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Strong, Quick-Witted, Female Leads | Mini-Reviews

Sep 4, 2020

Today I thought I would share some more historical romance mini-reviews. The three I’m talking about today I just loved. One of a new to me author, the other two are from an author that I’m beginning to love. All these books include female leads that are strong and quick-witted and I love it. Anyway, let’s get into it.

Wicked and the Wallflower (The Bareknuckle Bastards #1) by Sarah MacLean

Pages: 396
Publish date: June 19th 2018
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 9780062692061
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

When a mysterious stranger finds his way into her bedchamber and offers his help in landing a duke, Lady Felicity Faircloth agrees—on one condition. She’s seen enough of the world to believe in passion, and won’t accept a marriage without it.

Bastard son of a duke and king of London’s dark streets, Devil has spent a lifetime wielding power and seizing opportunity, and the spinster wallflower is everything he needs to exact a revenge years in the making. All he must do is turn the plain little mouse into an irresistible temptress, set his trap, and destroy his enemy.

But there’s nothing plain about Felicity Faircloth, who quickly decides she’d rather have Devil than another. Soon, Devil’s carefully laid plans are in chaos, and he must choose between everything he’s ever wanted…and the only thing he’s ever desired.

Wicked and the Wallflower:

I knew as soon as I started this one that I was going to like it. Sarah MacLean as been on my TBR for a little while now. It’s a name that I heard about even before I started reading historical romance. And I’m so glad that I picked her up. Because Wicked and the Wallflower was such a wonderful read.

I love Felicity Faircloth as a protagonist so much. She was witty and cunning and I love seeing that. She was also easy to get along with. I feel into her voice right away and was able to connect with her very easily. I liked that she knew what she wanted and didn’t give up. Another thing I love that she stood away from the crowd. Devil, on the other hand, both hides and likes to be seen. He is one of those characters where you can’t figure out if you love or hate him. And that is what makes him so interesting.

The romance in Wicked and the Wallflower is also very interesting. Both Devil and Felicity use each other for different reasons. And at the same time, they can’t help but fall for one another. I loved seeing this happen throughout the book. The banter between these two was fantastic. Something else that I adored was how they both surprised each other in different ways. It put a massive smile on my face.

Overall I loved reading Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean. It’s full of banter, romance and high stakes. It’s a fantastic historical romance and I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in this series. Felicity and Devil are both interesting characters on their own, but throw them together and there is fire.

Through the Storm (Le Veq Family #1) by Beverly Jenkins

Pages: 384
Publish date: August 1st 1998
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 9780380798643
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Sable, a slave on the run to escape the cruel man she’s been sold to is forced to betray the charming Union officer Raimond LeVeq, who had romanced her and championed her.

Brought together again by fate and an arranged marriage, she must try and win the trust of LeVeq–the man she truly loves.

Through the Storm:

I picked this one up after reading and falling in love with Rebel by Beverly Jenkins. I wanted to know more about the family and how they all got together.

It did take me a little while to get into this one. This does happen from time to time when I’m reading about a new time when I read historical romance and fiction. Especially when I’m not too familiar with the history of the time. But once I was placed in the novel I couldn’t put it down.

Beverly Jenkins has a knack of writing characters that are entertaining, engaging and so interesting and that is very present here. Sable was such an interesting protagonist and I was drawn to her from the start. She is smart and strong. And I wanted to be with her every second. One of the things that I loved about her the most, is her heart. She just made me smile and want to hug her the whole time.

Union officer Raimond LeVeq was a pain in the butt. But he was also fantastic. He could hold a grudge but I loved his tenderness for Sable. The banter between him and his siblings was the icing on the cake for me.

I adored the tension between Sable and Raimond. Right from the start, you were able to see the sparks and I loved it. The love to hate to love was spot on and it worked so well here. These two just made me smile and I loved seeing them fall in love and not even realise it.

If you are looking for a romance that is love to hate to love, then this one is for you. Overall I had such a good time reading Through The Storm. The romance was fantastic, the characters were great. And the family banter topped it off. I loved that I got to read in a time that I honestly don’t know too much about. If you are looking for some great historical romance that is a little different, then pick this one up.

Winds of the Storm (Le Veq Family #2) by Beverly Jenkins

Pages: 384
Publish date: April 25th 2006
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 9780060575311
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Archer Le Veq owes his life to the woman who rescued him from certain death at the height of the Civil War…a woman known only as “the Butterfly.” Now, in the dark, waning days of Reconstruction, he needs the courageous and beautiful former spy…in more ways than before!

Zahra Lafayette thinks her days of intrigue are far behind her until she is asked to go on one more mission. Posing as an infamous madam in New Orleans, Zahra must gather information to ensure the safety of the South’s freedmen. The last thing she expected was to see Archer Le Veq again. He is as arrogant as he is handsome, but there is something about this dusky and debonair hotelier that sends her senses singing. Zahra knows she will need to guard her secrets, but no peril awaiting her compares with the treachery of Zahra’s own heart—for, Lord help her, she burns to taste the man and to lose herself in his powerful embrace.

Winds of the Storm :

As soon as I finished book one, I hopped right into this. Winds Of the Storm is different from the other books in the series, and while it’s my least favourite – I still really enjoyed it.

Archer was seriously fantastic. He was funny, romance and just made me smile. The banter he had with his brothers was brilliant and added another layer to his book. As the novel went on I loved that we got to know more and more about Archer. This book made me laugh a lot and it was mostly because of Archer.

Zahra was such an interesting character. I wasn’t expecting to like her as such as I did, but as the novel went on. I like her even more and more. She was fascinating and wasn’t like other female leads that I had read before. Zahra stands out to me from other characters and I loved that. I also love the friendships that she has throughout the book. They made me smile a lot.

The romance in this one was adorable and steamy. And it was just fantastic. I loved these two together. Especially there no strings attached thing that turns into something more. They both swore they wouldn’t fall for one another and then they did and I loved it.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Winds Of the Storm, a lot. The romance was different and engaging. And both protagonists grabbed me from the start. I loved being back with the Le Veq family. They are seriously a blast. If you haven’t picked up this series, please do. It’s fantastic.

Have you read any of these yet? What did you think of them? Are you planning on reading them? What are some of your favourite historical romances with strong, quick-witted female leads? Let’s Chat!

The Duchess and The Bachelor | Mini-Reviews

Aug 15, 2020

As I have been reading more and more historical romance I thought it would be a good idea to share some mini-reviews of ones that I have read lately. I love writing mini-reviews. They are a great way to be short and snap about the things I did or didn’t like about a book. They are also a way to either give a book my love or maybe not so.

Anyway today I’m sharing my thoughts on Project Duchess by Sabrina Jeffries and The Bachelor by Sabrina Jeffries. A quick note. I loved both of these.

Project Duchess (Duke Dynasty #1) by Sabrina Jeffries

Pages: 352
Publish date: June 25th 2019
Publisher: by Zebra
ISBN: 9781420148558
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

A series of stepfathers and a difficult childhood have left Fletcher “Grey” Pryde, 5th Duke of Greycourt, with a guarded heart, enviable wealth, and the undeserved reputation of a rogue. Grey’s focus on expanding his dukedom allows him little time to find a wife. But when his mother is widowed yet again and he meets the charmingly unconventional woman managing his stepfather’s funeral, he’s shocked to discover how much they have in common. Still, Grey isn’t interested in love, no matter how pretty, or delightfully outspoken, the lady . . .

Beatrice Wolfe gave up on romance long ago, and the arrogant Duke of Greycourt with his rakish reputation isn’t exactly changing her mind. Then Grey agrees to assist his grief-stricken mother with her latest “project” schooling spirited, unfashionable Beatrice for her debut. Now that Beatrice is seeing through Grey’s charms to his wounded heart, she’s having trouble keeping him at arm’s length. But once Grey starts digging into her family’s secrets, she must decide whether her loyalties lie with her family . . . or with the man whose lessons capture her heart . . .

Project Duchess:

I’ve been wanting to pick up Sabrina Jeffries for some time now and when I received the third book in this series for review, I knew it was time. I loved Project Duchess so much. It’s entering, swoon-worthy and I could not put it down.

Fletcher “Grey” Pryde, 5th Duke of Greycourt has a guarded heart. And instead of finding a wife, his goal is to expand his dukedom. But that all might change when he meets Beatrice Wolfe, the women helping his mother with this stepfather funeral. When Beatrice gave up on love, she didn’t expect to meet Grey. Now his mother has taken Beatrice on as her latest project and Grey agrees to help. Each has their secrets, but they have also both captured each other’s hearts.

The romance in Project Duchess is swoon-worthy to the max. I love the angst that builds up between Grey and Beatrice. It made me smile the whole book. While it isn’t strong hate, Project Duchess also has a ‘hate to love romance’ and gosh was it done well. Sabrina Jeffries is excellent at writing tension and a build-up without me hating every minute of it.

Grey and Beatrice are also such great characters. I loved their arcs, both as individuals and as a couple. Both have had heartache and difficult lives growing up. But together they both can understand one another, even if they don’t see it at first.

I also enjoyed the overarching plotline that we do see later in the series. While I do like standalone romances sometimes. I love when historical romances series are bonded together but this overarching story.

Overall, I loved reading Project Duchess by Sabrina Jeffries. It has a fantastic romance, endearing characters and a plot that keeps on giving. If you are looking for a new historical romance series – start here.

The Bachelor (Duke Dynasty #2) by Sabrina Jeffries

Pages: 275
Publish date: February 25th 2020
Publisher: Zebra
ISBN: 9781420148565
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Lady Gwyn Drake has long protected her family’s reputation by hiding an imprudent affair from her youth. But when her former suitor appears at Armitage Hall, manhandling the heiress and threatening to go public with her secrets, it’s Gwyn who needs protecting. Her twin brother, Thorn, hires Joshua Wolfe, the estate’s gamekeeper, to keep her safe in London during her debut. As a war hero, Joshua feels obligated to fulfil the assignment he has accepted. But as a man, it’s torment to be so very close to the beauty he’s fought to ignore . . .

With handsome Joshua monitoring her every move, Gwyn would prefer to forget both the past and the parade of money-seeking bachelors at her coming out. But Joshua is unmoved by her attempts at flirtation, and the threat of blackmail still hangs over her. With danger closing in, Gwyn must decide which is the greater risk: deflecting a scoundrel’s attempts to sabotage her–or revealing her whole heart to the rugged bodyguard she can’t resist . . .

The Bachelor:

As soon as I finished book 1, I had to read more and I’m so glad that I did. Because The Bachelor was fantastic. While I didn’t love it as much as Project Duchess, it was still such an enjoyable read and added to the overall story.

The Bachelor continues to follow the same family and this time it’s Lady Gwyn Drake turn. When a past suitor appears and threatens to go public with her secrets, she needs protection. That is when her twin hires Joshua Wolfe. With Joshua watching her ever move Gwyn has to be even more careful, but she can’t seem to resist his charm or his heart.

This was a delight to read. I love Lady Gwyn so much. She was such a fantastic protagonist. She added some brightness to this story that at times could be very dark. In the first book, I wasn’t sure how I felt about her, but in this one Lady Gwyn shines. The reader gets to see her vulnerable and that adds to her characterisation.

Joshua Wolfe was the grumpy male hero and I love him. Seriously he gave me such a good laugh.

The Bachelor explores the nature of the world at the time. What some men would do just to bring up their standing or to get money. It explores the inequality that women had at the time and how they either had to rely on their husband or their family for anything in life.

In saying all this I did feel that something was missing from this one, I can’t pinpoint what it was. I just didn’t love it as much as the first book.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Bachelor by Sabrina Jeffries quite a lot. It was full of angst, blackmail and tension. The romance was adorable, and I enjoyed both protagonists. It was a great second book in a series and I can’t wait to read more.

And those are some historical romance mini-reviews! Have you checked out this series yet? What did you think of them? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat!

Heat, Flying High and Birthday Girl | Mini Romance Reviews

Jul 16, 2020

Today I thought I would share some mini-reviews of recent romance books that I have read. Two are 2020 releases while the last one is new to me author that I picked up for the first time. Let’s get into it.

High Heat (Hotshots #2) by Annabeth Albert

Pages: 336
Publish date: July 27, 2020
Publisher: Carina Press
ISBN: 9781488057069
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Smoke jumping is Garrick Nelson’s life. Nothing, not severe injuries nor the brutal physical therapy that follows, is going to stop him from getting back with his crew. But when a lost dog shows up on his front porch, he can’t turn her away, and he can’t take care of her on his own. Thankfully, help comes in the form of his new sexy, dog-loving neighbour. As they work together, trying to re-home their little princess, Garrick can’t resist his growing attraction for the other man, even though he knows this guy isn’t the staying type.

Rain Fisher doesn’t take anything too seriously. He dances through life, one adventure at a time, never settling in one place for too long. When his hot, conveniently buff, neighbour shows up on his doorstep, dog in tow, Rain’s determined to not just save the adorable puppy, but her reluctant owner as well. He never expects their flirtation might tempt him into stay put once and for all…

High Heat:

I received an earc of High Heat by Annabeth Albert from Carina Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about a book.

I was looking forward to High Heat. I enjoyed book one in the series as well as Annabeth Albert’s previous book. But this one just wasn’t for me. From the start, I wasn’t clicking with the characters or the story. Which I found strange. I enjoyed Garrick in the first book and I was so looking forward to getting to know him more. But as soon as I was in his perspective, it fell flat to me.

Both Garrick and Rain were both interesting characters, but that is what they felt like; characters. I love when an author can make me see their characters as real people, but I didn’t feel that here. They were entertaining and I liked getting to know them. But they were just on the page.

Garrick is this tough guy that wants to get to the job he was going before the accident. But he can’t and it takes him a long time to realise that. I enjoyed seeing this. You all know me I love seeing different types of disabilities in books, and I really liked the way that Annabeth Albert explored it here. Garrett wasn’t only dealing with the physical pain of his injury, but also the mental. I think that Albert had a great balance of this.

Rain was such a character – he did make me laugh several times. But then there were times where I felt that his personality took over the story in High Heat instead of helping it. If that makes any sense at all.

Overall, I was disappointed with High Heat by Annabeth Albert. I was really looking forward to Garrett’s story, but I was disappointed with the outcome. The romance was something that I liked, but I felt the characters were a little flat. I enjoyed the representation of disability and the many aspects that come with it. But the plot didn’t grab me. I might continue with the series – I will just have to wait and see.

Classified (The Elite #3) by Brooke Blaine and Ella Frank

Pages: 226
Publish date: 21 June 2020
Publisher: –
ISBN: 9798653162893
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

MATEO MORGAN
CALL SIGN: SOLO

GRANT HUGHES
CALL SIGN: PANTHER

In the heat of the hot California sun, tempers flare and desires ignite as Solo and Panther try to resist their attraction while fighting to be number one.
With passion this intense, the question remains:
Who’s gonna come out on top?

Classified:

I read the first two books in The Elite Series earlier this year and enjoyed them a lot. And with the second book finishing on a cliff hanger, I knew I needed to read book three as soon as it came out. I enjoyed it and felt like it was the perfect ending to this series.

The romance in Classified really brings the heat and I love it, Morgan and Grant and just so adorable together and I loved that the reader gets to see a different side of them in this book. The first two books in this series are about them understanding their feelings for one another and letting things go. But Classified explores their relationship more.

I did feel that the cliffhanger from book two was a little letdown. I didn’t feel that there was enough tension at that moment. It’s later in the novel that the tension is brought to the forefront. But I would have liked to see more of it from the getgo.

Both Morgan and Grant are great characters and I really enjoyed seeing them explore their relationship more. But they also had their moments. Miscommunication and insecurities are one of the main force of turmoil in this novel. And while I normally don’t like this, it did work well her.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Classified by Brooke Blaine and Ella Frank. It was a great conclusion to the series and brought together some great moments. I loved Morgan and Grant together, and the ending had me smiling so much. This is a great little series that is great for someone that loves military romances but wants something a little different.

Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas

Pages: 416
Publish date: April 15, 2018
Publisher: Penelope Douglas LLC
ISBN: 9781976333088
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

JORDAN

He took me in when I had nowhere else to go. He doesn’t use me, hurt me, or forget about me. And he listens to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the breakfast table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after work.

I have to stop this. It can’t happen.

My sister once told me there are no good men, and if you find one, he’s probably unavailable. Only Pike Lawson isn’t the unavailable one.
I am.

PIKE

I took her in because I thought I was helping. As the days go by, though, it’s becoming anything but easy. I have to stop my mind from drifting to her and stop holding my breath every time I bump into her in the house. I can’t touch her, and I shouldn’t want to.

But we’re not free to give into this. She’s nineteen, and I’m thirty-eight.

And her boyfriend’s father.

Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house.

Birthday Girl:

Penelope Douglas has been on my to-read list for a few years now. But I didn’t know where to start. After hearing pretty great things about Birthday Girl, I thought it was a perfect choice. And I’m really glad that I decided with this one. While it wasn’t my favourite book I’ve ever read, I did enjoy reading it.

Both protagonist were such a pleasure to read and I loved getting to know both of them throughout Birthday Girl. At times I felt that their characters felt a little flat. But it wasn’t the whole book. Jordan was interesting and I liked getting to know her. I loved her growth as well.

Pike was a really interesting character. I didn’t particularly love him, but I didn’t hate him, just indifferent. I liked knowing about him and knowing his feelings. But I didn’t care too much. At times I felt that he was just annoying.

I enjoy reading age-gap romances and there is one here for sure. The romance had a great built-up I enjoyed seeing that a lot. It’s a slow burn one for sure, so that is not your thing, then this isn’t for you. But I did enjoy seeing the relationship build between Jordan and Pike. It went from nothing to something quite sweet. In saying this, I did feel that the book ended before the reader gets to see Jordan and Pike together. It’s a big book and I felt like as soon as anything happened – the book ended.

Talking about age-gap romance. I like how it was handle here. A big deal wasn’t made, but it was also not overlooked. It was a great balance and that was perfect.

Overall I enjoyed reading Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas. It was a great romance novel that I would recommend to others, especially those looking for age-gap romances. Jordan and Pike were great together, even though I wished I saw more of them together. I will need to pick up something from Penelope Douglas again for sure.

And that is it for today’s reviews. Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Are you planning on reading them? Let’s Chat!