Review: When the Marquess Met His Match by Laura Lee Guhrke

In the first of a dazzling new series, USA Today bestselling author Laura Lee Guhrke introduces London's most renowned matchmaker—and a scoundrel intent on seducing his way to the altar.

She's the matchmaker . . .

Lady Belinda Featherstone's job is to guide American heiresses to matrimony, and away from men like Nicholas, Marquess of Trubridge. But the charming, disreputable marquess needs a wealthy bride, and he hires Belinda to help him find one. Her task seems easy: find that scoundrel the sort of wife he so richly deserves. But Nicholas's hot, searing kiss soon proves her task will be anything but easy.

He's the perfect match . . .

Nicholas plans to wed a rich, pretty young darling to restore his fortune, and he's happy to pay a marriage broker to help him. But one taste of Belinda's lips and Nicholas's sensible scheme to marry for money goes awry, and he yearns to show his beautiful matchmaker he's the perfect match . . . for her.

Lady Belinda Featherstone married for love.  She thought the feeling was mutual with her new husband.  When he dies, she discovers love of her inheritance is what he was passionate about (that, and a string of mistresses).  A engaging American woman, she puts her gumption to the test and decides to help other young American heiresses avoid the trap she fell into.  

The Marquess of Trubridge is in search of a young American heiress and is consistently foiled by Lady Featherstone.  They kiss, however, and now the marquess can think of nothing but her. 

I really enjoyed Belinda and Nicholas's barbs.  They both protest too much concerning their mutual attraction, so it was fun to watch them finally give in to temptation. 

(A very special thank you to Avon Romance, Harper Collins, and Edelweiss for providing me with an ARC of When The Marquess Met His Match.)

Review: The Rogue's Proposal by Jennifer Haymore

BOUND BY DESIRE
 

Lukas Hawkins, the second son of the troubled House of Trent, is on a mission: find his missing mother and her alleged kidnapper, a brute named Roger Morton. If bringing the villain to justice means breaking a few laws, then so be it. But when he encounters a mysterious stranger with the face of an angel and a body made for sin, Luke suddenly finds his task-and his heart-in peril.

Emma Curtis knows of Lord Lukas's rakish reputation-and hopes to use it to her advantage. While most men of honor would never travel alone with an unmarried woman, Luke is quite willing to take Emma on the road . . . and into his bed. As their journey carries them to unexpected places, Luke and Emma indulge their every passion and share their most private fantasies. But just when their deepest desires are finally within reach, a secret is revealed that threatens to end their love forever . . .

The Rogue's Proposal continues the storyline set in motion in The Duchess Hunt.  While I liked this book, the major mystery subplot -- finding the Dowager Duchess -- seems to develop much more slowly than necessary.  

Lukas Hawkins is the second son of the House of Trent.  His older brother, the current Duke of Trent, newly married, has assigned him to pick up the search for their mother.  Lukas does so, and he manages to pick the widowed Emma Curtis as well.  

The pacing picks up considerably in the final third of the book, when Lukas and Emma are chasing Roger Morton to Scotland, then back to London.  And though Lukas and Emma have great chemistry, their pairing seemed too convenient and easy.  Still, I'll continue this series because I want to know what exactly happened to the Dowager Duchess and how those pieces fall into place. 

Review: Born Wild by Julie Ann Walker

She's got three rules:

1. Trust no one… Eve Edens has been abandoned, used, or manipulated by almost everyone she's ever met. Born into ridiculous wealth, she's dealt with the petty jealousies and sordid little resentments for nearly thirty years. But after three botched attempts on her life, she can no longer ignore the truth. Someone wants her dead.

2. Avoid the bad boys at all costs… William "Wild Bill" Reichert, the wonderfully sexy boy who abandoned her years ago, is back in town. Only he's no boy. Now he's a covert operative - and he's all man. When Eve hires Bill to help her discover who is behind the attacks, Bill soon comes to suspect it's someone much closer to Eve than she dares to believe.

3. And never fall for the same ruse twice… The search for the killer takes Bill and Eve deep into the dark secrets and strange world of the rich and famous, and into the heart of red-hot passion re-ignited by the peril that threatens to consume them both. But does Eve dare risk her heart on Bill a second time?

Finally!  The book I've been waiting for almost the entire series -- Bill and Eve's story.  There were enough sparks between Bill and Eve when they were in the same room to keep me reading each and every book, hoping for more from these two.  As drawn out as their romance was, I felt ultimately disappointed when I reached the end of Born Wild.  I didn't believe the reasons keeping Bill and Eve apart, and I kept getting tripped up over who the real villain would turn out to be. 

(A very special thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Born Wild.)

Eagerly Anticipating -- November 2013

         

Eagerly Anticipating -- October 2013

       

Review: Always on My Mind by Jill Shalvis

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING

After dropping out of pastry school and messing up her big break on a reality cooking show, Leah Sullivan needs to accomplish something in her life. But when she returns home to Lucky Harbor, she finds herself distracted by her best friend, Jack Harper. In an effort to cheer up Jack's ailing mother, Dee, Leah tells a little fib - that she and Jack are more than just friends. Soon pretending to be hot-and-heavy with this hunky firefighter feels too real to handle . . .

No-strings attachments suit Jack just fine - perfect for keeping the risk of heartbreak away. But as Jack and Leah break every one of their "just friends" rules, he longs to turn their pretend relationship into something permanent. Do best friends know too much about each other to risk falling in love? Or will Jack and Leah discover something new about each other in a little town called Lucky Harbor?

I have loved each and every one of the Lucky Harbor books, plowed through them in fact.  Couldn't wait to open them and see what Lucille would post about the prospective couple on Facebook.  While the circumstances in which Leah and Jack get together have never been used (that I can recall) in this series, the interesting and quirky characters are starting to blend together.  The things that made this series -- and the town -- special seem to be recycled.  And I hate to say that!  I hate to say I'm getting tired of Lucky Harbor, but ... I'm getting tired of Lucky Harbor.  *sigh*

(A very special thank you to Forever Romance, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Always on My Mind.)

Review: Sleigh Belles by Beth Albright

Join the Sassy Belles for Christmas, Southern style!

With her hair perfectly coiffed and a heavy trail of perfume wafting behind her, local news reporter Dallas Dubois is sure she's about to kick her career—and maybe her love life—into high gear. The director of the Tuscaloosa children's Christmas play has fallen ill, and Dallas is ordered by her station manager to take the reins. Everyone is shocked—especially the musical director, Cal Hollingsworth, who still remembers her as the Ice Queen from high school.

Dallas has never met a challenge that a little lip gloss and a Chanel knockoff couldn't fix, but she has no idea how to relate to these kids. Things are made even more complicated by the butterflies she gets whenever Cal is near….

I've really enjoyed this series thus far, and I knew in order to get to know Dallas Dubois, we would have to hear things from her point of view and not Blake O'Hara Heart's.  Unfortunately, I really missed Blake's voice and perspective on life in Tuscaloosa.  

Dallas Dubois is a news reporter trying to get ahead.  She's been portrayed as a schemer and a do-anything-to-further-her-career kind of gal, but that's not who she really is underneath the perfect hair and heavy makeup. 

While I'm glad to have heard directly from Dallas, enabling me to get to know her without Blake or Vivi's impressions and opinions, there was something missing in this final installment of the Sassy Belles trilogy, and I didn't enjoy Sleigh Belles as much as I had hoped. 

(A very special thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Sleigh Belles.)