Category / Historical

by mvbookreviewer

Review: Never Trust a Pirate by Anne Stuart

Format: E-booknevertrustapirate
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Hero: Thomas Morgan (Luca)
Heroine: Madeleine Rose Russell
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: December 3, 2013
Started On: January 12, 2014
Finished On: January 12, 2014

Never Trust a Pirate by Anne Stuart is her second book in the Scandal at the House of Russell series. Scandal at the House of Russell is a series that centers around the three Russell sisters left destitute in the wake of the scandalous demise and death of their father, who the three daughters believe was framed and murdered. Having been thrust into a life of hardship with their riches stripped away, the series tells the story of each sister as they embark to find the truth, and finding love with the most unusual of men in the most unusual of circumstances. And Never Trust a Pirate tells the story of the middle of sister Madeleine Rose Russell aka Maddy.

Maddy finds herself taking up the task of seeking the truth behind their father’s demise by following a cryptic clue in a hastily scribbled note left by their father. The phrase “never trust a pirate” finds her seeking the position of a maid at Captain Thomas Morgan’s residence, willing to spy on the man Maddy believes to have played a hand in her father’s death. But things however go far from according to plan as Maddy makes up close and personal acquaintance with the man in question hours before she finds out that the seemingly old captain that she’d been thinking he would be turns out to be a man who fascinates her on levels beyond her understanding.

Thomas Morgan (Luca) is a man who belongs in the ocean, sailing the ships that he is supremely famous for commandeering and of course an immensely wealthy man who is rumored to have been a pirate once. Though restlessness hits him every now and then, Luca is determined to go down the road of domesticity, and is engaged to be married, when the most insufferable woman he had ever crossed paths with and he hasn’t been able to put out of his mind ever since he claimed those scorching kisses from her turns out to be the new maid at his residence.

Luca knows just like he knows that he isn’t who he claims to be that Maddy is not whom she is impersonating herself to be. And when he realizes who she exactly is, it doesn’t douse the fire that burns and rages inside of him to possess the woman who haunts his every waking thought from that first kiss onwards, rather it burns stronger than ever until Luca is driven to the point of madness. While Maddy tries to outwit Luca in a game that he is far more good at, an outside force that truly does not want the Russell sisters from ever finding out the truth sets out to silence their quest for the truth forever.

Never Trust a Pirate proved to be a fascinating tale in every single aspect. Luca or rather Luca is the type of hero that is unforgettable, long after you turn the very last page. Dangerous, wily and charming with a rough past, Luca is your proverbial bad boy hero come to life, the badness tampered down a bit to suite societal needs. But one look at his gorgeous frame you know that no other hero would ever claim the place he would forever hold in your heart. And best of all, Luca fits the type of hero that Anne Stuart is famous for; ruthless and dangerous, even when it comes to the heroine herself. Don’t get me wrong, what makes men like Luca so alluring is the fact that there are those seemingly small deviations from their behavioral norm that lets the reader witness just how affected he is by the heroine and Luca was definitely no exception to the rule.

Maddy proved to be someone equally interesting. Having never let herself grieve for all she had lost, Maddy holds all that anger and grief deep inside of her, ready to change everything, if nothing else by her sheer force of will and determination. And that is exactly how she embarks on her quest to uncover the truth til she sets her eyes on Luca and her world as she knows it comes tumbling down right in front of her. Inquisitive by nature, Maddy has a hard time playing the meek role required of a maid. And even knowing that Luca might be responsible or even partly so in terms of what had happened to her father, Maddy finds that the way she is drawn towards Luca doesn’t seem to abate, if anything it seems to grow in strength by the day.

The sexual tension was top notch and oh dear god what followed was more so, the dialog between Luca and Maddy witty and the other secondary characters in the story well developed to give a well rounded story that I finished within just one day, a rare occurrence for me of late when novels hardly seem to hold my fascination for that long. But like almost every single Anne Stuart I have read to date, the story seemed to call out to me until I had finished the very last chapter, and that too with an altogether too huge a smile on my face. I can’t wait to read the third book in this series that will hopefully conclude and give answers to the mystery surrounding the demise and death of their father.

Final Verdict: Carries all the trademarks of a classic Anne Stuart. Definitely recommended!

Favorite Quotes

He kissed her again, hard at first, as if imprinting his claim on her, and then more slowly, brushing his mouth against hers, softly, back and forth, and she knew her lips were trembling beneath his. Her words were her best weapon, but they were locked in her throat as she felt his tongue, his outrageous, shocking tongue intrude into her mouth and the sensations moved through her body like fire.

He pushed her fully back against the wall, both hands on her breasts now, and there was only a thin bit of cloth between them, a thin bit of cloth he pulled down, so that she felt the rough texture of his calloused hands on her sensitized skin and she let out a helpless moan of pleasure against his mouth. His knee was between her legs, and somehow she’d ended up straddling it, so that it was pushing up against that damp, most sensitive part of her, and she wanted… she wanted…

His voice was no more than a low, carnal whisper. “I could show you so much more. All you have to do is tell me your name.”
She wanted to. She wanted to do everything he asked of her, and more, just for the sweet, drugging pleasure. She opened her mouth to betray all her secrets, only to gasp in shock as he bent down and put his mouth on one hardened nipple. He made a soft growl as his mouth tugged at her, but it was nothing compared to the heat that flashed through her, and her fingers dug into his shoulders, savoring the exquisite sensation. More, she thought. Please, I need more.

“Speaking of which, what put her out. Dorrit use chloroform? That’s not his lay.”
“I hit her.”
Billy looked at him in astonishment. “Jayzus,” he said with a whistle. “You really must love her.”
Luca stalked away.

He pushed all the way in, and a spasm of pure delight tightened her body around him, and he seemed to swell inside her. “Hurry,” she whispered in clawing desperation, fighting for release.
“No. I want to savor this.” His answering thrusts, slow and steady, made her want to scream in frustration. But he couldn’t control her body, any more than she could, and he’d only thrust a half-dozen times before she climaxed, her body clenching down on his, her skin prickling in an endless contraction that left her breathless and panting.

When she fell back again, panting, he kissed her breathless mouth. “I can keep this up for hours.”
“Why?” she gasped.
His laugh touched strange places inside her. “Because there’s no where else I’d rather be. I want to stay inside you forever, I want to make you come so hard you can’t even think, I want to forget where I end and you begin. I want everything from you, Maddy Rose. Everything.”

Fuck. Such a dirty, nasty, erotic little word. That was what he was doing to her. And she wanted more.
His hands on her breasts set off another paroxysm of pleasure, and this time when he moved again he was faster, his breathing a little more shallow. And then, to her shock and despair, he pulled out of her completely.
She cried out, reaching for him, but he simply turned her onto her knees, pushing her hands down on the mattress, her face into the pillow, as he pushed inside her from behind.

Purchase Links: Amazon | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard by Vanessa Kelly

Format: E-booksecretsforseducingaroyalbodyguard
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: The Renegade Royals, #1
Publisher: Zebra Books
Hero: Aden St. George
Heroine: Lady Vivien Shaw
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: January 7, 2014
Started On: January 5, 2014
Finished On: January 12, 2014

Secrets of Seducing a Royal Bodyguard by Vanessa Kelly is her first book in The Renegade Royals series. Having never read a Vanessa Kelly prior to this, I had not idea what to expect when I delved into the 400+ pages of this story. What initially drew me to check this book out of course was the cover. Who can resist a cover such as this one with a hero who looks good enough to eat? And then the synopsis turned out to be one that intrigued me enough to give this a go.

Vanessa Kelly has the sort of writing that definitely makes a story easy to read. Though the first 1/3rd of the book could have picked up in pace a bit, the latter part of the story turned out to be fun and delicious with the ongoing thread of mystery and danger interwoven together.

Aden St. George works for the Secret Service and his newest assignment takes him to the delectable Lady Vivien Shaw, who has a somewhat murky reputation amongst the ton. Having grown up with a father who had resented his very presence in the household, Aden had been a child who had learnt early on in life to hold his emotions in and to never make himself vulnerable. When he finds his heart and emotions being invaded bit by bit by Vivien, Aden tries his darnedest to repair the armors around his heart and soul but to no avail.

Lady Vivien is a woman who stands at the brink of disaster. One wrong move could destroy everyone that she holds dear to her heart not to mention the added danger of being abducted and held against her will until her knight in shining armor had rescued her and made her feel like she had found a safe haven inside the circle of his arms. Once Vivien realizes that the danger to her life is one that wouldn’t cease until Aden and his colleagues can uncover who it is that wants to harm her, Vivien realizes that her work is going to be cut out for her in her determination to do what she must to save her family.

Vivien has had her fair share of suitors, amorous in their intentions and otherwise, but nothing prepares her for the sheer impact of Aden’s continued presence in her life. Each heat laden gaze and touch sends her senses spinning and the stolen kisses that comes later on makes Vivien yearn to be taken by Aden in every single way a man can take and possess a woman. Combine Vivien’s innocence together with that of Aden’s expertise and Vivien’s determined nature to make Aden see the light, well fireworks fly in every direction, not to mention the fact that it makes for some very hilarity ridden scenes too!

I loved Aden as a hero. His tall, dark and silent manner at times made him intriguing and of course the kindness that is deep inside of him which shines through with his thoughts that are in continuous turmoil and his actions made me fall for him that much deeper. I loved Vivien too. The way she seemed to find herself in the most hilarious circumstances made her an enjoyable heroine and the fact that she wasn’t afraid to stand up for what she wants and believes in and fights till there’s nothing left to fight with earned her my wholehearted admiration. All in all, I would say, a fairly enjoyable debut novel that certainly hints at more to come. Recommended!

Final Verdict: Mirth, sizzle & mystery makes for an unbeatable combo in this delicious debut to series!

Favorite Quotes

“Wha . . . what are you doing?” she stammered.
“I’m answering your question,” he murmured, the dark rumble making her shiver.
Then he moved, tilting her back over his arm as he swooped in to kiss her. His mouth fastened over hers. Not gently, either. He plundered her lips, demanding entrance with a masculine arrogance that swept past her resistance in one skipped heartbeat.

As if she were in a trance, her hand drifted up to touch her lips. They felt hot and swollen. His pupils seemed to dilate, flaring as he tracked her movement. Vivien let her hand drop to his chest, sliding her fingers past the lapels of his coat to clutch the fine linen of his cravat. Beneath her fingertips, his heart thrummed in a rapid, steady beat, his life and heat flowing into her hand.

And then he touched her, right there, right on the tight little bundle of flesh that ached with need. He slicked his fingers and rubbed her until she began to tremble in his arms. Contractions rippled from her womb, finally coalescing in luxurious spasms that pulled from her mouth a startled cry. When she arched back, letting the waves wash over her, Aden pressed a hot kiss to her breastbone, right above her heart.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | ARe | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Emerald Rain by Maggie Osborne

Format: Paperbackemeraldrain
Read with: NA
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Hero: March Addison
Heroine: Eulalie Pritchard
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: June 5, 1991
Started On: December 30, 2013
Finished On: January 5, 2014

Emerald Rain by Maggie Osborne is one of those romances that reaffirms my belief in the reason why romance would always be my preferred genre to read. I had almost but not quite, forgotten just how good a Maggie Osborne romance could be and why I had actually spent a small fortune in acquiring these out of print titles of hers for my collection. Even those novels that can be considered lackluster when it comes to Maggie Osborne are titles that still gives you a read to remember. This being otherwise I would say made a wonderful start to my reading for the year 2014!

24 year old Eulalie Pritchard (Lalie) makes her way to Brazil to follow her fiance’ to Hiberalta, a journey that would take her through the perilous Amazon jungle and the river that runs through it. Lalie lives by the strict rules of English society, her prim and properness a facet to her character that irritates March Addison from the first moment he lays eyes on her. The son of Earl of Addison, March has carved a name for himself in the Amazon as a renowned businessman in the booming rubber industry in Brazil and Lalie believes that nothing of the gentleman she had encountered 10 years back lives inside of him now.

Lalie expects the rough around the edges March to ferry her up to Hiberalta as quickly as possible and March in return expects fluff of her kind to depart from the country within a week. Both Lalie and March have surprises in store for the other as a trip that takes 3-5 months to complete bares everyone aboard down to their very basics. Living primitively does the one thing that wouldn’t be obvious while living in polite society, and that is to bring to light all the characteristics, good and the bad that drives a person. And that is exactly what happens when March takes Lalie on board despite all the misgivings he has when it comes to the most infuriating, beautiful and enticing woman he has ever come across all his life.

Lalie is determined if nothing else to live, to never be labeled as the woman who never lived a full life. Her infatuation with her fiance is seemingly what drives Lalie to seek the trip on her own but as the days fade into weeks, just like the rules of propriety that Lalie was determined to stick to at the beginning of the trip are stripped away one by one, feelings of the most wanton and unexpected variety seems to fill her heart, body and soul where March is concerned.

As swift as the currents in the Amazon that propels their vessel forward, so does the desire that explodes to surface where March and Lalie are concerned, a desire that is as primitive as the Indians that live amidst the jungle that surrounds the waters. Maggie Osborne always does a remarkable job in creating her heroes and March Addison is another exemplary specimen. One can almost imagine the sinewiness to his musculature, his sensual lips and the totally alpha male vibe that just seems to cling to him. His strength of character is one of the many things that made him an appealing hero and his honor one that made me fall irrevocably in love with him.

Lalie’s character makes me remember a friend of mine whose sheer determination carries her through a lot of hurdles in her life. Lalie who has had a privileged upbringing, is in short, a dreamer. Having seen her fiance through the eyes of infatuation, Lalie had missed out on the crucial aspects of his character to which she is brutally made aware of as the time of reckoning draws closer. While her heart, mind, body and soul yearns for the touch of the man who should be all sorts of wrong for her, Lalie is determined that she keep her word where her fiance is concerned. There were many a times that I literally burst out in laughter due to Lalie’s sometimes innocent and yet honest to God nature that she tries to hide behind all the rules of propriety. Lalie has the sort of hidden sensuality that would drive any red blooded man insane with wanting and that is the kind of wanting that leaves March reeling from the sheer force of it all.

The sexual tension wrought in the novel is top notch, one that made me sigh, squirm and want to prolong the read as much as possible. And one reason I love Osborne novels so much is that she is not afraid to deliver on the said tension when the time comes. And believe me, all that sexual tension Osborne puts the reader through was worth every nail biting moment of it and I was sighing all throughout every beautiful second of it.

Highly recommended!

Final Verdict: Sensuous and a whole lot of adventurous; Maggie Osborne delivers a tale as steamy as the Amazon itself. Not to be missed!

Favorite Quotes

A moaning sound came from her parted lips. Her breasts were thrust against his chest as her head fell backward and her eyes closed. Her fingers dug into his shoulders and her legs wrapped around his, pulling him more tightly against her until his erection throbbed between them, a rigid strength pressing against her soft, yielding body.

“Lalie,” he whispered. He slid one hand to the small of her back and held her pressed against him, his other hand moved slowly to cup her breast, teasing the hard nipple. Her breath was as rapid and choked as his when she met his eyes with a look filled with helpless urgency.

With tormenting slowness, exercising a patience and tenderness he had not known he possessed, he moved his month and tongue over her throat, teasing upward toward the swollen promise of her lips. His hand slid up her back go cup her small head.
“Oh my god March… March..”
Her words emerged part sob, part plea, and her body tightened around his.

Then she raised her face to his clenched jaw, his hard mouth, and finally defenseless, she surrendered to the dark eyes burning down into hers. Their stared locked and held. Her breast rose and trembled on a dry, scorching breath. A yearning sound almost like a sob caught in her throat.
And she wanted.

Her body moved against his; her hands rose and she buried her fingers in his thick hair as her mouth opened beneath his to receive his plundering tongue. Gasping, almost sobbing with the bliss and relief of finally knowing his kiss, Lalie clung to him, pulled him closer, closer, as if she could absorb him, as if by holding him tightly she could make this feverish moment last forever.

“On those nights when sleep won’t come, I’ll lie in my bed and remember the softness of your breast, the sweet curve of your waist. I’ll remember the lagoon, the sunshine on your eyelids. I’ll remember the taste of your skin and the scent of your hair… and I’ll wonder.”

“I’ll make love to other women, Lalie, but they won’t be you. I’ll feel that loss and wonder. All my life I will remember you and regret that I didn’t have you. All my life I will wonder at the feel and touch and scent of you. I will wonder if you would have cried my name. I will wonder if I would have given you pleasure. I will wonder and mourn my loss.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | AbeBooks

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Ruthless by Anne Stuart

Format: E-bookruthless
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: The House of Rohan, #1
Publisher: Mira
Hero: Francis Alistair St. Claire Dominic Charles Edward Rohan
Heroine: Elinor Harriman
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: August 1, 2010
Started On: December 24, 2013
Finished On: December 26, 2013

I stayed up till the wee hours of last night to finish the 1st book in The House of Rohan series by Anne Stuart. Stuart is famous for her ruthless brand of heroes that no author ever dares to write and Ruthless too features one of those delectable heroes, but I would say comparably toned down from the caliber of the heroes gracing her ICE series which is an absolute favorite of mine.

The House of Rohan is based in Paris in the 1700’s where Edward Rohan more famously known as “The King of Hell” for the sort of depravity that he thrives on meets the destitute Elinor Harriman who comes to his lair looking for her mother. Rohan is a man who conducts orgies of all kinds at his residence, the thrills which he used to get from holding such lascivious affairs at his residences now bordering on almost nothingness. When Elinor arrives, she makes Rohan sit up and take notice, and for the first time in a long while Rohan feels as if life runs through his veins rather than the dissatisfaction which had almost been on its way to taking up permanent residency in his life.

Elinor though has lived through a lot of hard times in her life is not prepared for the effect of Rohan on herself. Elinor who thinks herself above feeling anything remotely sexual finds herself oddly mesmerized even though she tries to strive for repulsed when it comes to Rohan. Rohan has no qualms about making a niche for himself in Elinor’s life whether she wants him to or not. And because Elinor would do anything to protect those she considers as hers, even if it means getting mixed up with the devil himself, she has no choice but to “agree” to the terms and conditions that are set by Rohan in his attempts to maintain the euphoria that he feels because she is in his life.

The House of Rohan is a series that has continually come up in my quest for more books to read by Anne Stuart. And it was only quite recently that I took the plunge and read one of her historical romances which convinced me to give these a go as well. From the skim reading that I did on a couple of reviews on this series, everyone seems to talk about just how depraved a man Rohan is. But I found him to be nothing extraordinary in that sense, perhaps because I was expecting a lot more than what was actually in the book where he is featured. I found myself enchanted by the man Rohan is, a complex man if ever there was one. Exiled from his own country and going through life from one pleasure gathering to another, Rohan might appear frivolous when he is exactly the opposite.

The endearing bit about his character is the other side of him that he keeps hidden from the rest of the world, the side of his he takes comfort from when things get to be too much for him to take. Rohan convinces himself that he feels nothing but a passing interest for the woman Elinor is and that the novelty would pass over soon enough. But each encounter between them pulls Rohan deeper into a web of wanting that he hasn’t felt for anyone ever, but Rohan is intent on experiencing the thrill of the chase as much as he can drag it on.

Elinor on the other hand, I had a problem with. Somehow, I just didn’t feel that she cared overly much about Rohan. She just never seemed to see through mostly the elaborate show that Rohan puts up, even when he behaves in a manner that is the complete antithesis of his character. Somehow I think Elinor was too caught up in aspects of her own life to really take notice of Rohan or perhaps it was her defense mechanism against a man whose enigmatic way with her makes her forget that when it comes to engaging in carnal pleasures, she is to remain cold and aloof.

As which is common occurrence when it comes to Anne Stuart, there wasn’t an epilogue tucked into the story but I managed to find the epilogue up on Anne’s website which more than made up for the lack of one in the story. I ended up reading the epilogue more than once with this silly grin on my face which is the end result of having read a book that made you lose sleep over it.

Recommended for fans of Anne Stuart and fans of historical romances.

Final Verdict: When it comes to ruthless heroes and complex plots, Stuart is the master of the game.

Favorite Quotes

“Your hands,” he said, startling her. “You’re quite ridiculously easy to read. You were wondering what I was going to go on about next. I’m quite fascinated by your hands.”
She immediately tucked her hands into her shawl, but he wasn’t deterred. “They don’t look particularly soft. Not the plump, white, useless hands most women have. You have long, beautiful fingers, narrow palms, and yet there’s strength in those hands. I rather think I want to feel them on my body.”

“Don’t…stop…” he groaned.
“I want you inside me,” she whispered. “I want you to finish in my body.”
His groan was powerful, and his need was great. Without another word he rolled over on top of her, shoving her shift up to her waist and pulling her legs apart, and she was just about to brace herself for the pain when he pushed inside her, hard, sliding deep into her with a smoothness that left her breathless, hungry.

He lifted his head, and then blew softly on her wet nipple. “I want to put my mouth everywhere on your body, poppet. I want to taste you all over. And then I want my cock to follow. I want to do things to you no one has ever dreamed of doing. I want to have you so completely that no one else has ever existed, only you and me.”

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

ARC Review: The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan

Format: E-bookthecountessconspiracy
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Brothers Sinister, #3
Publisher: Self-Published
Hero: Sebastian Malheur
Heroine: Violet Marie Waterfield
Sensuality: 2.9
Date of Publication: December 16, 2013
Started On: December 22, 2013
Finished On: December 24, 2013

Why do books that you have been anticipating for so much so that you stalk the author’s website on regular basis just to find out whether the release date of the book you are coveting for has drawn any nearer always tends to disappoint you the most? The Countess Conspiracy has been THE book that I have been waiting for ever since I read and fell in love with The Duchess War, the first book in the Brothers Sinister series. Each book had drawn out my fascination with Sebastian, the rake with the scandalous scientific theories that had society in titters. And then there was Violet, the countess of Cambury who seemed to be the object of Sebastian’s affection, and oh how I used to rub my hands in glee waiting for the day that Sebastian would fall flat on his face with want, desire and need for Violet.

Instead of the storyline that I had been rooting for, Courtney veered the story in a direction totally unexpected; even that I could have worked with if not for the fact that both Sebastian and Violet’s characters did a complete about turn that had me dumbfounded to say the least. The Countess Conspiracy is based on the fact that Violet had been living a lie for the past couple of years, making use of Sebastian to hide who she really is, until Sebastian puts his foot down and tells Violet in no uncertain terms that continuing as they had been would be an impossibility for him.

Violet though feels that keen sense of loss from losing her closest friend, the only person in the world who sees her for who she is and understands her, doesn’t know what to do in the face of all that emotion. If not for Sebastian who kept on doggedly coming after her, steady in his determination to win over the affections of the woman he has loved more than half of his life, I bet Violet would just have continued on as she is, thinking, that just like everyone else, Sebastian too had had his fill of her.

As one reviewer on Goodreads pointed out, as a pioneer of science, Violet totally earns 5 stars and beyond. As a romance hero, she somehow fell flat and didn’t stir much of an interest in me. In all the other books in which I encountered Violet’s character, never did I come to see her as someone who is prickly, indifferent and cold. But that is exactly what Violet thinks herself to be and the image that she tries to live up to, always expecting that when it comes to her, no one would truly understand or love her the way she is. There is a psychological factor to it all of course, behind how Violet actually turns out to be the way she is.

Sebastian turned out to be the biggest surprise in one aspect because he used to be the character that completely stirred things up, always said the very thing that would rouse wicked thoughts and brought every scene he stepped into life. But his character is not what it was portrayed to be then, perhaps that was what Courtney was going for when she made him into the patient man who would wait by Violet’s side, even if it takes forever for her to look up and notice him, really notice him for all that he is.

The note tucked at the end of the story was a moving one, one of the main reasons that I believe Courtney wrote this story as it is. She wanted to give a voice to all those women who had been shunned by society for being more intelligent than men, she wanted to give women silenced eons ago who had to hide behind men who took credit for their work a voice because simply put it just wasn’t acceptable for a woman to think and come up with complex theories that could change the world. And in that regard, Courtney did a stupendous job at the cost of the romantic elements in the story which left me totally unmoved which turned out to be the most heartbreaking aspect of it all.

But perhaps, fans of romances featuring tender, patient heroes would fall in love with Sebastian and Violet’s love story. Though The Countess Conspiracy did not work for me, I still look forward to the next book and hopefully it will fulfill me and my thirst for a good romance along with a great storyline altogether in one. Recommended for fans of the series!

Favorite Quotes

“Sebastian,” she whispered.
“At your service.”
She kissed him. She’d kissed him once before in fury and anguish. But this was different. This was a kiss that came from every ventricle of her heart, every last valve. All four chambers of her heart pumped for him. And it was a damned good thing he didn’t know what she was thinking, or he’d realize that she had gone mad.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Smashwords

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Never a Gentleman by Eileen Dreyer

Format: E-bookneveragentleman
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: The Drake’s Rakes, #2
Publisher: Forever
Hero: Richard William Price Manners Hilliard
Heroine: Grace Georgianna Fairchild
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: April 1, 2011
Started On: December 2, 2013
Finished On: December 3, 2013

Everyone who knows my reading tastes know that I am someone who loves an angst ridden romance. Never a Gentleman, book 2 in the Drake’s Rakes series landed in my TBR pile because I kept getting recommendations of the fact that this is a  book that offers a healthy dose of just that. Since I was already on a historical romance reading binge the last couple of reads, I decided to finally take the plunge and see what the fuss was all about.

Having never read an Eileen Dreyer before I didn’t know what to expect when I first delved into the story. Eileen tends to set an adequate pace for the story though I found the flow a bit tedious at times, perhaps because I have been spoilt rotten by the likes of authors such as Sherry Thomas and Courtney Milan whose beautiful prose alone makes me want to sink myself into the story and never come up for air.

My first disadvantage I believe was the fact that I didn’t read the first book in the series. I think I did miss out on the beginning of the “relationship” that blossoms between Diccan and Grace, a pair that is as different from each other as night and day. While Diccan is heralded for his uber good looks, his suave charm and the beautiful women he beds with, Diccan is a man whose diplomatic career looks to be promising as long as he carries out his duties perfectly in order to save the country and the Queen. Meanwhile, Grace is the spinster daughter of an army general, who dies a while back, leaving her alone to pursue her dreams for the first time in her life. Grace is plain looking, doesn’t seem to have anything striking about her features that would make people notice her except for the fact that she limps when she walks, which Grace would rather people never notice.

When Grace and Diccan are “forced” into entering a marriage of convenience, Diccan in the “noble” reason of saving Grace’s virtue while Grace does so to save Diccan’s reputation which is a necessity for his career; only Grace enters the marriage with hope unfurling in her heart that if she tries hard enough, she would able to win the affections of her husband.

Diccan who never thought he would feel anything for his plain and mousy looking wife is first appalled and then taken aback when he finds himself enamored by the woman he has married, the spell that she weaves on him one that is seemingly hard for him to turn away from. But then alas, duty calls, for which philandering seems to be a requirement, infidelity that would in return save England, his duty being to the country which would always come first.

I tried so hard to find any redemptive qualities to Diccan and came up short except for the time that Diccan refused to leave Grace’s side when she falls violently ill towards the latter part of the story. Even then, I couldn’t find it in me to like him much and neither did I like Grace for putting up with a lot of things that went on in her marriage. True to Grace’s character, her patience is the noblest of its kind, the lengths to which Grace goes in order to fit into the life that Diccan leads, even accepting his dalliances by demanding that he give her the same kind of pleasure that she actually witnesses being bestowed upon Diccan’s mistress.

Believe me, I am someone who loves dark heroes and by dark I mean the type that most readers tend to shy away from because they don’t fit into the feminist agenda that most readers of romance have these days. If I am being blunt, I found Grace to be a doormat heroine throughout most of the story, hiding her true passion and the fire inside of her for a man who pretty much neglects her as soon as she starts to mean something to him; all of course in the name of saving the country.

I found Diccan to be a tiresome hero at best. I just didn’t find him to be an alpha hero; I tend to call a hero alpha when he is decisive and able to take things in stride and do what is needed without petty excuses to make himself feel better. And while I can take cheating in a romance as long as there is even a dim light at the end of the tunnel which paves the way for redemption on the hero’s part, I am all for it. But the excuses that seemed to focus around Diccan being the savior of the country making him the kind of neglectful hero he was made him a complete turn off for me in most of the ways.

While certain readers seem to have fallen in love with the story, I would say that this could have definitely done much, much better! Dark heroes I am all for it, alpha asshole heroes; I can definitely live with them, but the kind of excuse of a hero Diccan turned out to be? I just don’t think I would ever be able to love someone like him.

If you are planning on reading Never a Gentleman, I would caution you to read book 1 first. Perhaps then Grace and Diccan’s character might make the impression that the author was going for on you.

Recommended for fans of the author.

Favorite Quotes

Not a kind word. Not a caress. His eyes were closed and his hands were fisted in her hair. She swore he was growling, and the sound reverberated in her chest. She felt impaled, split, the pressure of him inside her unbearable. Yet her body tightened, seeking him, reveling in his loss of control. She lifted up, arching to fit him inside of her. She closed her eyes, all her focus on the unbearable fullness, the sliding, searing pleasure of him as he pumped into her, the abrasion of cloth and buttons and stays as he took her on the hard wood floor.

He never asked. She never begged. He simply shifted and she spread her legs to welcome him home. He kissed her again, long and deep and wicked, and then he drove into her, and she forgot everything else. She forgot needing or belonging or having. She forgot pride and self-respect and a lonely woman’s despair. For these moments he was hers, and she let him be.

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: His at Night by Sherry Thomas

Format: E-bookhisatnight
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Bantam
Hero: Spencer Russell Blandford Churchill Stuart
Heroine: Elissande Edgerton
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: May 25, 2010
Started On: December 2, 2013
Finished On: December 2, 2013

The girl of his dreams. He had met her at last.

So as you can see from the last couple of reviews of mine, I went on a Sherry Thomas reading binge because that is exactly the sort of thing that happens to me if I get addicted to the books of one particular author. Unluckily for me, Sherry Thomas doesn’t have a long backlist of books for me to wade through one by one but hopefully I’d always have the pleasure of reading each and every historical romance that she publishes because there are very few historical romance authors that I follow as diligently as I do with her books.

Lord Vere is a man who leads a double life or to be precise a man who fools even those who are closest to him to serve the country and the Queen. The deep abiding loneliness that is a resultant effect of the lifestyle that he has chosen to lead might make itself known every now and again, but Vere has always has his dream of the peace that he someday might find with him to keep the monsters at bay. And then his path crosses with that of Elissande Edgerton which throws him for a loop and changes his destiny in a way that he has never thought possible for a man like him.

Elissande is a woman who is desperate and willing to do whatever it takes to get away from the oppressive thumb of her uncle who has made an award winning actress out of her, able to hide her real emotions in the worst of situations. When fate throws Lord Vere her way, Elissande tries every trick that she has under her sleeve to secure a way out of the household, with the clock interminably running out on her.

Forced to enter into a marriage of convenience, Vere would like to feel nothing but contempt for the woman that he married, but time and yet again Elissande reveals the true face of the woman behind all the pretense, and at the same time unmasking him from the role that he willingly plays in front of everyone else. With Elissande’s uncle promising revenge and vengeance to get back at her for besting him, time to forge an actual relationship with her enigmatic husband is a scarce one, except for the times he unwillingly turns to her in passion for her that he cannot deny.

His at Night is quite different from the rest of the books that I have read from Sherry Thomas such that this story focuses more on the mystery element and setting than the developing feelings between Vere and Elissande. Even then, His at Night made for an engrossing read that was hard to put down.

One can only surmise just how tiring it must be in actuality to live a life that is not really your own, assuming a persona that is your very antithesis day in and out. The toll that it takes on Vere is more than evident, the cynicism that he wears like a cloak around himself one that makes him oblivious to even the best of things in his life. His quest for finding inner peace by seeking justice is one that doesn’t seemingly play out as he envisions it, thus the crust of his distrust when it comes to his newly wedded wife.

Elissande might not be proud of the way that she married Vere but she would do it again in a heartbeat if it means freedom for which she has longed for all her life. But her deceit does come with a price attached to it, the price of the withheld affection on her husband’s part and the hope that he crushes out of her even when she should know that hope is futile. Her struggle to find common ground with Vere when he makes it almost impossible was one of the many reasons why I fell in love  with her character.

Though not your usual run of the mill variety of romance, His at Night still gives you a story steeped in mystery, double lives, treachery and mayhem with romance to round it off. If you are a fan of the type, this one is for you!

Final Verdict: An engrossing tale that keeps you turning the pages.

Favorite Quotes

He was a god above her, powerful, beautiful, larger than life. The light brought out the latent gold of his hair. The shadows contoured the perfect form of his body. Light and shadows converged in his eyes, bright lust, dark anger, and something else. Something else entirely.
She recognized it because she’d seen it in the mirror so many times: a bleak, austere loneliness.
Her hands, which had been clutching at the sheets, moved up his arms. “I never pretended it was anyone but you.”

He ground into her with enough force to launch an ocean liner. And bucked and shook as if in pain, exquisite, breathtaking pain.
She opened her eyes again to see him looking down upon her, the way he would a cursed treasure. He lifted a hand and traced her brow.
“Now you are mine,” he said softly.
She shivered.

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas

Format: E-bookprivatearrangements
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Bantam
Hero: Camden Saybrook
Heroine: Philippa Gilberte Rowland
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: March 25, 2008
Started On: November 29, 2013
Finished On: November 30, 2013

When I finished reading the latest novel by Sherry Thomas which happens to be The Luckiest Lady in London, the question that was utmost on my mind was whether Sherry Thomas would write the story of the Tremaines as I mentioned in my review. My vague hunch that it had already been written was confirmed when Sherry replied to me as such and that’s of course the moment I rushed to purchase a copy for myself and indulge in the heavenly romance that Sherry Thomas creates so deliciously that it is impossible to not lose yourself in the midst of it all.

To the society, Lord and Lady Teramine seems to have the perfect marriage. Perfect because they have led separate lives starting from the first day of their marriage ten years back. The status quo changes when Phillipa (Gigi) requests for a divorce which brings Camden back to London with his own proposal that is treacherous grounds to tread on for both of them.

Sherry Thomas does a remarkable job of telling the story with the past and present entwined, shedding light on how and why things had gone so wrong between two people whose attraction to each other had been immediate and a scorching one at that. The young Gigi had been a cynical woman for her age, someone hardened by the life choices that had been drilled to her from the beginning by her mother Victoria. The loneliness that she hides deep inside of her is one that no one had ever seemed to see or understand until Camden had walked into her life, a seemingly unattainable Camden because Camden is a man of his word who is loyal to the core.

The mistake that Gigi makes in her desire to have the man she falls in love with, at any cost proves to be the reason her marriage turns out to be such a trial for both of them. The feelings of respect, desire and love that had seemed to blossom between them dies a sudden death, especially on Camden’s end when he learns of the treachery on his wife’s part and he makes her pay for it throughout the years of separation that involves affairs on both ends. But as the story delves deeper into the lives that Camden and Gigi had led separately for so long makes one wonder, who was punishing whom exactly in the light of things that are revealed.

Private Arrangements is a story that made me cry. Like most books Sherry Thomas pens, this one too had the ability to reach deep into my heart and soul and wrench emotions from it that most books aren’t halfway capable of wringing from me. And that is one reason why I loved this book which might not be well received by most romance readers due to the elements of adultery included in the Tremaines’ story.  I believe that it takes immense talent on an author’s part to pull off characters of the sort who makes god honest mistakes like both Gigi and Camden makes in this story and come out winning the heart of readers like myself who understands and needs authors to push the expected boundaries of norm every now and then to give us a spellbinding tale of love and passion like this one. Kudos Ms. Thomas, for you continue to amaze me and I hope that never ever ceases to happen.

Recommended for those who are not turned off by aspects of cheating on both the hero and heroine’s part. Trust me when I say this; Sherry Thomas knows what she’s doing. Hop along for the ride. If you are like myself and wants stories that reaches deep into your soul, Sherry Thomas offers just that with every story she writes.

Final Verdict: Provokingly beautiful, the Tremaines reach into your very heart and makes you bleed for them. Definitely Recommended.

Favorite Quotes

He smiled at her. And it hit her like a mallet to the temple, the realization that she was in love with him. Stupidly, dreadfully in love with him.
Overnight, she’d become a fool.

He retorted by divesting her of her drawers and trapping her naked body—naked but for white satin evening gloves and white silk stockings—between his body and the edge of the desk.
His fingertips skimmed over her bare bottom and headed slowly yet inexorably for the junction of her thighs. She closed her eyes and bit her lip but refused to clamp her legs together despite her nervousness.
“Are you always this wet?” he whispered. “Or is it just for me?”

He sank his teeth into her shoulder. Nothing painful, just a strong bite to punctuate the hot, smooth glide of his body into hers. She could not silence a small moan.
Despite her desperate attempt to recite the alphabet backward—she reached only as far as V before she could no longer think—her body drowned in sensations. She was full, so full, and deliciously pummelled.

He drowned himself in the velvety feel of her, marveling at the way her skin slid over her clavicles with her every breath, kissing a trail along the top of her shoulder, reluctant to leave each square inch of her glorious skin, impatient to savor all of her.
She placed her hands against his upper arms, but she didn’t push. She only emitted a sweet, despairing sound as he kissed the base of her throat. The gloom in his heart lifted a bit, though he knew it was madness to think this was anything but madness.

He tormented her with long, slow strokes, teasing her nipples as he drove into her at a leisurely pace. He made her beg for each delicious thrust. He made her thrash and gyrate and wail and whimper. And only when she was wholly vanquished, desperate, convinced that she would exist forever in this state of trembling, feverish arousal, only then did he give in and pummel her to her incoherent, wild, joyous, and vocal satisfaction.

She turned onto her back and slid a knuckle across her lower lip. “Won’t you come to bed and make me pregnant?”
He was on that bed and inside her in a fraction of a second. She was all hellfire and heavenly suppleness, clutching at him, her legs wrapped tight about him, her unabashed gasps and moans driving him mad with desire.
He shook, shuddered, and convulsed, his vaunted control in pieces as he came endlessly, well on his way to making her pregnant.

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas

Format: E-booktheluckiestladyinlondon
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Berkley
Hero: Felix Rivendale
Heroine: Louisa Cantwell
Sensuality: 4
Date of Publication: November 5, 2013
Started On: November 19, 2013
Finished On: November 21, 2013

His eyes met hers again. “Let me give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of.”

I believe the above is something every woman dreams of hearing from the man she has the most avid crush on say to her. Or one would think unless it comes from the mouth of Felix Rivendale, the Marquess of Wrenworth known as The Ideal Gentleman, who is determined not to ever fall in love or give any woman the chance to make him vulnerable like he’d been all throughout his childhood.

Louisa Cantwell is equally determined that she’d get a marriage proposal from a man who’d be able to give her exactly what she wants. The daughter of a fortune hunter with no dowry of her own and no ravishing looks to boast of either, Louisa knows exactly what she has to offer to a husband of her choosing. With her sights set on two men she thinks she can ‘handle’, it comes as a shock to her system when sheer unadulterated lust uncoils inside of her when she lays eyes on the most gorgeous of men, Felix Rivendale.

A passing glance is what a marriage seeking innocent like Louisa would’ve warranted from Felix if not for the intrigue that she stirs inside of him. Felix knows that Louisa is hardly what she presents herself to be to the rest of the ton, just like himself, who has managed to and continues to fool everyone on what he is.

Intrigue turns into lust, and Felix tells himself that it is both combined that makes Louisa the worthy adversary that she is, who occupies a lot of his mind, too much perhaps for his liking. The layer of suspicion that always underlies her gaze whenever she sets her sights on Felix together with just how much she resists the pull between them makes him feel more wicked and the rush that it gives something decadent, to be savored for a man who thinks nothing can move him.

Felix continues to be able to fool himself until his wedding night which leaves him stark ‘naked’ without that ruthless control of his which comes tumbling down after the weeks and weeks of foreplay that had readied both of them to its culminating event. Though Louisa knows that falling in love with the one man she shouldn’t fall for is the pits, her unforgettable wedding night gives her that little ray of hope that Felix ruthlessly and effectively crushes right in front of her.

What followed turned out to be so so good in so many different ways. Let me rephrase that, the whole book turned out to be absolutely fantastic in so many ways. I wholeheartedly adored Felix; what’s there not to be adored in a man who is absolutely clueless when it comes to the yearning of his heart, a man who learns the errors of his ways and goes  about doing absolutely everything in his power to make it right even if it might mean victory may not be in sight ever?

Louisa was just as adorable, a woman who matches, understands and loves Felix for who he is, and that in my opinion made her the most worthy of Felix’s absolute love, adoration  and trust. The Luckiest Lady in London has got the humor, the class and the wit that makes it one of the best historical romances of this year. Sherry Thomas certainly knows what she’s doing and it shows in every single historical romance of hers that I’ve read to date.

This romance has so much heat to it that I felt my whole body warm up from the inside out every single time Louisa and Felix entered the scene. Sherry Thomas has a definite knack for creating sexual tension unlike any other, and dear sweet lord, does she deliver on so many occasions throughout the story, not explicit in nature, but still tantalizing and delicious enough to make me sigh in utmost satisfaction and make my toes curl inward and out every single time.

The only thing that I had even the slightest contention with was the ending. Being the masochist that I am, I guess I wanted just a bit more angst. And perhaps the ending was quite fitting and in line with the story that unfolded if I were to think about it from a different perspective. Needless to say, Sherry Thomas held me completely enthralled and in the story’s grip throughout which is no mean feat if you ask me. And I’m certainly looking forward to see whether Sherry Thomas is going to gives us the story of Lady Tremaine, who happened to be one of Felix’s mistresses, a most intriguing woman whom I say has definitely got a tale to tell.

Most definitely recommended for fans of sensuous historical romances and of course fans of Sherry Thomas. This is a must not miss!

Final Verdict: Off the charts sexual tension, sensuality & prose that only Sherry Thomas can pull off. A definite winner!

Favorite Quotes

All at once she lifted her gaze—she might as well get it over with. She was presented with a head of thick black hair and an aristocratic profile. Then, as if sensing her attention, he turned to her.
A pox on everyone who had ever told her that The Ideal Gentleman was handsome. He was not handsome—he was extravagantly gorgeous. One look into his serene yet hypnotic green eyes, and all the romantic yearnings she had never before experienced struck her at once, like a bullet to the heart.

“A shame,” he replied softly. “I know the earl’s sons very well. We’d have met much sooner had you been acquainted with them.”
She was staring down into her plate, but at his tone, which made her feel strange things, she could not help turning her face, looking into his eyes for the first time since she saw him across the drawing room, before the start of dinner.
Instantly a fierce heat swept over her. Had she thought that there was nothing erotic in the attention he directed her way? That must have been a different lifetime altogether. For this gaze of his made her think of . . . skin. Flesh. And, God help her, unnatural acts.

“Have you missed me?”
He didn’t ask such questions. Or at least, he didn’t ask such questions when the answers mattered.
Her left hand closed into a fist. “Of course I have missed you.”
The floor stopped wobbling. He breathed again.

He could see it, too, now. Except he saw it even more perversely. His guests would not be in the house, but on the grounds for the bonfire party that always marked the last night of his summertime hospitality. Most would remain near the manor, but some would venture farther afield and almost stumble upon them, hidden in the shadows, still fully clothed, but with her skirts pushed up above her waist, and him hilt-deep inside her.

His lips never leaving hers, he touched her in that secret place. She moaned; she writhed; she kissed him with a desperate fervor. Then suddenly she was crying out, her body tensing.
A heartbeat later he was deep inside her, filling her with his essence, convulsing with a pleasure that turned him inside out.

“Tell me to stop and I will.” His voice was hoarse, nothing like how he usually sounded.
And his eyes were tightly shut. Dimly he remembered that he’d meant to look his fill of her as he brought her to one trembling peak after another. But the sensations of her person were all he could handle; the sight of it would undo him altogether.
“I never want you to stop,” she whispered, kissing his ear as she spoke, jolting him with another surge of lust. “Never.”

The pleasure of her—he was mindless with it. He invaded her again and again, her whimpers of pleasure a fire in his blood. Her name escaped his throat; he could not stop telling her how exquisite she was and how much he craved her.
When her body tightened voluptuously around his cock, he lost any and all control he might have still possessed. And gave himself up to the most explosive pleasure he had ever known.

She wrapped her legs around his waist. “You make me willing to do anything with you—and for you.”
Her flattery did not go to waste. The next second he was inside her again, hot and huge. She pulled him in for a kiss, and did not let him go until her pleasure was winding tighter and tighter and she was struggling to breathe.
It was like the sky falling.
Beyond, the stars.

He had no recollection of either shoving aside her skirts or freeing himself from the encumbrance of his trousers. The next thing he knew was a desperate upward plunge as he entered her—and the gasps that echoed between them.
The ferocity of her lips, the avarice of her hands, the sheer, agonizing scorch of her person. He didn’t know how he remembered to clamp a palm over her mouth—perhaps only when he heard someone calling, from no more than fifteen feet away, “Quick. The fireworks are about to start.”
Their own fireworks ignited first. He barely protested before surrendering to the demonic pleasures of her body clenching and shuddering about his.

But she did not want to lose control alone—that path led directly back to the pit of despair. “Come in deeper. Are you in me as deep as you want to be?”
Now they were tumbling off the edge together; now his control was as shattered as hers. And now she finally closed her eyes and let herself be swept away by the surge of pleasure.
And by his harshly uttered words in her ear, as he gripped her close: “I can never be in you deep enough. Never.”

She undid his trousers. Her lips followed her hands, her tongue swirling about him in scalding, indecent ways. His hips flexed involuntarily, even as despair swamped him. She took him deep into her mouth; his grunt of pleasure echoed against the walls.
“I love the size of you,” she declared, “the texture of you, the taste of you.”
And the rest of me?
He shut his eyes tight against the pleasure, against the pain, against the possibility of betraying all the yearning in his soul.

The next second, her skirts were shoved up, her bustle knocked aside, her drawers pushed down not only without ceremony, but with hardly even any acknowledgment that they were ever there.
And then he was inside her, hard and thick.
It was the most incredible, most delicious sensation, like being pounded by a runaway train. The force of his thrusts flattened her. It nearly lifted her off the floor. With one hand on her abdomen, he pulled her toward him, so that he came in farther, deeper, harder.

Purchase links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iTunes

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by mvbookreviewer

Review: To Love a Dark Lord by Anne Stuart

Format: E-booktoloveadarklord
Read with: iBooks for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Avon Books
Hero: James Michael Patrick
Heroine: Emma Mary Catherine Langolet
Sensuality: 3.5
Date of Publication: December 28, 1994
Started On: September 9, 2013
Finished On: September 10, 2013

So what happens when I finish an Anne Stuart novel and wonder what to read next? Like a junkie with an addict, I WANT the next fix from Anne Stuart which plagues me until I give in. I must be thankful for the fact that there are so many books by her that I have still yet to read. Though I have mostly focused on her contemporary romances to-date, that changed with Never Kiss A Rake that was published this year, that I reviewed previously. Since To Love A Dark Lord is a romance that is loved by many, I thought I would get my next dose of Anne Stuart by plunging into the first ever romance that Anne Stuart attempted to write featuring a dark hero.

James Michael Patrick, the Earl of Killoran is a man who is haunted by too many nightmares, that he has retreated into his own shell, a man who many thinks is beyond redemption or saving. James himself knows that he is as such and he does what he does for reasons that he alone understands. Though lately life has become one bore fest after another and little has provided amusement for him except for hiding his pain behind consumption of spirits, when James stumbles onto Emma who accidentally stabs her lustful uncle to death, life as James knows it changes. Taking the blame for her uncle’s death is something James does on a whim, for the mere amusement the deed brings him.

When Emma is rescued by the sinfully handsome man who doesn’t spare her a backward glance before striding out of her life just like he swooped in to save her from her imminent death, Emma doesn’t know what to do with all the freedom that beckons her after a life spent in enforced solitude from which it had felt that there would be no escape from. Coming to the understanding that her savior wants her to forget him gives her the blow necessary to take her fate into her own hands, which inevitably brings her into the hands of none other than James himself, this time rescuing her to his own intents and purpose to serve as the pawn that would draw out his long time enemy, to enact the revenge that he has been waiting for a long time.

Emma though an inexperienced virginal heroine makes for a swell character. Her gutsy determination in the face of everything that is totally alien to her is to be admired. The fact that Emma understands the pain that is buried deep inside of James was the one factor that had me falling head over heels in love with her. Emma, though she doesn’t know her place in James’s heart or life, nevertheless does everything she possibly can to be there for him, without asking for anything back from him in return.

James of course, turned out to be the type of hero that I absolutely love to read about. There is a certain elegance to the heroes that Anne Stuart creates, even with that coldness that resides inside of them, that aloofness that drives readers crazy to find that one redeemable aspect about him that serves to be the pivotal aspect of the story. And with James, her very first hero with dark elements certainly did not disappoint.

As many reviewers have already pointed out, there is such a wealth of pain inside of James that it is hard not to want to reach out to him and wrap him in your embrace so that you might absorb some of that pain into your own self. James might never wish to think of himself as the knight without all that shining armor who strides to Emma’s rescue time and yet again. But something about Emma calls to him on a baser level, something he fights with every fiber in his being to prevent himself from succumbing to the lure that she presents. If not for the fact that Emma understands all this and more when it comes to James, and is just as helplessly drawn to him as he is to her, James would not have managed to find the sort of love he finally does in Emma’s embrace.

When you read an Anne Stuart, you always tend to have this emotional whirlpool viciously rolling around inside of you. And that tends to expand with the kind of angst that only a dark hero can deliver and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect read that balanced out the darkness, the angst and later on a love that held me enthralled and going back to read the epilogue tucked in at the end time and yet again. I don’t remember how many times I read the epilogue which was short, yet brought to light the life of James and Emma 9 years down the line. If the story hadn’t already been embedded deep into my heart, the epilogue certainly would have sealed the deal for me.

I would be remiss in my review if I were not to mention the secondary romance that takes place in To Love a Dark Lord. The romance that buds to life between the 23 year old Nathaniel Hepburn, a distant cousin of sorts of James whom he takes under his wings in order to teach him a thing or two about depravity, who ends up falling in love with the very unusual and extremely beautiful Lady Barbara Fitzhugh. Theirs was a romance that moved me to tears, Barbara’s story one that I wished I had gotten to read in a full length novel just dedicated to her and Nathan.

Recommended for those who love their heroes dark and a bit twisted. And definitely for fans of Anne Stuart.

Final Verdict: If you are fan of Anne Stuart, this is an absolute must-not-miss!

Favorite Quotes

The house was still and quiet. And somewhere, faintly overhead, he heard the sound of music. Emma was playing again, something soft and lilting and unexpectedly sad. A moment passed before he recognized it. It was an old Irish lullaby, one he’d heard from his nurse thirty years ago.
And James Michael Patrick, the fourth Earl of Killoran, the man without weakness, honor, or decency, closed his eyes in quiet desperation.

It wasn’t one kiss, it wasn’t twenty, it was a long series of unending kisses, leading one into another, so that she barely had time to begin to regain her sanity when he stripped it away once more. He kissed her eyelids, the side of her mouth, the beating pulse at the base of her neck. He kissed her nose and her chin, he bit her earlobe, and then he covered her mouth once more, kissing her with a devastating thoroughness that had her damp and trembling in his arms.

He kissed her temple, her cheekbone, her angular nose. And then in the shadowy night his mouth sought hers.
It was light and darkness, sin and forgiveness, hell and redemption. She put her arms around his waist, pulling him closer, closer still. She could feel the warmth of his strong back through the fine linen shirt; she could taste brandy on his mouth. His hand was between them, against her breast, and she hated the layers of cloth that separated them.

She started past him, and he kept his focus inward, thinking of nothing at all. He would have made it if her chemise hadn’t brushed against his hand. If she hadn’t paused one dangerous second too long.
He caught her, no longer caring what he was doing. She cupped his face, reaching up to kiss his mouth, and it was the last straw. He ripped at her clothes, ripped at his, a maddened beast, shoving her down on the hardwood floor, covering her with his strong body.

He reached down and caught her thighs, lifting them up around him. It was too late now. He’d fought it, and her, and now he was the one who had lost. He’d given in to a need so powerful it overwhelmed all others, and all he could do was revel in the feel of her hot, tight body around his, the furious pounding of her heart against his bare chest, her fingers digging into his back, scratching at him, tearing at him, as he thrust into her again and again, searching for a part of him he’d lost long, long ago.

He understood her choked, breathy little cry, so different from the studied sounds she usually made. He knew her restlessness, her heat, and her need. He knew how to love her. And when the first explosion hit her, it was so powerful, so unexpected, that she screamed, clutching at him, and his formidable control vanished, and he pushed deep, holding her, filling her, giving to her instead of taking.

He thought he could prolong it, but he was helpless against the tide of need that swept over him. He needed her, needed to take her in this bed, this house, this land. He needed to thrust deep and fill her with his seed. He needed to claim her, and claim his heritage. He’d fought it for too long.
He lifted himself above her, staring down at her as the bed rocked beneath his powerful, rhythmic thrusts. Her eyes were open as well, looking up at him, and then her eyes fluttered closed as her body convulsed around him, and he came as well, rigid in her arms, no longer fighting it, and her, and his own lonely heart.

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