Day: February 4, 2015

Review: Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean

Posted February 4, 2015 by Holly in Reviews | 4 Comments

Review: Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLeanReviewer: Holly
Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean
Series: The Rules of Scoundrels #4
Also in this series: A Rogue by Any Other Name (The Rules of Scoundrels, #1), A Rogue by Any Other Name, One Good Earl Deserves a Lover,
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: November 25th 2014
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

RITA® Award-winning author Sarah MacLean reveals the identity of The Fallen Angel's final scoundrel in the spectacular conclusion to her New York Times bestselling Rules of Scoundrels series . . .
By day, she is Lady Georgiana, sister to a duke, ruined before her first season in the worst kind of scandal. But the truth is far more shocking—in London's darkest corners, she is Chase, the mysterious, unknown founder of the city's most legendary gaming hell. For years, her double identity has gone undiscovered . . . until now.
Brilliant, driven, handsome-as-sin Duncan West is intrigued by the beautiful, ruined woman who is somehow connected to a world of darkness and sin. He knows she is more than she seems, and he vows to uncover all of Georgiana's secrets, laying bare her past, threatening her present, and risking all she holds dear . . . including her heart.

I’m sad to see the end of the Rules of Scoundrels series, though I’m happy to say MacLean really went out with a bang. This was an excellent read.

Lady Georgiana was introduced in Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart. She is the younger sister of The Duke of Leighton. She was ruined when she became pregnant out of wedlock. It’s been many years and she’s mostly fine with not being accepted in society, until it becomes apparent her daughter will also be snubbed. By day she may be the fallen sister of the Duke of Leighton, but by night she is Chase, the founder of the Fallen Angel, and she holds more power than any man in England, for she knows the secrets of everyone.

She plans to use her knowledge to secure herself a place in society, and a strong marriage to a titled gentleman, in order to pave the way for her daughter. She hopes to win a proposal without resorting to blackmail, though she isn’t above it if necessary. All is going as plan until Duncan West, owner of the city’s largest newspaper, takes an interest in her. She can’t let Duncan find out her secrets, but she can’t afford to turn him away when he offers to help repair her reputation. They’re more similar than they like to admit, and the attraction between them is hard to deny. But Duncan has secrets from his own past he doesn’t want revealed. Plus, he lacks the one thing Georgiana desperately needs…a title.

Chase is the most enigmatic and mysterious owner of the Fallen Angel. Throughout the series, there have been clues about Chase’s identity, but it isn’t until this book that she’s finally revealed (Though I feel pretty smug that I called who Chase was right after the last book was released.). I wasn’t sure what to expect from a female gaming hell owner, but Lady Georgiana was everything I could have hoped for. Strong, independent, wily and manipulative.

Duncan was a good fit for her, since he, too, was wily and manipulative. As a newspaper magnate, he’s learned to be cagey and trade in information. His secrets were well kept, and he did well at ferreting out the secrets of others. Yet he had a surprising about of honor for a journalist.

They had a good amount of chemistry. Their witty banter and constant sparring made for interesting reading. I did feel like Georgiana kept her secrets a lot longer than she needed to, but I understood why she felt the need to hold her cards close to her chest. I also felt like she took an unnecessary amount of risks with her identity after she came back out into society. Especially since she knew Duncan had figured out who she was (not Chase, but the madame at the club, who she’d masquerading as for years).

I’m sad to see the series end, but MacLean is ending on a high note.  The final resolution was satisfying and, though I’ll miss them, I think all four founders of the Fallen Angel have moved on to bigger and better things.

4 out of 5

Reading Order:

four-stars

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Guest Review: Forbidden to Love the Duke by Jillian Hunter

Posted February 4, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Forbidden to Love the Duke by Jillian HunterReviewer: Tracy
Forbidden to Love the Duke by Jillian Hunter
Series: The Fenwick Sisters #1
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: February 3rd 2015
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Lady Ivy Fenwick is desperate. Since her father’s fatal duel, she and her sisters have sold off every valuable possession to make ends meet. With the manor stripped bare, Ivy has one last resort: Apply as governess to the Duke of Ellsworth’s wards.

James should have known better than to hire the desirable lady who had fallen on hard times—and who tempts him at every turn. As her employer, he tries valiantly to remain noble and not let a kiss they shared as strangers years ago entice him. Yet the more he learns of Ivy’s secrets, the more he wants her. And when another suitor proves aggressive, James is confronted with a challenge: Surrender Ivy or fight for the woman he’s come to love against all odds, knowing that it takes a scoundrel to trump a scoundrel.

Tracy’s review of Forbidden to Love the Duke (The Fenwick Sisters Affairs #1) by Jillian Hunter.

Ivy and James “met” at Ivy’s debut. He was completely taken with her and stole a kiss. She was smitten from the word go even though he was masked and she had no idea who he was.

Five years later James is back from the war (which is where he left the day after he first met Ivy) and he’s interested in her home, Fenwick. When he arrives home he also discovers that his brother’s kids are in residence as their mother has abandoned them to run off with her lover (their father is still fighting in the war). He puts an ad in the paper for a governess the same day that he sees an ad seeking a governess position and realizes it’s Ivy. He hires her for the children and pursues her relentlessly.

Ivy and her three sisters have been living half lives for the past 5 years. Their father fought in a duel and died the day after Ivy met James. They have been barely surviving at Fenwick but are adamant about keeping creditors and those who would take Fenwick from them away from them. She is excited and scared about being a governess as she’s not sure that she can do the job – she is the daughter of an Earl, after all. She does a fine job, however, and makes the children her priority – even though James keeps getting in the way.

On top of the children and her feelings for James there’s a man, Sir Oliver, a poet, who shows up at Fenwick trying to court Ivy. He, of course, has ulterior motives as he heard there’s a treasure hidden within Fenwick somewhere. Although his motives stink he does find himself caring for the Fenwick sisters – of course that doesn’t stop him for looking for the treasure.

The story was a good one although it was a bit slower than I expected it to be. I really liked Ivy and her sisters and their fortitude in the face of adversity. James was a good guy for the most part. I liked him with Ivy and I thought he was pretty darned understanding of the poet despite his dislike of him.

Although the story was good it didn’t have a whole lot of conflict. It was more Ivy trying to make her decisions about James and Oliver looking for the treasure although even that part was a bit abbreviated. I would have liked to have seen more sister interaction before James showed up – just to show their solidarity – but it was what it was. I look forward to reading more about the Fenwick sisters in the future.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

This title is available from Signet Select. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

three-half-stars

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