Tag: Adele Ashworth

Guest Review: The Duke’s Captive by Adele Ashworth

Posted October 26, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins

Lori‘s review of The Duke’s Captive by Adele Ashworth

Ian Wentworth arrives in London with one goal: revenge. Now a duke of enormous wealth, he should settle down to the business of marrying and producing heirs. But nightmares of an ordeal from his past haunt him at every turn. All those he believes responsible have paid with their lives. All but one: Viola Bennington-Jones, the lovely Lady Cheshire. And he will not rest until he sees the tempting beauty suffer.

Viola keeps her secrets – and there are many – safe from society’s prying eyes. When she first spies Ian at a glittering ball, the rush of recognition immediately turns to panic. Does he remember the tender touches that once passed between them? Does he feel the electric passion that binds them still? Or does he blame her for the awful horrors her kin bestowed upon him? The enigmatic duke holds her captive: in desperate thrall to his powerful sensuality, her future – and her heart – in his hands.

Five years prior, Viola’s sisters had held Ian hostage; drugged him, stripped him, and chained him to a wall for many weeks. After his release, and once back to health, all he can think about is revenge. Viola, the youngest of the sisters, had tried to help him during his captivity, but was under her family’s thumb, afraid to reveal his whereabouts to the authorities. So she did what she could for him; bathed him, kept him warm, comforted him.

Wow, this was a very intense book, and there is a lot of morally ambiguous behavior on the part of both hero and heroine. For his part, Ian pretty much put his desire for revenge against Viola out there right from the start, but Viola kept secrets from Ian for much of the book, until it was all stripped away. It’s a very angsty book, but it was totally appropriate. Basically, Ian stalks her, toys with her in a game of cat and mouse, and takes Viola hostage, in order to repay her for the wrong she’d done to him.

There is what I would call a forced seduction scene that fit completely with Ian’s thirst for revenge, and his interpretation of past events. Normally, I’m not down with scenes of this nature, but given Ian’s recollections and feelings of betrayal, violation, and horror at his past with Viola and her sisters, I was able to read it and not hate Ian (although I was sad that he went through with it). It was powerful and emotional for both Ian and Viola, and very well written.

Here is a man who, from his viewpoint, was held captive, raped, and starved near to death. I thought Ian’s recollections of his time in captivity were very well handled, realistically portrayed, and so very, very sad. As was his desire for revenge – for some sort of retribution, any sort, really, against the one who got away without any legal punishment.

This doesn’t get a perfect grade because I never truly bought that Viola couldn’t get word to someone, and I never truly understood the reason for the kidnapping in the first place. I thought it was a mistake to leave that reveal until the very end. It should have been brought out with the rest of Viola’s revelations.

All in all, however, a very intense, emotional book with many frequently used tropes juxtaposed onto the hero, which made for a more interesting, powerful read. While I was uncomfortable throughout much of the book, I can definitely say that it stick with me and was well worth the read.


4.25 out of 5

You can read more from Lori by visiting I Just Finished Reading and Living in the House of Testosterone.

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


Tagged: , , , , , ,

Guest Review: My Darling Caroline by Adele Ashworth

Posted July 12, 2010 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 3 Comments

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins


Lori’s review of My Darling Caroline by Adele Ashworth.

No man’s darling . . .

One by one, Lady Caroline Grayson watched her four sisters celebrate their betrothals, truly sure that marriage was not in her future—and perfectly pleased with that fact. Or so she thought.

Brent Ravenscroft, Earl of Weymerth, nearly gave his life for the Crown. He returned to England a hero with no intention of taking a bride, certain his brusque demeanor would intimidate any young ladies drawn to his good looks—or so he thought.

Bound by a business transaction, Caroline and Brent begin life as husband and wife. Utterly determined not to fall for each other, they stubbornly ignore the sparks flying between them and keep secrets at every turn. They would resist the lure of love—and the pleasures of the marriage bed—forever . . . or so they thought.

~~~~~~~~~

I really enjoyed this book. Caroline and Brent are each distinct characters, neither of whom want the marriage that is forced upon them by Caroline’s father. Caroline is a true scholar, but Ashworth I smuch truer to the times than some other authors might be. As a female, Caroline cannot go into a classroom, and so stands out in hallways, absorbing lectures from afar. She plans to go to university and become a famous botanist.

Brent, for his part, had no desire to marry. He wanted his property back, and Caroline’s father owned it. In order to gain his property, he must marry Caroline, which he reluctantly does.

What I liked so much was that Caroline and Brent became friends almost from the beginning. Even though they were forced into marriage, Brent didn’t take his frustration out on Caroline. As soon as they were married, he treated her well. He finds himself amused and bemused by her. I laughed when Caroline “respectfully requested” that he take his attentions elsewhere because she had no intention of consummating the marriage.

Of course they do consummate eventually, and fall in love. There are some secrets here, and they drive the two apart. However, Caroline’s sister is a terrific character. Interesting in her own right. She stands up for Caroline and almost single-handedly gets them talking to one another again. The ending is a mix of tender love, deceit, and surprises.

I enjoyed this book tremendously.

Grade: 4 out of 5

You can read more from Lori by visiting, I Just Finished Reading and Living in the House of Testosterone.

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


Tagged: , , , , , ,

Review: A Notorious Proposal by Adele Ashworth

Posted April 29, 2008 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: A Notorious Proposal by Adele AshworthReviewer: Rowena
A Notorious Proposition (Winter Garden #3) by Adele Ashworth
Series: Winter Garden #3
Publisher: Harper Collins, Avon
Publication Date: April 29th 2008
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

From bed partners...

Two years ago, while on assignment for the Crown, darkly handsome Garrett Burke left Lady Ivy Wentworth sleeping naked in his bed as he went in search of the missing Martello diamonds. After apprehending the dastardly thief, he intended to spend the rest of his life in the arms of the auburn-haired beauty. But when the case came to a shocking and dangerous end, Garrett was certain he'd been betrayed...

To partners in crime

Ivy once loved Garrett with a virtuous heart, but these days she can barely stand him. Arriving at a deserted estate on a mysterious errand, she never expected to see him again, nor feel the same ecstasy she once did at his touch. Now, joined with him in the search for the legendary jewels, she is willing to risk everything. Everything, that is, except her heart...

This was a really nice book to settle into before going to bed. It was a great book with great characters and a solid storyline. Lord Rye hires Lady Ivy Wentworth who is a seer to see if there are any ghosts running around in his house and Garrett Burke comes to town under the guise of being an architect who is trying to find out the history of the homes in Winter Garden. He’s really out to find the diamonds that got his reputation tainted two years ago when he was knocked the hell out trying to retrieve some lifted diamonds…HIS lifted diamonds. Two years ago, Garrett and Ivy had an intense love affair that was cut way too short because of a bunch of stuff that went down.

Now, it’s two years later and Garrett and Ivy are working together to try to uncover the mystery behind the diamonds (for Garrett) and find out if there are any ghosts in the house (for Ivy). They’re trying to fight their feelings for each other but because this is a romance, they lose the battle and win the battle of love.

I enjoyed getting to know Garrett and Ivy. I never felt like Ivy was a dumb heroine, I just didn’t get that feeling. I really liked Ivy’s character. She had her pride and she had her feelings and she was just normal about it all. I can totally see me and Ivy being friends, I never felt like I wanted to choke her out (like I normally do with these kinds of novels) at all during the book because she reacted the way I would have and I just really enjoyed her and her storyline.

Garrett was one of those sexy heroes that I love to write posts about. He’s the kind of hero who isn’t all together perfect but perfect just the same. In his own way. He did what he did and he made no apologies for it and I really dug that about him. He had his suspicions but when it all came down to it, he went after what he wanted, to hell with the consequences. I really dug that.
On top of all of that, he was hecka hot. I wanted to jump his bones more than once while reading this book and I long to find my own Garrett in the real world because seriously? Garrett had it going on. He’s just the kind of hero that I like, he was the right amount of charm, sexiness and brains to make this island girl melt, kudos to Adele Ashworth on writing his character.

There’s a lot going on throughout this book in the town of Winter Garden. Garrett and Ivy are trying to get to the bottom of the mystery behind the diamonds and the ghosts and the people of Winter Garden have all sorts of stuff going on that Garrett and Ivy get drawn into, it added to the storyline and I really enjoyed the different characters and only wish I would have read Madeleine and Thomas’ book first. I would have enjoyed getting to know them before reading this book but aside from that, this was a solid read.

I think everyone should read this book (start with Winter Garden first though) because it’s just a feel good read and seriously, who doesn’t like those kinds of reads? This is my first Adele Ashworth and it won’t definitely be my last, so thanks to Mrs. Ashworth for the hours of entertainment she provided me with.

Grade: 4 out of 5

This book is available from Harper Collins. You can buy it here or here.

four-stars


Tagged: , , , , ,