The Duke I Once Knew by Olivia Drake

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Award-winning author Olivia Drake begins her new Unlikely Duchesses series with THE DUKE I ONCE KNEW (St. Martin’s Paperbacks; December 31, 2018). With compelling characters and skillful plot twists, Drake’s latest novel will take your breath away.

First love is always the sweetest…

For years, Abigail Linton devoted herself to caring for her parents and her siblings’ children. Now, eager to create a life of her own, Abby seizes upon a position as a governess on a neighboring estate. Unfortunately, her absentee employer is Maxwell Bryce, the Duke of Rothwell, the notorious rake who once broke her youthful heart. But since he hasn’t set foot on his estate for fifteen years, Abby assumes she’ll never have to lay eyes on him ever again. 

Then, from out of nowhere, Max appears. He is stunned to come face to face with the girl next door he fell for years ago—before he went away, and she stopped writing to him … even though Abby swears that he is the one who left her without a word. Could it be that this spirited, witty spinster has won Max’s heart all over again—and that they may have a second chance at love?

REVIEW:

This is a classic second-chance historical romance, embellished with an overbearing family and a jealous rival. Max and Abby were childhood sweethearts, cruelly separated by time and circumstance. When they finally meet again (in one of the most awkward remeetings ever), it seems too much has passed for them to rekindle what once was.

The characters were varied and interesting, even if a few were a bit stock standard. In fact, this was my main quibble with this novel. I enjoyed the read overall, but I didn't find it particularly memorable. 

If you like historical romance, this is a decent read. I would recommend it, but wouldn't call it unmissable.

Three stars.

I received an ARC through St Martin's Press; all opinions are my own. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Olivia Drake is the author of the Cinderella Sisterhood series (Seducing the Heiress, Never Trust a Rogue, Scandal of the Year, If the Slipper Fits, Stroke of Midnight, Abducted by the Prince, Bella and the Beast, His Wicked Wish, and The Scandalous Flirt). She has been a member of Romance Writers of America since 1981, and her novels have won the Golden Heart Award, Best Historical Romantic Suspense and Best Regency Historical from Romantic Times. She has also won the prestigious RITA award. She currently resides in Houston, TX.

Buy this book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250174376

Author website: http://oliviadrake.com/ 

Author Twitter: @OliviaDrake1

Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Olivia-Drake-186133368670/ 

SMP Romance Twitter: @SMPRomance or @heroesnhearts

SMP Romance Website: https://heroesandheartbreakers.com/ 

Revi

#Moonstruck by Sariah Wilson

I really wanted to love this book. On paper, it has all the elements I adore in a romance - it's a clean fake relationship rockstar romance. It's like my catnip! And to be fair, this isn't a terrible book. It's just let down by a strong theme of internalised misogyny.

I can handle a small cast. I can be disappointed that the promising female friendships near the start fade away, the only non-villainous females in the cast are a secondary love interest and the supportive best friend, and still get over it.

I'm really not keen on how the heroine slams the hero's fans, to his face, and is never corrected. He never stands up for them, explicitly dislikes the music he makes that they follow him for. I was uncomfortable but willing to let it slide if she showed growth or was called out on it, but that never happened. Her viewpoint stood unopposed.

I've been there, in that crowd of screaming fans. I've followed and liked and binged YouTube interviews and music videos and behind the scenes. I've made friends and signs and shoddy gifs. I came away from the book feeling like the main character, and the author, would look down on me for this. I have no patience for a book about a rockstar who won't defend his fans. I'm not here for girls getting called "pleeches" (plastic leeches) for daring to be pretty and scoring a meet and greet with their idol.

Listen, the rest of the romance is nice enough, but it's been weeks since I first read the word 'pleeches' and it's not clever or funny, it's just mean.

Three stars.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley

The Good, the Bad, and the Duke by Janna MacGregor

A lady with a noble mission. A duke looking for redemption. A forbidden love that cannot be denied, in The Good, The Bad, and The Duke by Janna MacGregor.

Lady Daphne Hallworth is ready to celebrate the holidays with her family. But when they accidentally leave her home alone, Daphne uses the time to work on her dream—opening a home for unwed mothers. But her quest isn’t problem-free: She’s in a battle to win the property for the home against her brother’s best friend-turned-enemy, Paul Barstowe, Duke of Southart. And that’s not all: someone has stolen her personal diary, which holds secrets that could devastate her family. Daphne has always harbored private feelings for the man her family scorns…though perhaps striking a bargain with the handsome Duke will solve both their problems?

Paul, long considered good for nothing, aims to open a hospital to honor his brother and restore his reputation. So when a conflict over the land brings him straight into Daphne’s life, they make a deal: He will help her find her diary if Daphne can change her family’s opinion of him. But before he can win her family’s affection, he has to win hers first. Maybe love was the answer to their family feud all along?

Review:

It's always hard to jump into a series mid-way. You can tell by the numerous loved-up couples, their romantic problems (and character development) over and in the past, all alike in their coupledom. I can tell from personal experience it's even worse to be one of the remaining singles - and it seems like poor Daphne is in the same boat. Everyone is so taken with their significant others over Christmas, they leave London without Daphne.

No, really. She comes down from her room (after changing because a niece spilled something on her) to find everyone gone but the under-butler. What follows is a sort of coming-of-age as she finds her own feet without her loving but smothering family, along with a redemption arc for Paul, her brother's former best friend.

I enjoyed this book, but it definitely lost some impact for me, coming in mid-way through the series. I didn't have the back story that so many relationships were based on, nor did I understand what Paul did to make all of Daphne's family dislike him so much. While it was a good read, I'd recommend starting elsewhere in this series because I think it'd make the experience more enjoyable.

Three and a half (let's round up to four for the under-butler's adorable mom who I wanted more of) stars

I received an ARC of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley; all opinions are my own

First Earl I See Tonight by Anna Bennet

Synopsis:

Recently jilted by his fiancée, David Gray, Earl of Ravenport is not in the market for a wife. Even if Gray didn’t have his hands full renovating his crumbling country house, it would take more than a bold marriage proposal from a headstrong young beauty to thaw his frozen heart. Gray is confident that spending a week at his ramshackle estate will change her mind about marriage, but every passionate moment he spends with her tempts him to change his…

A talented artist, Miss Fiona Hartley desperately needs her dowry money to pay off a blackmailer set on ruining her sister. The handsome earl seems a sensible choice for a husband…if only she can convince him that romance will play no part. But marrying in name only may prove difficult for Fiona. Gray can’t help but be dazzled by her genuine warmth. Yet as their feelings deepen, Fiona’s deadline looms. Will her secrets destroy them, or is true love their final destiny?

Review:

What a delightful read! Fiona needs a marriage of convenience, David needs money, but is too honourable to take part in Fiona's harebrained scheme. He's sure hosting her at his estate will scare her off - as it did his previous fiancee - but somehow sharp-eyed Fiona sees beyond the cracks to what's really important.

I loved the attention to little things in this book - Fiona's love of drawing, David's perceptive grandmother, the sisterly bond between Fiona and Lily, the realisation on both sides that this was a marriage that both wanted for more than the convenience. I especially loved the lack of unnecessary angst - yes, there are some tense moments, but these are two wonderfully practical people who, upon further machinations of the blackmailer, independently realise this and don't blame the other.

An extremely enjoyable historical romance.

Four and a half stars

I received an ARC from St Martin's Press

Tunes (and Troubles) by KC Enders

What’s more cliché than falling for a guy in a band or pining for the one who got away? Find out in TUNES by KC Enders, a Beekman Hills novel where a no-strings spring break fling turns into something more for Gracyn George and rocker Gavin Keller. Fans of A.L. Jackson’s STAY, DRUMLINE by Stacy Kestwick, and authors Jiffy Kate & Winter Renshaw will love this spicy and angsty second-chance romance.

Title:  Tunes

Author: KC Enders

Release Date: October 1, 2018

Publisher: Self-published

Series: Beekman Hills #2

Genres: New Adult Romance

Word Count: 73K

Format: Paperback & digital

Synopsis:

What’s more cliché than falling for a guy in a band?

A no-strings fling is all it was meant to be for Gracyn George. Sun, sand, sex, and then move on. That was before he strummed his way into her life. Each note leaving a tingle in her spine, their lasting melodies burned into her memory.

What’s more cliché than pining for the one who got away?

Gavin Keller has sacrificed far too much to chase after the girl who snuck out in the middle of the night and left him wondering, What if …

No matter how high his star rises or how many sold-out shows he plays, he ends each concert scanning the audience for her.

What was supposed to be temporary becomes a longing neither is willing to let go. After months of trying to move on, can they sync the tunes in their hearts?

Available on Amazon and FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon → https://amzn.to/2IfUuF7

Add to Goodreads → http://bit.ly/2oBSoX9

Review:

If Murphy applied his law to a relationship, this would be the result. This is a story of missed connections and misunderstandings, of two people who shouldn't have met but who somehow keep finding their way back to each other. Overall I found this a cute story, especially the first half. The second half I felt was too bogged down by angst and distrust.

I especially wish that *some people* would face actual consequences for their actions. Even in the #metoo age, I understand why Gracyn might not report blatant sexual harassment (even though the repercussions of not reporting drive a large part of the plot), but the harasser seemed to get off pretty much scot-free. I know this is similar to what happens in reality, but this is fiction dammit and I want vindication!

Also, warning for a downer ending. It was bittersweet to the extreme, but I felt it was over-foreshadowed and under-developed. It could've had more impact is all I'm saying.

Three stars

I received an ARC from Barclay Publicity; all opinions are my own.

I also received book 1 - Troubles - these books stand alone, but what starts in Troubles, ends in Tunes, and once I read Troubles I absolutely had to know how Gracyn's story ended.

Troubles is what I'd call your standard romance - two people with their own problems, they meet and fall in love, but past experiences get in the way. It's a decent read, but I found it a tad predictable and the leads unmemorable, if nice enough. I loved how Aiden helped Lis study but I would've liked to get a better feel for him as a character.

Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh

This book is all I ever wanted and more.

Nayna is an accountant. She enjoys romance novels. She wants to travel and see the world. NAYNA IS ME. Well, not entirely. I've moved out of home and I'm not part of the Indian community, but I am the good-girl, younger daughter who never went wild. Let's settle on Nayna resonating with parts of me I've never dreamed I'd get to see in print.

And RAJ. Oh goodness, Raj sounds delightful. He knows what he wants and he wants Nayna - but not enough to trample on her dreams or her needs. True, he does screw up, in a very Darcy-like way, but he also apologises heartily, again in a very Darcy-like way, and makes sure it doesn't happen again. Also, the book doesn't shy away from noting the P&P similarities at the time, which soothes the Romance-lover in me.

This is a wonderful story about two very different people trying to reconcile different dreams for the future while juggling family expectations and sibling drama galore. This could be an entire <em>season</em> of the masala dramas the parents love so much.

While I love Nalini's paranormal series (Guild Hunter and Psy-Changeling), I've come to appreciate her contemporaries because they never rely on a big mis to create drama or a deus ex to get to a happy ending. With Rebel Hard and the preceding Cherish Hard (admittedly, awkward names), Nalini proves you don't need a tragic past or traumatic event to cause romantic tension. The Rock Kiss series were all about the past holding people back; the Hard Play books are all about the future.

This reads well as a standalone, but even better in tandem with Cherish Hard as the two run in parallel

Five joyous stars.

Ocean Light by Nalini Singh

Some long-running series feel like the author is just ringing it in. Swap out the names, fuzz some of the details, publish.

This is not one of those series. This might be book #17, but it is a valuable and enjoyable continuation of a story that started way back at book #1. The characters are unique, the romance is sweet, and the overarching story arc never feels stale. Do both characters feel almost too perfect to be true? Maybe. There's not a huge amount of growing for each to do - the conflict is more external than internal, but it all makes sense in context.

It's not a great place to start the series - try book #1 Slave to Sensation or book #16 Silver Silence (if you want to skip 15 books of delicious romance, your loss) - but anyone who has been following the Psy-Changeling series must read this book.

Four stars.