Caramel Apples with Dark Chocolate Drizzles!!! Upcoming Historical Romances!!!

September 23, 2021

Authors with an asterisk*, I'm picking up! Authors with **asterisks have either fallen off my radar or new to me, and I'm might read them this time around. Release dates mostly between October 15, 2021 and November 14, 2021. For more Upcoming Releases that aren't historical see HEY DELIA!!
 
Series indicates a series, spin-off, sequel, trilogy, brother/sister, secret society/spies, good friends who attended Oxford/Eton, vampire/werewolf - anything that has something continuing - even if written 20 years ago. Anthology/novella/short stories could be an anthology or a bunch of books in one print or novella - one tiny book or an anthology with a bunch of novellas - could be a short stories by one author, could be short stories by multiple authors - could be - I'm getting a headache. Ebook, only sold electronically for now. Debut - congratulations!

By the way, it is not my fault if a publisher changes the release dates - just so you know, they do not consult me. Let me also add this warning - since I am now using different sources, I am finding that one person's genre isn't necessarily another persons - sorry if your book is in the wrong genre.  

 

Historical Romance

	Amalie Howard http://www.amaliehoward.com Rules for Heiresses October 26
	Amy Jarecki https://amyjarecki.com/   A Duke by Scot The MacGalloway October 19
	Anna Bradley** http://www.annabradley.net   The Virgin Who Bewitched Lord Lymington, ebook The Swooning Virgins Society November 2
	Bliss Bennet** http://www.blissbennet.com Not Quite a Marriage The Audacious Ladies of Audley November 9
	Bronwyn Scott http://bronwynswriting.blogspot.com/   Lord Tresham's Tempting Rival The Peveretts of Haberstock Hall October 26
	Carol Arens The Viscount's Christmas Proposal October 26
	Catherine Stein https://www.catsteinbooks.com/ The Spinster's Swindle, ebook Arcane Tales November 5
	Celeste Barclay https://celestebarclayauthor.com/   A Devil at the Highland Court, ebook The Highland Ladies November 9
	Christine Merrill * Marguerite Kaye Sophia James Regency Christmas Liaisons October 26
	Darcy Burke http://www.darcyburke.com Intolerable, ebook Phoenix Club October 19
	Dawn Brower** Nadine Millard Anna St. Claire Lauren Smith Tabetha Waite Christmas on Scandal Lane November 9
	Erica Ridley http://www.ericaridley.com The Perks of Loving a Wallflower Wild Wynchesters October 26
	Eva Devon aka Maire Claremont https://twitter.com/evadevonauthor The Wedding Wager October 25
	Grace Burrowes http://www.graceburrowes.com/ A Rogue in Winter, novella Rogues to Riches November 2
	Janice Preston http://www.janicepreston.co.uk     The Penniless Debutante October 26
	Jillian Eaton http://www.jillianeaton.com A Dangerous Secret, ebook Bow Street Brides November 2
	Joanna Shupe http://www.joannashupe.com/ The Lady Gets Lucky The Fifth Avenue Rebels October 26
	Julia Quinn http://www.juliaquinn.com/ The Wit and Wisdom of Bridgerton November 9
	Julia Justiss http://www.juliajustiss.com/ The Explorer Baroness Heirs in Waiting October 26
	Lucy Morris https://lucymorrisromance.com/ A Nun for the Viking Warrior October 26
	Rachel Ann Smith https://www.rachelannsmith.com Loving a Dowager, ebook The Hadfields November 3
	Sasha Cottman http://www.sashacottman.com King of Rogues, ebook Rogues of the Road November 9
	Shannon Gilmore https://linktr.ee/ShannonGilmoreAuthor Every Time You’re Near, ebook Ruined Rakes October 19
	Valerie Bowman http://www.ValerieBowmanBooks.com Earl Lessons Footmen's Club Trilogy October 25
	Virginia Heath* http://www.virginiaheathromance.com Never Fall for Your Fiancée The Merriwell Sisters November 9

Historical Fiction 

My rules: this genre goes up to and includes the 19th Century. Anything newer than 1900 will be on my Hey Delia list.

	Debra May Macleod https://debramaymacleod.com To Be Wolves The Vesta Shadows October 26
	Lori Anne Goldstein http://www.lorigoldsteinbooks.com Love, Theodosia November 2
	Lucy Jago https://lucyjago.com/ A Net for Small Fishes November 9 (USA)

Simon Scarrow https://www.simonscarrow.co.uk/ The Honour of Rome Eagles November 11

Relaxing with Anne Stuart

September 22, 2021

Stuart Saturation!

http://anne-stuart.com/

What happens when you are in a mood? Where do you go when you just can’t find any new good books? What do you do when alllll those new authors can’t cheer you up? I have it! What about a funny veteran author? ummmmm. I know! Anne Stuart! I can hear your startled gasp. I hear your befuddled questions. Funny? I know you’re asking…aren’t her heroes rather angst-filled? Aren’t her heroes pretty close to sociopaths? Well, maybe. But sometimes, you just got to do what you got to do. So, for the last few weeks I have immersed myself in a world where men are real libertines, rakes, and rogues. I don’t know how many times I have read all of the Rohan family books.  But, I love Ms. Stuarts writing. It’s always interesting to see how differently I react to that series every time I reread.  Shameless (2011) was my favorite and Heartless (2018) my least favorite. But, I didn’t stop with the Rohan family. I swallowed my be-brave pill and stepped into the Wayback Machine, along with a number of Ms. Stuarts older books.

The Spinster and the Rake (1982). I loved this one. Gillian Redfern, is the unpaid companion/baby-sitter for her family. Ronan Blakely, Lord Marlow, is the enemy of the Redfern family. This is one of Ms. Stuart’s lighthearted books (sort of.) There is a villain. There is a fun secondary romance. In fact, all of these books have secondary romances. Regency. Warm/Hot A-

To Love a Dark Lord (1994). Redhead alert! There are a lot of red-headed heroines in Ms. Stuart’s books. This one has Emma Langolet, who may have killed her uncle. Coming to her rescue is the amoral libertine James Killoran. Killoran saves Emma’s life, then goes back to his other women. Warning: some of Stuart’s men do not give up other women immediately after seeing the heroine. The secondary romance is between a really experienced woman and a younger man. We have a group of villains. This is a really dark book, with an even darker “hero”.  Georgian England. Hot. B-

Prince of Magic (1998). Whimsical heroine Elizabeth Penhurst, and Gabriel Durham. This book is what I would call Gothic. We’ve got Druidism, villains looking for virgins to sacrifice, and helpful ghosts. We also have a secondary romance. The hero is not quite as dark as other Stuart guys. Regency. Warm. B-

Lady Fortune (2008). Travel back to the court of Henry III. Our hero is a rather funny spy/jester by the name of Nicholas Strangefellow. Or at least that’s the name he goes by. He has a secret which allows him to marry the heroine at the end of the book. Then there is Lady Julianna of Moncrieff who is on her way to her mother’s wedding. In this one we have a crazy killer priest, an interesting lethal spy, and a magic chalice. Another secondary romance. England 1200s. Warm. B-C+

Hidden Honor (2004). Elizabeth of Bredon: tall, red-hair, wants to be a nun. Elizabeth was seventeen – ick moment. Prince William aka Peter. The real Prince William is disguised as a monk. In fact, there are a lot of monks in this book. A lot of disguises, a sadistic prince, a road trip, and a secondary romance. Not much of an epilogue.  England 1200s. Warm. C-

The Devils Waltz (2006) Christian Montcalm is a typical ruthless Stuart hero. His antagonist is the unmarried, plain 29-year-old Annalise Kempton. Annalise is assigned to keep Hetty Chipple out of trouble.  Christian is determined to make Hetty his wife. Sparks fly. Warning: heroine nickname. Regency England. Hot. B

I had a great time with these books. Some of them held up over time, and some didn’t. Some screamed for a good epilogue, and some didn’t. I do recommend all of these, but if you’re new to romance, just remember that things have changed over the years.  I did find myself getting a little bit of a Stuart burn-out by the last book, so I decided to turn to another veteran author: Laura Kinsale. Oh boy! More angst!

Her Gallant Captain at Waterloo by Diane Gaston

September 13, 2021

 I have a younger brother too…but he's not a slug!

https://www.dianegaston.com/

I think I’m in a mood. This one was hard to review for me. There was some really fine writing, especially the vivid description of the Battle/s of Waterloo. But the brother in this book was…how shall I put this nicely…a real scum-sucker. Diane Gaston’s latest, Her Gallant Captain at Waterloo brings us the story of Rhys Landon and Lady Helene Banes, a couple with a history.

It is the eve of the Battle/s of Waterloo, and Helene is in Brussels trying to find her idiot brother. Her brother has come to Brussels because he wants to watch the battle. He’s recently been elevated to a lord, but he is resentful and doesn’t want to be called a lord…unless it gets him into the Duchess of Richmond’s ball. He hangs out with the Duchess’s son, a real person by the way. He does all kinds of horrible things to his sister, ignores her, disappears, doesn’t tell her where he’s going. He doesn’t want anyone to tell him what to do. His sister, Helene, has a big “walk-all-over-me” sign pasted to her back. I detested her brother. Then I started wondering…just what does one do when one is related to an immature person who wants to be a spectator at a battle? I do remember my brother being annoying, but I don’t think he would have been as selfish as this guy was. Anyway, I didn’t like the brother. And, just so you know, there were spectators on some battlefields.

The romance. The romance between Helene and Rhys was a standard misunderstanding-I-hate-you. Then they talk, then they love each other again. So, it was just so-so.

The Battle of Waterloo. After I have whined about the horrible brother, and intimated that the romance was bland, let’s look at what really stood out in this story. I was overwhelmed with the feelings that were captured in this narrative of warfare. From the battle itself, to the Richmond ball, to the chaos of people trying to escape Brussels. It was all very intense. Helene’s flight to the battlefield, her helping with the wounded…once again all tense-filled moments.  The aftermath of battle…all so devastating.  The writing in this part of the book was superb.

Even though the romance was just passable, and the brother was one of the most immature men I’ve seen in a long time, I have to recommend this book. The tale of the battle, and its aftermath was a most powerful story to behold.
Time/Place: Waterloo/Brussels

Sensuality: Warm

Waterloo/Brussels: A

Romance: B

Brother: D

The Scoundrel's Daughter by Anne Gracie

September 7, 2021

Yes, it's possible for female friendship in Romanceland!
 

https://www.annegracie.com/

The Scoundrel’s Daughter, by Anne Gracie, is the opening book in the Brides of Bellaire Gardens series. While not quite as delightful as The Perfect Rake, it’s still a nice read. We even have two romances in this book, a mature one, and a not mature one. We also have a horrible father, who just might be a creepy villain. The premise of this story revolves around blackmail. The person being blackmailed is Alice, Lady Charlton. Poor Alice, luck just hasn’t been her friend. She’s a widow, which is probably the only thing good to ever happen to her. Her husband was an emotionally abusive man, kept a mistress, and left Alice destitute. The only one in Alice’s family she has any fondness for is her nephew, Gerald. He is one of the nice guys in a book full of man-slugs. As luck would have it, Alice’s husband happened to leave a number of love letter’s laying around. The problem with those love letter’s is that her husband did not write them to Alice, but to his mistress. They have also fallen into the hands of a nefarious con-artist, Octavius Bamber. Octavius Bamber will not win the father of the year award.

Let’s talk about women. There are two romance stories in this book. The main romance is between Alice, Lady Charlton and James, Lord Tarrant. A secondary romance blossoms between Lucy Bamber and Alice’s nephew Gerald. For the most part, those romances had some interesting interaction, but let’s talk about the real chemistry in the story. The relationship between Alice and Lucy. Alice is being blackmailed into launching a reluctant Lucy into society. The blackmailer is the winner of the worst father of the year award, Octavius Bamber. At first, when sulky, stubborn Lucy is introduced to Alice, I thought: oh boy another horrible spoiled woman. But it turned out I was wrong. First of all, Alice and Lucy talk to each other, they find a common enemy – Octavius. Not only do they find a common goal, they develop a friendship. They both have been emotionally abused by the men in their lives. They see the world through less than innocent eyes. Do they always agree with each other? No. But they do talk to each other, and they accept each other short-falls. It was relaxing to view two women characters who actually worked together, and liked each other.

The relationship between Lucy and Gerald was fun. They irritate each other. When Gerald is given the assignment of finding a suitable husband for Lucy, his candidates are atrocious. Lucy turns the tables on Gerald, and seemingly enjoys his matchmaking attempts, which in turn annoys him. It was all great fun.

Now on to Alice and James. As mentioned before, Alice’s husband was real dog-doo. Until Octavius came along with his blackmail, Alice was happy with her widowhood. When James enters her life, she is attracted to him, but not trusting of men. She is willing to be a friend to James. James on the other hand is a tad bit manipulative. He wants Alice, and he isn’t above using “friendship” as a means to keep her. Once again…how do you “keep” someone? He even uses his three charming daughters as a weapon. It would have been nice if Alice could have had a HEA with a man who didn’t use “friendship” as a means to his end. I wish Alice had been given the opportunity to decide to marry James without being manipulated.

Bye the way, the villain/father Octavius vanishes somewhere on the Island of Misplaced Villains.

Overall, I loved the relationship between Alice and Lucy. I also thought the chemistry between Lucy and Gerald was fun. The issue I had with this story was James being a I-know-what’s-best guy. Alice was a mature woman who could think for herself. I just wish that James would have allowed her to be her own person. While there were parts of this story I liked a lot, this was not my favorite Anne Gracie book…that would be The Perfect Rake.
 
Time/Place: Regency England

Sensuality: Warm

Holy Frozen Blueberry Yogurt!!!! Upcoming Historical Romances!!!!

August 25, 2021

Authors with an asterisk*, I'm picking up! Authors with **asterisks have either fallen off my radar or new to me, and I'm might read them this time around. Release dates mostly between September 15, 2021 and October 14, 2021. For more Upcoming Releases that aren't historical see HEY DELIA!!
 
Series indicates a series, spin-off, sequel, trilogy, brother/sister, secret society/spies, good friends who attended Oxford/Eton, vampire/werewolf - anything that has something continuing - even if written 20 years ago. Anthology/novella/short stories could be an anthology or a bunch of books in one print or novella - one tiny book or an anthology with a bunch of novellas - could be a short stories by one author, could be short stories by multiple authors - could be - I'm getting a headache. Ebook, only sold electronically for now. Debut - congratulations!

By the way, it is not my fault if a publisher changes the release dates - just so you know, they do not consult me. Let me also add this warning - since I am now using different sources, I am finding that one person's genre isn't necessarily another persons - sorry if your book is in the wrong genre.  

Another by the way - look at Callie Hutton's book cover. Does the man remind you of anyone you might have seen on Netflix lately? I'll give you a hint, his co-star was Phoebe Dynevor. I would not be surprised to see a number of Romanceland covers with a pretend Rege'-Jean Page this year. Shall we start counting?

Even though it's 500 degrees outside, it's time for the Holiday books to begin.

Historical Romance

	Ann Lethbridge http://www.annlethbridge.com The Viscount's Reckless Temptation September 28
	Callie Hutton http://www.calliehutton.com A Rose for Laura, ebook Rose Room Rogues September 30
	Carla Kelly* Carol Arens Eva Shepherd A Victorian Family Christmas September 28
	Cheryl Bolen* Samantha Grace Lana Williams Collette Cameron Sasha Cottman Barbara Monajem Suzanna Medeiros Alina K. Field Christmas Kisses: anthology, ebook October 12
	Diane Gaston* http://www.dianegaston.com Lord Grantwell's Christmas Wish Captains of Waterloo     September 28
	Ella Matthews The Knight's Maiden in Disguise King’s Knights September 28
	Janna MacGregor* Eloisa James Christi Caldwell Erica Ridley  Mistletoe Christmas      September 28
	Kathryn Le Veque http://www.kathrynleveque.com Wolfelord, ebook De Wolfe Pack September 16
	Kate Bateman** http://www.kcbateman.com A Reckless Match Ruthless Rivals September 28
	Lenora Bell http://www.lenorabell.com/ Seduction is a Scoundrel Wallflowers vs. Rogues September 28
	Linda Broday http://www.LindaBroday.com A Cowboy Christmas Legend Lone Star Legends September 28
	Lorraine Heath* https://www.lorraineheath.com The Duchess Hunt Once Upon a Dukedom September 28
	Madeline Hunter* Sabrina Jeffries Mary Jo Putney A Yuletide Kiss September 28
	Marguerite Kaye* http://www.margueritekaye.com The Earl Who Sees Her Beauty Revelations of the Carstairs Sisters September 28
	Minerva Spencer http://minervaspencer.com/ Infamous Rebels of the Ton September 28
	Sally MacKenzie http://www.sallymackenzie.net/ Cheers to the Duke Widow’s Brew September 28
	Sandra Sookoo http://www.sandrasookoo.com The Balloonist’s Wager, ebook September 22
	Scarlett Scott http://www.scarlettscottauthor.com Sutton’s Spinster, ebook The Sinful Suttons October 7
	Sophie Barnes http://www.sophiebarnes.com The Dishonored Viscount, ebook Diamonds in the Rough September 21
	Stephanie Laurens http://www.stephanielaurens.com/ The Meaning of Love, ebook Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Chronicles, October 14
	Suzanne Enoch* Amelia Grey Anna Bennett Kissing Under the Mistletoe September 28
	Virginia Heath* http://www.virginiaheathromance.com How Not to Chaperon a Lady Talk of the Beau Monde September 28

Historical Fiction

	Anne O’Brien http://www.anneobrien.co.uk/ The Royal Game September 16
	Jim Woolard When the Missouri Ran Red September 28
	Laura Morelli http://www.lauramorelli.com     The Stolen Lady September 21
	Lecia Cornwall http://www.leciacornwall.com/ The Woman at the Front October12
	Paula Beavan https://paulajbeavan.com/about/     Daughter of the Hunter Valley      September 29
	Susanna Kearsley http://www.susannakearsley.com/index.html The Vanished Days Stines October 7
	Wendy Holden http://www.wendyholden.com      The Duchess September 28

The Highlander's Irish Bride by Vanessa Kelly

August 23, 2021

Another Scottish tree trunk.

https://www.vanessakellyauthor.com/
I have to ask, are Scottish men really so big? In most all of the historical Scottish Romanceland books I’ve read, the male Scots seem to tower over everyone. I’ve been to highland games. I haven’t noticed a slew of giants wandering around the tents. So, I did some googling. Much to my surprise, I found information that said…yes, they used to be big. Once upon a time, male Scots were the biggest European men around. They used to be 6’ or more, but hey…things have changed. Thanks to junk food, they’re now just like all the other 5’10” guys wondering around. I guess the Scots in the books can still be tree trunks, just not the ones walking through my neighborhood.

Anyway, The Highlander’s Irish Bride, by Vanessa Kelly, is the fourth book in the Clan Kendrick series. Kathleen Calvert is the troublesome heroine, and Grant Kendrick is the stodgy hero. I have not read any of the books in the series, but I may after reading this one. Evidently Grant wasn’t always such a stick in the mud. He and his twin brother used to cause all kinds of trouble. But now, he’s turned over a new leaf, he’s alllll business…no longer running wild. And, his family is worried about him. Evidently, the Kendrick family can never be happy. They were disturbed when Grant was a wild lad, and now they're disturbed when he’s a responsible man. There’s just no winning with this family. In a rather convoluted, contrived plot, Grant is put in charge of escorting Kathleen Calvert to a Scottish estate somewhere in a Scottish forest. Kathleen wants to go to Ireland where the grass is green, because Scotland doesn’t have green grass, or hills, or mountains. There is a bit of a tug-o-war between Kathleen and Grant.

There seemed to be a whole lot of characters connected to other books in this story. Every time someone was mentioned, I had to go to Fantastic Fiction to look their names up. It seemed to me that Ms. Kelly may have connected all of her books. In order for me to find out, I would have to spend a lot of time googling, or reading all of her books. I haven’t made up my mind yet which one I will do. Anyway, there are several characters in this story that are from previous books. While this story is a standalone book, knowing that a plethora of characters had their own stories was a distraction. I’m not fond of distractions in my books.

Road trip. So, wild Kathleen and boring Grant are on the road to Scotland, or Ireland, depending on who has the upper hand. They have adventures on the way to the green hills. There are thieves and villains’ all over the place. I liked Kathleen and Grant. They balanced each other out. Tooooo bad the story didn’t focus more on them. Let’s talk about what drew me out of the story: Angus and Jeannie.

Angus and Jeannie. The difference between a good secondary characters, and an irritating secondary characters. This book has them both. One adds to the story, and one drags the story down. Let’s start with the character who added to the story: Angus. I love characters who are fun. And yes, comedy is subjective. I believe it’s even harder to read comedy. When we watch a funny movie, we see the humor…usually. But to read comic words on a blank page, and pick up on the author’s intend, that’s hard. When I’m presented with a character who makes me smile, and on occasion laugh, I’m impressed. When it came to the eccentric Angus, I chuckled. He made me happy. The author succeeded in conveying written “fun.” Then, there was Jeannie.

Has anyone ever seen the 1956 movie, The Bad Seed? While Jeannie didn’t drown anyone, or burn anyone up in a bunch of excelsior, Jeannie was nonetheless really irritating. You know, irritating is an interesting word. It doesn’t really express my feelings for Jeannie in The Highlander’s Irish Bride. She was more than just spoiled, more than just a brat, but just not quite a bad seed. No one seemed able to discipline her, or even care what she was up to. I see her future life full of tap-dancing on someone’s forehead.  She was a despicable character. She was a character who wasn’t written with any redeeming qualities. Jeannie was a bigggg negative to the narrative of the book. When I was finished reading this story, I didn’t remember how lovely the romance was, or how Angus made me laugh.  No, what I remembered most was how insufferable Jeannie was.  That’s not what I want from a romance.

Bottom line. Sweet romance, funny grandfather, detestable sister.

Time/Place: Road Trip Scotland

Sensuality: Warm

Romance: B-

Angus: A-

Jeannie: F

Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas

August 18, 2021

Sebastian’s Back! And, We Have Him! Sort of…

https://lisakleypas.com/

Lisa Kleypas returns to her Ravenel/Wallflower series with Devil in Disguise. The heroine of this story is Lady Merritt Sterling. Merritt is the oldest child of Marcus, Earl of Westcliff and Lillian.  Marcus and Lillian were the happy couple in It Happened One Autumn.  Our hero in Devil in Disguise is Keir MacRae. As it turns out, Keir is the illegitimate son of Sebastian, from The Devil in Winter. Are you still following along? Before your brain goes down the infidelity path, don’t worry. Ms. Kleypas has followed the rules of Romanceland. Keir was born before Sebastian met Evie. Although, I would swear that Sebastian said he was always careful. I guess there must have been an oops with those French letters. I’m about to go on a small rant. At least, Keir was born before Evie came along, and not after! Remember what happened with Stephanie Lauren’s Sebastian Cynster?  I shall forever be traumatized by that story line!  What a kick in the head to Romance readers the Cynster Sebastian turned out to be. Anyway, unless there are anymore of Kleypas’ Sebastian by-blows showing up, I’m not throwing the book against the wall. Besides that, Sebastian is my second favorite Kleypas hero…no one can ever beat out Derek Craven. Back to Devil in Disguise. While a number of characters from the Wallflower and Ravenels series show up, they don’t overpower the story. It was nice to see some of the characters, but Sebastian did steal the show. PS, if you haven’t read any books from either series…sputter, sputter…I cannot find the words.

Merritt is a widow, which in Romanceland means experienced. Unless of course, she was married to a virgin-husband. Merritt inherited her husband’s shipping company, and she loves her job. She is also a city girl. She loves her life in the city, and everything city dwelling entails. She is a little lonely. Enter our handsome hero, Keir. He hates the city…loathes the city. The city smells, and it’s crowded. The noise hurts his ears. He’s from Scotland, which happens to be the only place in Romanceland novels which makes whiskey. Evidently Scotland makes the bestest whiskey…tastes like cinnamon, honeycombs, and peat. I have to ask, Isn’t peat some kind of dirt, or decayed leaves/grass? Ummm, yum…dirt. Makes my mouth water. Hey, barkeep! Pour me some of that dirt. Put some salt around the rim while you’re at it. Nothing disguises dirt better than salt.

Anyway, Merritt and Keir meet. Body-parts start twitching…big-time. Merritt has been without a twitcher suppressor for a long time. She becomes the aggressor, and Keir doesn’t resist all that much. After-all he is a man. They go into the relationship knowing that their differences are toooo far apart for anymore than a casual romp. Then someone tries to kill Keir, he gets stitches, they have boisterous willie-winker, he gets conked over the head. Guess what happens when he wakes up? Go ahead, I’ll give you a hint…it’s one of my least favorite plots. Yes! He has amnesia! I am not fond of amnesia in novels. In this particular novel, the only reason I could see for it to be in the story was to lengthen the book. It didn’t add anything to the story. Or, maybe it was just an easy way to solve the major differences between Merritt and Kier’s life styles. The amnesia was used as a reason to journey into the countryside to protect Kier.  For some reason Merritt was the only one who could nurse him through his brain-bonk. For me, this part of the story was a little convoluted.

While I enjoyed seeing Sebastian again, I thought the romance between Merritt and Keir was weak. The problems which this couple would have, were not addressed. Instead we get amnesia, and a find-the-killer story. There were nice moments between Sebastian and Keir, but I’m not sure why the two men had to be related to each other.  

 

Another small rant coming on. Merritt’s secret was also resolved toooo easily, and I have to agree with some other readers. I don’t think the only way a woman can be fulfilled is to have biological children. There are many people who don’t have children, and they are delighted with their lives. Merritt was a strong person, she seemed to be happy with herself…I don’t think she needed a baby to make her whole. There are many women out there who are complete, and at the same time don’t have children. If you want to have children, great! I have one myself! She’s my friend. But, I also know women who don’t have any child.  And you know what! Those women are pretty whole. You would think, after all these years that the stigma of a childless woman would not still be so prevalent. I’m done with my rant.

Overall. It was fun seeing Evie, Sebastian, Lillian, and Marcus again. But I was disappointed in the rushed romance between Merritt and Keir. I found the “HEA” ending of Merritt disturbing, and I am left to wonder if this couple will truly work out.

 

Time/Place: 1880 England 

Sensuality: Hot