Today’s Steals and Deals at AAR…..

This is an older Balogh–our review is here.

 

Readers meet the Duchess of Dunbarton and get drawn into her world from the very first page of the book. Hannah Reid, still relatively young at thirty, spent eleven years married to a man more than 50 years her senior. He died and she has observed her year of mourning. Beautiful, mysterious, and accustomed to holding court among her crowd of male admirers, Hannah has a somewhat scandalous reputation. She dresses all in white and arms herself with a glittering array of diamonds, doing nothing to dispel the whispers that follow her. Privately, readers get to see another side of her as she visits with her girlhood friend who has come to London from the country, but this is not the Hannah seen by the ton.

As the novel opens, Hannah has decided to take a lover for the season: Mr. Constantine Huxtable, to be exact. The sinfully handsome Constantine is just the wicked lover that Hannah has decided she wants – at least temporarily. With techniques that almost seem culled from a Regency version of The Rules, Hannah plays games with Constantine. She leads him on and then pulls back. It’s the sort of thing that might drive a reader crazy, except that Balogh writes it so well. These initial scenes show so much of Hannah and Constantine’s characters that they really did draw me right into the book. I did not always like the leads, but they certainly held my interest.

 

It’s at Amazon for 1.99 here.


We do love Yates. She’s always reliable. (Our review is here.)

 

Olivia is convinced that her ex-boyfriend is ‘the one’. The breakup, in her estimation, is a miscalculation and nothing more. All she has to do is show him his error in judgement by… making him jealous. (I eye-rolled with you, readers. Sweet Olivia, this is not a good plan.) Who better to fool around with with no-strings-attached than smooth talking cowboy Luke?

Luke, for his part in this plot, usually has limited interest in women who come with drama. In this particular instance, however, his desire for Olivia’s help outweighs his hatred of drama. He needs her father to sell him some land, but knows that won’t happen without Olivia’s assistance, so he agrees to her cockamamie plan.

 

It’s at Amazon for 0.99 here.


Crusie is always a good time. (Our review is here.)

 

This is a modern marriage of convenience tale, with artist/story-teller Daisy Flattery becoming involved with college professor Linc Blaise for his benefit – the dean of the college he wants to work at will only hire him if he’s married. The uptight, intellectual, and tight-assed Linc is into cool little blondes. Daisy is the bohemian type, collector of lost animals, earth-mother, rounded, with a killer smile.

Their “deal” collides Linc’s world; circumstances and secondary characters, including a one-eyed dog, mothers-in-law, friends, students, and Linc himself, fall under Daisy’s spell. Not that she’s this happy-go-lucky creature. Take a peak into one of her whimsical paintings and you’ll get a gander of Lilly Borden with her ax.

When Linc’s martinet of a mother comes for a visit and brings with her a virulent strain of the flu, the tone of the story changes. The humor is still there, but, underneath it, underneath Daisy and Linc’s convenient marriage, true feelings are beginning to burst through.

 

It’s at Amazon for 1.99 here.


Bowen is always good. (Our review is here.)

 

Kristen: King is easily the most fascinating character in Ms. Bowen’s repertoire company – as it were – and I seem to always gravitate towards him and also expect his machinations within her works. I won’t go so far as to fall for him, Caroline, but zero shade if you ever did!

I’m giving it a B+. My summary is that I’d recommend this for sure for fans of historical romance in general and Ms. Bowen in particular, and from our chat here, I think you’d all agree. Yes?

Em: This isn’t quite the story I expected it to be; I felt like it was less romance and more romantic suspense-ish, and while I think it worked, when I pick up a Bowen book I expect to feel the love. I liked the story, the principals, and the clever ending, but I didn’t feel emotionally connected to these two and it’s why I can’t go higher than a B for this one. Good, but not great. AND WHEN WILL WE GET KING’S BOOK????!!

Caroline: I loved the meticulous historical detail around smuggling, like goods and techniques. I liked that Katherine felt believable as a heroine who could hold her own in the smuggling world and society both, and that Harland felt like someone who could make a match with her on both levels. The plot held my attention, but I think there were some balance issues and pacing issues around when the plot was focused on the relationship and when it was focused on adventure. I’d give it a B+.

Shannon: It gets an A- from me. The romance made me super happy, and I absolutely adored the smuggling storyline. It reminded me of the historical romances I fell in love with back in the 90s, and I loved every minute I spent with the leads.

 

It’s at Amazon for 1.99 is here.


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