With Seduction in Mind by Laura Lee Guhrke

http://www.lauraleeguhrke.com/index.htm
Laura Lee Guhrke has written some of my favorite books, she's also written some books that are considered controversial. This book, With Seduction in Mind, is part of her Bachelor Girls series and I really enjoyed it.

I found it a fascinating journey into Writerland. Both the main characters in this book are writers. Sebastian is a famous author on his way down, in fact Daisy calls him a second rate Oscar Wilde. And Daisy is an unpolished, unpublished, eager to begin writer. These two characters are witty, intelligent and well matched. Sebastian really reminded me of those cynical actors from the 30/40's, George Sanders, Clifton Webb and the storyline was like some old movies, Twentieth Century with Carole Lombard, His Girl Friday with Gary Grant and A Star is Born. There are some really great lines in this book. One of my favorite line in the book is when Sebastian is critiquing Daisy's book, "You have to kill the dog." You know the more I think about this book, the more I like it.

Now, something that may bother others, but didn't me. As I read this book, the romance between the two characters seemed to be a background for a story about writing. I really have to recommend this story to anyone who is trying their hand at writing, it has some really great insight into that world.

This is a stand alone book, even though it is a part of a series.

Time period: 1896 England
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Hot

The Conqueror's Lady by Terry Brisbin

http://www.terribrisbin.com/
Another disappointment. The Conqueror's Lady by Terri Brisbin started out promising, but by the end, I just wanted it to be over. It takes place in what must have been just a horrible time for the people of England, right after the Battle of Hastings. Personally, this is one of my favorite time periods to read about, there was so much going on historically, so, I was intrigued by a chance to read something not in the Regency time.

Ms. Brisbin does do a good job capturing the realities of that time, it's just too bad I didn't like the characters. Giles Fitzhenry, a bastard Norman is granted the land that Fayth's Saxon family owned. He is also granted Fayth as a wife. For me there are just too many problems that needed to be solved in the space of 300 pages. Giles is a bastard, he is governing land where the people hate him, his Norman neighbor hates him, he can't trust his wife, he may have killed her father, he can't read. Fayth is hiding big big secrets, she can't trust Giles, she doesn't tell him things she should and she is really close to be a TSTL heroine. Of the two characters in this book, I found Giles to be the better written.

And oh yes, this is the second in a The Knights of Brittany series, I probably won't be picking up the third.

Time Period: England 1066
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Warm

The Laird who Love Me by Karen Hawkins

http://www.karenhawkins.com/
This is supposed to be the finale of the MacLean series, however, something about the ending of this one made me wonder if there would be more. Because the curse didn't end! The Laird who Loved Me by Karen Hawkins is a revenge story. Now, I'm not really sure how the subject matter is chosen by publishers, but this is the fourth book in a row I've read that has a revenge plot.

Sorry to say (because I love Karen Hawkins) I had a number of problems with this book: First of all the revenge plot. The hero, Alex, is going to ruin the heroine, Caitlyn...why? Because she was, in a round about way, responsible for tricking his brother and her sister into marriage (see: Sleepless in Scotland). They are perfectly happy, so why does he want to ruin her I ask over and over and over and over. Didn't get it!
Secondly: the hero is 39, I think, the heroine is 23. Now, the age difference wouldn't bother me if the characters were written a little bit better or should I say the hero, because he is so obsessive about reeking revenge on Caitlyn, one would think he was a 12 year old boy.
Third: the two characters have this silly wager thing going on and neither one of them thinks about any of the physical harm that can be done by any of these wagers. And there are people that get hurt. I think this was supposed to be funny, but it wasn't. Fourth: There were parts of this book that seemed like whole chapters were just deleted. You see our heroine going to do one of her wagers and then the next chapter the wager is completed and won, but you never actually read about it. Our hero gets stung by bees, while climbing a tree, but you hear about it instead of seeing it. The villainous ex-mistress storyline just ends and you don't get to see her getting her comeuppance. When the hero and heroine go their separate ways, you never get to see the hero suffering or thinking it over, he just shows up at her house and all is forgiven.

This book is an example of some really sloppy writing or editing or both. If you've been reading the MacLean series, I'd say read this one, but check it out of your local library.

Incidentally, the tartan on this cover connects to the tartan on the last book cover.

Time: England and Scotland Regency
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Hot

Her Ladyship's Companion by Evangeline Collins

Nice cover
http://www.georgianaearl.com/
Warnings! Virgin Wife Alert!

This is an interesting book to review, because the writing in this book was very good. I'm always rather dubious when a book is categorized as "erotic" because the writing in a lot of those books just isn't very good. However, instead of page after page of sex (and there was) there is some really strong character development. Her Ladyship's Companion is Evangeline Collins debut novel and it's a good start and I will probably read her next one.

Infidelity! One of the verboten topics of romanceland is books that have infidelity in them and for the most part only a few authors tackle that topic. I have my own rules about it in books, it has be before the book began and they have to work that problem out or it has to be accidental. Accidental as in they think their spouse is dead. It can never be after they have developed a relationship and then it happens, hate that! So, what's my point? The heroine of this book, the virgin wife, becomes involved with a male prostitute, Gideon (the hero). The husband is still alive and he is really an abusive skank! I'm not sure if men can be skanks, but this one was. Anyway, this part of the book was one of the things that kept me from giving it a higher rating.

I also had a problem with the brothers of the heroine. They were both very selfish men, and they distracted from the story because the author told us a little about their background, but didn't tie up any loose ends with them. A quick check of the author's website does not indicate that she's writing about them, so I wondered why tell us all the details?

The character I liked the best in the book was, much to my surprise Gideon, the hero aka male prostitute. And I give credit to Ms. Collins superb writing for making him such a sympathetic character. I could really understand how the heroine, Isabella, came to love him. I found it harder to understand how Gideon came to love Isabella and even though they had their required HEA, I see problems in the future for them. Of course, this is fiction, but Isabella's character doesn't seem strong enough to handle the problems that one would run into if one would marry a ex-male prostitute.

I was also distracted by the use of certain words that were used during sex; that always get my dander up. I have never, ever found any of them to be sexy in any way, and if anyone would ever say them or shout them to me during the big moment, I'd have to laugh at them. You know those words: the "F" word, the other "C" word. And while I'm on the subject of sex, the heroine had the "BIG O" waaay to many times.

So, this was a hard book for me to review, I liked the writing but I can't say I loved the book. It was an interesting try by a first time author.

Time: Regency Scotland
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Scorcher

Surrender of a Siren by Tessa Dare

http://tessadare.com/
Privateer/Reformed Pirate Alert!

How can I like books that have my pet peeves in them. Easy, it is the writing. Ms Dare's first book had the stubborn heroine, and this book has the reformed Pirate/Privateer as the hero. Surrender of a Siren is the second book in a trilogy by Tessa Dare and what a wonderful book it is! It is a stand alone book, but I recommend reading the first one, just for the pure enjoyment.

Sophia was one of the very interesting secondary characters from the first book, and she don's the disguise of a governess in this one to escape marriage to someone she doesn't love. Don't like disguises either, but I have so many pet peeves, it's only logical that I'm going to trip over some of them. Anyway, she boards a ship owned by Benedict Grayson, who has just given up being a scoundrel and is trying to live the straight and narrow. Did I happen to mention that Sophia lies, she makes up some whopping stories and she wants grand passion. So much for "Gray's" plan.

Sophia is an interesting character, she's selfish and she hurts people, however she isn't a mean person. She eventually learns about herself, partly because of her friendship with a 15 year old boy, David (well constructed character). And, while I'm on the subject of well-constructed secondary characters, this book is filled with them. The interaction that Gray has with his brother Joss is almost as interesting as the interaction between Sophia and Gray. Ms. Dare writes fully developed secondary characters that are more than just backdrops for the romance. And there is a wonderful touching scene between Gray and his brother as they try to resolve some of their differences.

The only problem I had was with Gray's reaction when he found out about Sophia's money. However, that's just a small quibble, because it didn't last very long.

So far, I've really enjoyed Tessa Dare, but now I have to wait almost three weeks for the third installment. The third installment, A Lady of Persuasion, is about Toby, Sophia's spurned fiancee and Isabel, Gray's Quaker sister.

Part of trilogy
Time Period: Regency
Place: Mostly on ship
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Warm to Hot

Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare

http://tessadare.com/
Stubborn Heroine Warning!

Lucy, I'm home! Lucy is the heroine of Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare. And for those of you who don't like stubborn heroines, this book may just get on your nerves. However, if you can get past that you won't want to miss the emergence of another gifted writer. This is the beginning of a trilogy: Surrender of a Siren, in August and A Lady of Persuasion, follows in September.

This is one where the heroine has always been infatuated with her boyhood friend Toby, Toby is interested in Sophia and Jeremy is in lust with Lucy. There are a few funny moments and a few embarrassing moments and times when if Lucy had been a little less stubborn, certain things wouldn't have happened. Anyway, after a few mix-ups Lucy and Jeremy marry and the story does a slight change, because it is at this point that Lucy grows up. You are either going to hate Lucy or like her. The attractions between Lucy and Jeremy is great, though they both struggle with it, but this is a romance book after all and those two should have given up the struggle long before they did. In the end these two characters complement each other.

I loved all of the secondary characters and thought Sophia was funny. Incidentally Lucy wants to hate Sophia because she's everything Lucy isn't, but they become friends. And, I enjoyed that part of the story. There is also a very hot wardrobe scene.

I am looking forward to the next one, which is Sophia's story.

Number 1 in a trilogy
Time: Regency England
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Warm/Hot

Reynold deBurgh, the Dark Knight by Deborah Simmons

http://www.deborahsimmons.com/
This is a hard one to write, a triply hard one to write. I really wanted this to be a good book, first of all because Deborah Simmons is one of my favorite authors and she has written one of my 10 favorite books. Secondly, she had some contract problems about three years ago and has been struggling ever since, trying to find a new niche. Thirdly, this brings back the ever popular de Burgh family. Maybe I was hoping for too much.

This book was boring, it had none of her trademark humor and much to my chagrin, some of her new mystery mode was thrown in. I wish Harlequin would have left her alone.

Bottom line, if you have read the other books in the deBurgh series, you will want to read this one about Reynold. If you haven't read any in the series, then you could probably pass on it.

Tear in eye.

Series: De Burgh series
Time: Medieval England
Rating:
Sensuality Rating: Warm