Tag: Broadswords and Ballrooms

Guest Review: How to Train Your Highlander by Christy English

Posted December 13, 2016 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: How to Train Your Highlander by Christy EnglishReviewer: Tracy
How to Train Your Highlander by Christy English
Series: Broadswords and Ballrooms #3
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: December 6th 2016
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

She's the Hellion of Hyde Park...

A foolproof plan to avoid marriage:1. Always carry at least three blades.2. Ride circles around any man.3. Never get caught in a handsome duke's arms.

Wild Highlander Mary Elizabeth Waters is living on borrowed time. She's managed to dodge the marriage banns up to now, but even Englishmen can only be put off for so long...and there's one in particular who has her in his sights.

Harold Percy, Duke of Northumberland, is enchanted by the beautiful hellion who outrides every man on his estate and dances Scottish reels while the ton looks on in horror. The more he sees Mary, the more he knows he has to have her, tradition and good sense be damned. But what's a powerful man to do when the Highland spitfire of his dreams has no desire to be tamed...

Mary Elizabeth is a Scot through and through.  She loves the land she grew up on and wants nothing more than to live out her days roaming, hunting, fishing and just experiencing her Scottish highlands.  Her English mother has other ideas.  She left Mary Elizabeth alone until she was 16-years-old and then tried to turn the ultimate tomboy into a lady.  She then sent her off to England to try and find a husband.  She did nothing but get herself into trouble by being the tomboy she is.  She then heads off to Northumberland with her brother to stay at the home of the Duke of Northumberland.  The duke’s mother is best friends with Mary Elizabeth’s mother and they’re there for a house party.

The duke’s mother hopes to find a bride for her son but he has no interest whatsoever – that is until he meets Mary Elizabeth.  She thinks that he’s a groom or gardener and treats him as such.  She’s not rude but she talk frankly to him when everyone else is running around kowtowing to him.  He likes that she’s not like all the other ladies and talks to him plainly.  While his head knows that he shouldn’t be with her his heart is saying that he must.  The problem is that Mary Elizabeth isn’t sure she can give up her beloved highlands even though she’s completely in love with the duke.

This was a cute story.  It’s one of those that had me smiling at Mary Elizabeth’s antics.  She’s so not “lady” material and it shows in everything she does.  Was a it a bit over the top? Yeah, in some instances I felt the author was trying to hard to show us how unsuitable she was for the duke but I took it with a grain of salt.  It ended up being fun rather than annoying.  She frustrated the hell out of her mother which made Mary Elizabeth sad.  She wanted her mother to love her for who she was – not who she wanted her to be.  In the end the reasoning behind her mother’s actions was made clear but I found it to be an unsatisfying reason.

Harry was a great hero.  While he fell for Mary Elizabeth quite quickly I like how it was all handled.  He was a quiet man and I thought that they author had Harry and Mary Elizabeth playing off of each other quite well.

In the end the book was good if a little slow in parts.  If you like a fun historical story with a lady who’s a tomboy this one would be a great one to read.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

three-half-stars


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Guest Author: Romancing the Oscars with Christy English

Posted January 22, 2016 by Rowena in Promotions | 1 Comment

Academy_Award_trophyI love the Oscars…I love the beautiful men, the beautiful clothes, and I love movies, so watching my favorite actors and actresses get awarded for their stellar performances is a lot of fun. Another of my loves is, of course, romance, so I jumped at the chance to take Romance to the Oscars.

There were so many good films out this year, and so many wonderful actors. That is true every year, and this Oscar season is no exception.

Along with offering my predictions as to who will win in the categories of Best Actor and Best Actress (but I warn you, I am always wrong), I am also going to cast a few actors and actresses as our favorite romance novel character types. This is a lot of fun, because all of these actors and actresses are brilliant, and could really do these beloved characters justice.

Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the best actors of our time, and has played so many different roles that he could easily fit more than one Romantic Hero. The most obvious heroic romantic type is the Alpha Hero, a man who takes charge and does not hesitate to act when action is called for. I think that Mr. DiCaprio is a shoo-in for Best Actor for his portrayal of the Wild West gent from The Revenant.

Jennifer Lawrence is a beauty as well as a gifted actress, and she would be perfect to portray an Ingenue with a Backbone of Steel. Of course, she has played that role more than once in the movies already. While there is little opportunity for a woman to whip out a bow and arrow to slay an enemy in the world of romance novels, a strong female character always makes the readers love her, and Ms. Lawrence brings strength as well as inner beauty to every role she plays.

Cate Blanchett is another Oscar favorite this year. She would be wonderful in a romance novel as the Powerful Matriarch, the kind of woman who keeps her entire family afloat through a hideous historical horror such as the potato famine in Ireland or the war-torn South of 1864. My prediction is that Ms. Blanchett will win the Oscar for Best Actress.

Rooney Mara has a slender, ethereal quality that is shored up by a quiet strength that comes across in every role she plays. She would make a wonderful Waifish Debutante with a Core of Secret Power. In that novel, the heroine discovers her own strength in the midst of harrowing circumstances.

Matt Damon did a wonderful job when he played the stranded astronaut in The Martian. His engaging sense of humor made the movie extremely enjoyable as well as exciting from beginning to end. That said, I would cast Mr. Damon in the role of the Hot Fireman in a contemporary romance novel. He would be able to rescue the heroine from a burning building, or maybe her cat, as any heroine worth her salt should be able to rescue herself.

Michael Fassbender is an amazingly talented actor as well as amazingly hot, so he really could take on the role of any type of Alpha Hero in a romance novel. However, for my purposes today, I am going to name him as our Hot Cowboy, because he could easily play a man who could shoot straight, say little, and win the heroine over with only a smile.


How to Wed a Warrior coverTitle: How to Wed a Warrior
Author: Christy English
Series: Broadswords and Ballrooms, Book 2
ISBN: 9781492612902
Release Date: February 2, 2016
Genre: Historical Romance

Summary

He’s the scourge of the Season…

Reasons to quit London:
1. It’s not the Highlands.
2. It will never be the Highlands.
3. It’s full of the bloody English.

When his wild spitfire of a sister makes a scene by drawing a claymore in Hyde Park, Highlander Robert Waters knows something must be done. To forestall the inevitable scandal, he hires widowed Prudence Whittaker to teach his sister how to be a lady—never expecting to find unbridled passion beneath the clever Englishwoman’s prim exterior.

Mrs. Whittaker is a fraud. Born Lady Prudence Farthington, daughter of the ruined earl of Lynwood, she’s never even been married. In order to make her way in the world, she has to rely on her wits and a web of lies…lies a sexy Highlander is all too close to unraveling.

He swears he will possess her; she vows he will do nothing of the sort. Yet as passions heat, Prudence comes to realize the illicit pleasure that can be had in going toe-to-toe with a Scot.

Buy the Book

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1IBYI7W
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1kqQp3g
Apple: http://apple.co/1UfuR60
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How to Seduce a Scot coverTitle: How to Seduce a Scot
Author: Christy English
Series: Broadswords and Ballrooms, Book 1
ISBN: 9781492612872
Release Date: December 1, 2015
Genre: Historical Romance

Summary

He’s the terror of the ton…

The plan is simple:
1. Descend from the Highlands to face the aggravation of a London Season;
2. Foist his wild sister off on some gullible English lord;
3. Retreat before the ladies of the scandalized ton can get any ideas.

Determined to see his hellion of a sister wed, Highlander Alexander Waters is willing to face anything—even the English. He just didn’t expect his own rough manners to cause such a riot…or for a blooming English rose to catch his eye.

Gently bred Catherine Middlebrook must find a respectable man to marry or her family will be ruined. She won’t allow herself to be distracted by Highland barbarians…no matter how her body may thrill whenever Alex is near.

Catherine wasn’t part of the plan, but as their battle of wills escalates, Alex comes to realize this “proper” English girl is as wild as the Highlands themselves…and nothing will stop him from having her.

Buy the Book

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1NdIEtm
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1MKz10e
Apple: http://apple.co/1WMKirV
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1MnPBnm
Books a Million: http://bit.ly/1PCobPd
Indie Bound: http://bit.ly/1O3HVcG

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About the Author

Ever since Christy English picked up a fake sword in stage combat class at the age of fourteen, she has lived vicariously through the sword-wielding women of her imagination. A banker by day and a writer by night, she loves to eat chocolate, drink too many soft drinks, and walk the mountain trails of her home in North Carolina.

Connect with Christy English

Website: http://www.christyenglish.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BroadswordsandBallrooms/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristyEnglish
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2994919.Christy_English


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