Tag: Cara Elliott

What I Read Last Week

Posted June 4, 2012 by Tracy in Features | 2 Comments

Hi ho the merry-o!
How the heck are you this fine sunny day? Ok, it’s only a little sunny here but it’s still a fine day. 🙂
As most of you have noticed I’m participating in the Digital First Read-A-Thon this month. Along with Book Binge (who has so nicely organized everything), Novel Thoughts and The Book Reading Gals we will be featuring guest posts and giveaways all month at all four blogs. I have to admit that I haven’t actually picked a goal number of how many digital first books I will read this month but hopefully by next week I’ll get my shit together enough to do that. lol I know DFRAT just started on the first but I DID read one digital first book. I read 5 ebooks but only 1 of them was digital first. I’ll do better on that this week. Here’s the schedule for DFRAT for the week. I posted the schedule for the week a couple of days ago. You can see it here if you want to know what author will be where.
My poor kitteh went in to heat this past week. My GOD! lol She never yowled but she meowed non-stop for 3 days. I thought my hubby (who is the lightest sleeper in the world) was going to lose it there for a while. No rest for the wicked, right? We ended up getting her spayed on Thursday and she came through with flying colors. We’ve only had to put the cone of shame on her poor little head twice and she hated it so much both times that she stopped licking altogether. 🙂 Smart kitteh. She was hanging out on the area rug right in front of the stove a lot because the canister light right above it puts off some heat and she was luxuriating in it. My daughter took a picture and because of the flash and the lighting in the kitchen it turned out like this:
Cool, huh? I thought so.
Ok – on to what I read this past week:
First up was Heart of Darkness by Lauren Dane. This is book one in her Bound by Magick series and is about Meriel who is next in line to take over her clan of witches in Seattle. She gets assigned to check out a club that is using the clans font of magick and let the owner know that it’s a big no-no. She meets Dominic who she finds out is her bond-mate and sparks fly. No, they don’t just go at it like bunnies right away – they wait to make sure they get to know each other first. It was a great story and I really enjoyed it. You can read my review at Book Binge here. 4.25 out of 5
Next was Too Tempting to Resist by Cara Elliott. Book 2 in the Lord of Midnight series focuses on a sister who is trying to take care of her no good brother while at the same time trying to save their estate, save money so she can get away from said brother and make a life for herself while still creating the art she loves. She meets Marquess Haddan who is supposedly a rake (though we never see that) who is reforming and writing a book of poetry. Their paths cross and lust blooms. You can read my full review here. 3.75 out of 5
One Small Thing by Piper Vaughn and M.J. O’Shea is the story of a gay man who ends up with a daughter and how he, his best friend and his neurotic next door neighbor make a life for themselves. I’ll post my review on Friday.
Snowbound with a Stranger by Rebecca Rogers Maher has 2 emotionally stilted people meeting during a hike and a snowstorm and spending 3 days together finding themselves and a bunch of passion. I’ll post my review on Thursday.
Echoes at Dawn by Maya Banks is book 5 in the KGI series. This is the story of Rio, one of the KGI members and his team while they head out to rescue Grace who has been tortured almost to death. Rio knows from the first moment he sees Grace that she is his woman but it takes Grace a bit longer to come to terms with Rio and his possessiveness. The story was good but Rio bothered me a bit. Grace was pretty admirable and didn’t have her using her powers throughout the book. 3.5 out of 5 (read for Book Binge – releases 7/3)
Next was Chaos Burning by Lauren Dane. Book 2 in the Bound by Magick series was just as good as book 1. I’m not normally a fan of witch stories but these are pretty darned good. This story had Simon who is a Lycian becoming friends with visiting witch, Lark. Lark is one bad-ass mofo and not to be trifled with. I loved her character. Simon and Lark were friends first before Simon realized that she was the one for him. It’s a good romance and a great story of witches kicking butt and taking names. 4.25 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)
Last for the week was The Baron’s Governess Bride by Deborah Hale. The story is about Grace who is beautiful and a governess. She’s tired of getting hit on and then having to leave her positions. She applies for a job but goes looking as dowdy as possible. She gets the job but then falls in love with the Baron. How to tell him she’s not who he thinks she is? I’ll post my review of this on Sunday.
My Book Binge reviews that posted this past week:
Happy Reading!!

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Review: To Tempting to Resist by Cara Elliott

Posted June 3, 2012 by Tracy in Reviews | 1 Comment

Determined to stop her wayward brother from squandering their dwindling fortune, Lady Eliza Brentford decides to follow him to his favorite den of depravity. There, among the candlelight and raucous revelry, she encounters her brother’s role model in debauchery, the notorious Marquess of Haddan, Gryffin Dwight. Staring into his smoldering green eyes, Eliza can’t help but find the rakehell nobleman seductively charming-and sinfully attractive.

In a Lover’s Paradise . . .

When Gryffin appears on Eliza’s estate as a guest of her brother, a stolen kiss among the garden’s blooms leads to a night of unbridled passion. Suddenly the lovely widow feels herself opening up, like the petals of a rose. Could this master of seduction possibly feel true emotion for Eliza? Or is he leading her down the garden path to an Eden of delights no woman can resist-and a fall no woman can escape?

Eliza Brentford is living with her wastrel of a brother and hating every minute of it. She has been putting away money on the sly from sales that she’s made from the paintings she creates. Harry has no clue or he would be taking that money from her as well. She almost has enough saved to buy a cottage so that she can get away from Harry but unfortunately that’s just not happening fast enough for her liking.

Eliza meets Lord Haddan in a roundabout way – in a tree actually – and the pair hit it off. Though Eliza knows it’s wrong she lets the passions that she didn’t realize she even had to break free. Though she chastises herself afterward she can’t help but remember their time together fondly…and try not to want more.

Gryff and Eliza end up together several more times throughout the book until a possible criminal act on Eliza’s part comes to light. You see Eliza had painted a picture in the fashion of a famous artist. That painting was stolen and passed off as an original. Eliza had no idea but now the man who stole the painting wants Eliza to create more forgeries for profit – and she has to marry him to boot. She would never entertain the idea because the man is repulsive but her brother owns Lord Brighton a great deal of money. Unfortunately Gryff finds out some of this info and believes Eliza to be up to no good. But does he really believe that? Or does he believe his heart that’s telling him that the woman he loves couldn’t possibly do something that bad?

This was a sweet romance that had a bit of angst in it. Eliza and Gryff are almost perfect together from the start. Even though they aren’t truthful to each other about their professions – Gryff thinks Eliza is simply a country widow and Eliza believes that Gryff is simply a rake when in fact she is an artist and he is a poet. They have a great time together sharing witty banter, enjoying nature together and of course having their stolen moments of passion. Though the writing was a bit flowery because the topic so often went to the language of flowers I still enjoyed the story for the most part.

The part about Lord Brighton and Eliza’s brother Harry was almost predictable from the start – as well as the outcome – but it still kept me interested from the first page. Not a riveting read but definitely a nice way to pass an afternoon.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

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What I Read Last Week

Posted November 7, 2011 by Tracy in Features | 6 Comments

It’s Monday again! Woohoo! Or…boo! Whichever you prefer. lol

So it was an interesting week in Tracyland to say the least. The first part of the week was fine and then we got to Thursday. In the morning I did something I’ve been doing for 10 years with no trouble and that’s putting the 5 gallon water jug onto the cooler at work. I’ve never had an issue. Well Thursday I was having trouble getting the bottle positioned right so went to put the jug on the floor to get a better grip on it and apparently twisted the wrong way. Yep, I wrenched my back and have been in pain ever since. It’s getting better but no, the troubles didn’t stop there.

I happened to be looking something up on my bank’s website the same day as I put my back out and noticed a strange charge on the activity report. My hubby normally takes care of that so I haven’t been on the site for a while. Well a little more investigation showed me that someone had gotten the number to my husband’s debit card and had charged about $1200.00! They were pretty sly with it so it wasn’t blatantly obvious (since my hubby didn’t even notice) but damn! Aggressive little shits, weren’t they? The bank has been wonderful and will put the money back into our account quickly.

I also had to attend a funeral for a dear friend this past week. Patsy was 80 years old.  She had a heart condition and alzheimers and had been pretty confused for a while. I know that her death was expected as the heart condition was terminal but it was still hard to let her go. She was a sweet, charming, loving woman who will be missed.

OMG I almost forgot to show you this!  My oldest decided that she wanted her hair trimmed.  Well, it got more than trimmed.  By the time we got to the appointment she’d decided to chop most of it off.  She’s beautiful (if I do say so myself) so I think she looks good all the time but the haircut she got is wonderful! Anyway, just thought I’d share…

The week did end on a good note (or began on a good note if you look at it differently) as yesterday was my wedding anniversary. Yes, the hubster and I have now been married for 18 looooong, arduous, painful years. lol Actually they’ve been pretty damned good years and I certainly hope they continue to be!:)

So on to what I read this past week:

I started the week with Too Wicked to Wed by Cara Elliott. This was a good historical and the start of a new trilogy for Ms. Elliott. I liked the writing style. The book ebbed and flowed for me but overall I it was good. You can read more of my thoughts in my review here. 3.75 out of 5

After that it was Lawe’s Justice by Lora Leigh. This is book 25 in the Breed series (seriously? That many?) and is Lawe Justice’s book. This has him and his mate at odds (how odd) because Lawe wants her to be protected and she’s a warrior and wants to be who and what she is – which is understandable. It was a good book but I think I might be getting sick of the angst between the mates. I liked the overall story arc and the other parts of it, I think, better than the romance – although that was good too. 4 out of 5 (comes out 12/6 – read for The Book Binge)

The Zero Knot by KZ Snow was next and I really liked this book. It was the story of 2 18 year olds from a small town who are trying to find who they are and what they want in life. I’ll be posting my review in a couple of days so watch for that.

Next was The Lady’s Secret by Joanna Chambers. I’ve been waiting for this one! Did you know that Joanna Chambers is our own Tumperkin from Isn’t It Romance? The book comes out today and I’m so excited for Tump I can hardly stand it! The book was a great historical romance and had so many great parts to it! I’ll be posting my review later this week so watch for that as well.

And…that was it! With everything going on this past week reading had to take the old back seat but hopefully I’ll get more reading done this week. I’ll be working at the polls tomorrow on election day and since there are only 2 measures on the ballot and those are both school board measures I’m thinking I’ll have most of the day to read! lol

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne
Archangel’s Blade by Nalini Singh
A Bride Unveiled by Jillian Hunter

Happy Reading!

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Review: Too Wicked to Wed by Cara Elliott

Posted November 4, 2011 by Tracy in Reviews | 5 Comments

Outspoken and independent, Lady Alexa Bingham enjoys the heady freedom of making all her own decisions, even though the challenges of overseeing her family’s country estate are daunting. But when a chance encounter with London’s most notorious rake awakens a secret longing for adventure, she accepts her aunt’s invitation for a Season in Town . . . only to find that breaking the rules of the ton has serious consequences.

The Earl of Killingworth uses his rakehell reputation to hide the fact that poverty has forced him to work for a living. As the owner of a gambling den and brothel, Connor has no time for glittering ballrooms or innocent young ladies. But after a reckless wager leaves him with a new business partner, he is forced to take a risky gamble . . . Will the cards fall in their favor? Alexa and Connor begin to play a dangerous game of intrigue and deception as they seek to outwit a cunning adversary who wants to put them permanently out of business. But if they are not careful, it is the flames of their own fiery attraction that may destroy them.

No one knows that the Earl of Killingworth is the owner of the Wolf’s Lair – a gambling hell and brothel in London. When Alexa is looking for her brother she manages to talk the brother’s best friend into taking her there to seek him out. Instead she finds herself face to face with Connor Linsley who is not happy to see a lady in his place of ill repute. That doesn’t stop him from stealing a kiss from her and then sending her away.

Four months later Alexa is in London for the Season and who does she run into but the very man who had seared her lips and she had thought of him ever since. When Connor seeks her out and once again rains kisses on her she’s a bit stunned. She knows she’s not a diamond of the first water but this big beautiful man keeps kissing her!

Alexa is a bit out of the ordinary. She was raised in the country and has run an estate. Her father allowed her to be educated and she’s not one to sit and do needlepoint. When her cousin talks her into heading to a bawdy party so that they can play cards Alexa is all for it. She dresses as a man and ends up winning! But what she wins is not what she expects. She ends up as half owner of Connor’s brothel! The truth comes out and Connor tries to talk her into giving the up her ownership but she won’t be swayed. She understands that the reason Connor’s friend had the note in the first place was because of Connor’s financial difficulties due to someone who is after him but she feels she can help him. Connor wants nothing to do with her help but when he’s shot outside his brothel Alexa is the one to get him to safety.

The pair end up at Connor’s ancestral home – which he hates – so that he can recuperate. During the time that they are in residence they manage to become closer and they both start to look at life a bit differently. For Connor that means slowing down and realizing that the brothel isn’t everything in life – and for Alexa it means that she’s finding love, which she never thought she would. When they return to London, however, can they figure out who is after Connor and why? And what will happen if Alexa’s reputation is ruined?

This is my first foray into Ms. Elliot’s work and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. She managed to grab my attention right from start which kept me reading. Things did slow down for me during the middle of the book but there was still a good enough story to keep turning pages.

The time that Alexa and Connor spend in London is quite interesting. I enjoyed that part even though I was a bit stumped as to how Alexa managed to sneak out of her aunt’s home so often. Then during the time that the couple spends at Connor’s ancestral home the story took on a slower pace. I’m sure that it was meant to in order to emphasize the differences in the lifestyles between London and the country but the story itself lacked a bit of umphf at this point. Connor and Alexa really spent quite a bit apart when I would think that this would be the perfect opportunity to pull them together. As I’ve said it did give them both the time to look at life differently and that was a bonus. I think there was just not as much interaction between the hero and heroine as I would have liked.

The intrigue/mystery that is a running plot throughout the book really comes to a head near the end when the story picks up again and the couple returns to London. It was a good way to drive home those feelings that Connor has toward Alexa but the reasons behind the plot, again, didn’t have that extra something that made me believe it. I won’t tell you who’s behind the plot to ruin Connor but because we didn’t get more information about the person throughout the book I found myself not caring all that much about who it was. They were evil – let’s just say that. lol

Overall I really liked the love story in the book. It was sweet and a bit angsty and definitely worth reading. Though I didn’t care for the mystery plot all that much I still liked the book and will definitely read the other two books in this series that have to do with Connor’s friends.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Cara Elliot
Forever Publishing (Hachette Book Group)

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Guest Review: To Tempt A Rake by Cara Elliott

Posted February 7, 2011 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 0 Comments


Judith’s review of To Tempt A Rake by Cara Elliott.

Kate Woodbridge has spent most of her life sailing around the globe, acquiring expertise in botany, along with a few less ladylike skills. So when she comes to London seeking reconciliation w ith her grandfather, the imperious duke of Cluyne, her outspoken views and fiery temper soon set off sparks in Society–especially with the rakish Italian Conte of Como.

A devil-may-care rogue, Marco finds Kate a tempting target for his flirtations. But when murder strikes at the duke’s country estate, he suspects she’s hiding a dark secret. he has his own clandestine reasons for helping to prove her innocence. . . which leads them on a perilous journey from London to the glittering ballrooms of Vienna, where Marco and Kate must duel with a deadly villain and confrong their own explosive attraction.
This is not your boy-meets-girl kind of simplistic and easily read novel. It is a historical novel that once again showcases Cara Elliott’s considerable talent and obvious writing expertise. She has built a story around the historic international peace conference that was held in Vienna late in the 19th century and after which the face of Europe was changed. Rife with political intrigue and political machinations, the conference has the British Home Office on the watch. Thus, they request the Duke of Cluyne to host a house party at his country estate.
There the reader encounters Kate Woodbridge, granddaughter of the duke–daughter of his only daughter who he disowned when she wed an American sea captain. Kate was raised at sea, learning the skills of sailing, learning to climb the rigging, eat the strange and sometimes inadequate fare, feel at home in foreign environments, and survive in less that ideal circumstances–both on sea and on the land. When her parents suddenly dies from the fever while in an Italian port, Kate finds herself alone and bereft, emotionally and financially. Kate must also fulfill her promise to her mother to seek out and reconcile with her grandfather–not an easy task when one is outspoken and used to expressing her opinions freely. Both Society and her grandfather do not take her independent ways well.
The reader also meets Marco, and Italian count who is really in the pay of the Home Office as a spy, but whose cover as a rakehell has preserved his usefulness politically. He is a man who takes his pleasure as he finds it, whether it be gambling or women. When he meets Kate she is a different kind of woman and thus she is fascinating. But Marco finds out that she is even more unique and fascinating than he anticipated.
There is murder and mayhem afoot, not only in the duke’s conservatory but being planned for the peace conference. Kate becomes the prime suspect in the murder of the German diplomat, but she also become privy to information that could change the course of history.
This is a story that is multi-layered and, in many ways, complicated. It is a historical novel that is compelling because of its depth as well as the fact that Ms Elliott has made historical figures of note front row players in this fictional drama. Thus, this novel is not only entertaining but it is vastly educational. The decadence of the political arena is also put on display and one begins to become aware that the decisions that have often affected the future of millions have been made in the ballrooms and bedrooms of pleasure palaces rather than by serious and considerate people. There is also pathos here–a woman who has lost everything yet can’t seem to bridge the gap between herself and the only living relative she possesses. It is a struggle between giving into the social expectations of that time and of her grandfather and maintaining her own personhood and individuality as an intelligent woman and a scientist. Kate is not a simpering debutante; she is a woman of experience and education and she refuses to be demeaned into someone that society can accept. Thus, Kate must find a way to keep her promise to her mother amid some fairly hefty pressures.
This is a book that will please the true historical romance fan. It is not literary “fluff” by any means. It will stretch your mind in that it is not only entertaining but educational as well. It is worthy of the time and effort one must expend in order to read it. I think it is also one of those books that I would like to re-read in the future and from which I will glean even more information and enjoyment in the future.

I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5.

You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place.

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

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