Author: Karen Hawkins

Throwback Thursday Review: How to Abduct a Highland Lord by Karen Hawkins

Posted July 26, 2018 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 4 Comments

Throwback Thursday Review: How to Abduct a Highland Lord by Karen HawkinsReviewer: Isabel
How to Abduct a Highland Lord (MacLean Curse, #1) by Karen Hawkins
Series: MacLean Curse #1
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publication Date: January 30, 2007
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 313
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

It's hardly the type of wedding Fiona MacLean dreamed of. No family, no guests, just a groom who's been dragged -- literally -- to the altar. But if marriage to Black Jack Kincaid, the handsome wastrel she'd sworn never to see again, will avert a bloody war between their clans, so be it. Surely she can share his bed without losing her heart....

Known throughout Scotland and London as a wild rogue, Jack is accustomed to waking in dire situations, but...married? Long ago, he and Fiona reveled in a youthful passion. Now, the fiery, sensual lass is his once more. And though their marriage is in name only, Jack is determined to win her forever -- body and soul....

Every Thursday, we’ll be posting throwback reviews of our favorite and not-so-favorite books. Enjoy!

Rowena: Man, it’s crazy how long we’ve been blogging. I forget that it wasn’t always just Holly, myself and Casee. We’ve had a whole team here that has changed over the years and when I came across this review from our old friend, Isabel, I knew that I had to post it up again. Man, I miss our old friends!

This review was originally posted on July 27, 2007.

The Plot: Hoping to end the feud between their families, Fiona kidnaps Jack Kincaid and marries him while he is drunk. Will Fiona be able to tame his wild ways?

What I Liked: Fiona’s family is cursed. They can control the weather. Actually, they can make it stormy and rain. Kind of like Storm from the X-Men however, it only turns to bad weather when they are upset/mad/annoyed. So if someone is annoyed, there might be a little wind. If someone is downright pissed, you get a full-blown storm. When Fiona is upset, her stormy weather bears the faint smell of lilacs.

There is one scene where Jack’s former mistress confronts Fiona. Fiona tries to control her anger but to no avail. She doesn’t make it completely storm but jack remarks he thought he heard thunder and smelled lilacs. She ends up pouring a vase full of water on the mistress’s head. The next day, Jack learns there is a storm cloud over his former mistress’s residence.

I also like when Fiona gave Jack a dose of his own medicine. Jack was very upset with how Fiona married him. He made it clear he would not give up his freedom. He would continue to go out and have fun. Minus the mistresses. Well to teach him a lesson, Fiona decides to do the same thing which Jack doesn’t like.

What I Disliked: The ending was just too fast. I was reading along expecting more and it was done.

I’m guessing the brother’s will have a book and the last book will be the one where they break the curse. (To break the curse Fiona and her brothers have to do a good deed.) The brothers wonder if Fiona marrying Jack to end the feud between their families is her good deed.

I thought this book was set in Scotland. It’s not. They get married in Scotland and then they move to England. Towards the end of the book, Jack decides to move back to Scotland. Bummer, I wanted a Scottish highland story.

Would I recommend it: If you have nothing else to read. It does look like a promising series so I plan on reading the others later. Maybe the rest of books will be better.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

MacLean Curse

three-half-stars


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Guest Review: What Happens Under the Mistletoe by Sabrina Jeffries, Candace Camp, Karen Hawkins, Meredith Duran

Posted January 5, 2016 by Whitley B in Reviews | 4 Comments

Guest Review: What Happens Under the Mistletoe by Sabrina Jeffries, Candace Camp, Karen Hawkins, Meredith DuranReviewer: Whitley
What Happens Under the Mistletoe by Sabrina Jeffries, Karen Hawkins, Candace Camp, Meredith Duran
Series: Sinful Suitors #1.5
Also in this series: The Study of Seduction
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publication Date: October 27, 2015
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

New York Times bestselling authors Sabrina Jeffries, Karen Hawkins, and Candace Camp, and USA TODAY bestselling author Meredith Duran come together for a sizzling historical romance holiday anthology.

Stunned by the heat of an unexpected kiss on a cold winter’s eve, two strangers from vastly different worlds turn hotheaded principles into burning passion in Sabrina Jeffries’s delightful yuletide story, "The Heiress and the Hothead".

In the snowy Scottish countryside, Karen Hawkins’s rakish duke has an unforgettable holiday encounter in "Twelve Kisses" when the alluring lady he surprises under the mistletoe is not who he expected, but a long-lost love with a score to settle.

In "By Any Other Name", Edinburgh is aglitter for Christmastime as Candace Camp sends a curious gentleman in hot pursuit of an intriguing lady in disguise—one who refuses to reveal her true identity, though she fears he has already stolen her heart with his kiss.

In "Sweet Ruin", will the festive spirit of the season sweep Meredith Duran’s feisty heroine beneath the mistletoe—and back into the arms of the dashing rogue whose carelessness soiled her reputation and sent her into exile in London?

In this all-new story collection sparkling with sexy charm and heartwarming wit, four beloved bestselling authors reveal the mix-ups and make-ups, the missed chances and golden opportunities that come but once a year.

Whitley’s review of What Happens Under the Mistletoe by Sabrina Jeffries et al.

The Heiress and the Hothead

A sweet enough story, about a reporter who’s tackling inhumane working conditions in mills and a woman who owns a mill.  They get off to a bad start when the reporter (quite understandably) is wary of anyone who runs a mill, and our American heiress’s delicate sensibilities are upset by this. (Okay, so, clearly I’m biased in their argument.  The whole thing had shades of #NotAllMillOwners to it.  And FFS, the guy wasn’t even all that offensive; it felt like the woman was just upset that the reporter guy didn’t immediately assume she was an angel.)  Once they got over their Required First Meeting Misunderstanding and down to the business of shutting down the local, heinous mill (and making out a lot in the process), things got a lot better.

Twelve Kisses

A noble at a masquerade plans to kiss his mistress under the mistletoe, but his old lover is dressed in the same costume and Murphy’s Law applies.  After being caught in such a scandalous embrace, the two try to go get the woman’s father and convince him to help ease the gossip, but they’re stuck in a snowstorm instead.  They find a secret cabin in the woods (it makes sense in the end, really) to hide out, and that’s when things actually get interesting.  I could have done without the party set-up, as it doesn’t seem to have added anything and all the good stuff was during the storm.  I very much enjoyed these two characters fighting and slowly discovering what broke them up as a couple before the story’s opening.  It was a very believable, human sort of misunderstanding, and they were sweet while working it out.

By Any Other Name

I straight-up DNFed this crap.  The guy is an unrelenting jackass and the whole setup is creepy as all get out.  The girl is cross-dressing to try and find her wayward brother, who likes to hang out in gambling halls.  The guy saves her from a mugging attempt and discovers her true gender.  All is well and good, except then the girl repeatedly, emphatically says “Don’t try to find me, leave me alone, stop, no, don’t” while the guy just gleefully runs around tracking her down and stalking her to various events anyway.  I stopped after the guy realized she’d told him a lie and he mournfully thought “well, that must mean she wasn’t interested in me.”  NO, SHITHEAD, ALL OF HER REPEATED CRIES OF “STOP FOLLOWING ME” MEAN SHE’S NOT INTERESTED, WTF IS WITH GUYS WHO IGNORE BOLD-ASS STATEMENTS AND THEN READ 8000 MEANINGS INTO RANDOM ACTIONS YOU ARE AN IDIOT AND I HATE YOUR FACE.

ahem  Yes, anyway.

Sweet Ruin

Without a doubt my favorite short story of the bunch.  The lady is the daughter of a diplomat who has to play hostess after her father is called away from a house party.  One of the guests has stolen an important document, so her father sends in one of his (ish) employees to help covertly search for it.  Only Daughter and Employee had a bit of a fling a few years ago which ended badly, so they are none too pleased to see each other.  I loved the interactions between these two.  So cutthroat while staying (technically) civil.  And while they find out that their breakup was a misunderstanding, said misunderstanding isn’t dragged out to the point of frustration.  It’s handled perfectly, with just enough double-talk to make you cry “no, mush faces already!” but before that gets old they do.  And the ending when they confront the conniver that broke them apart was beautiful.  A+, perfect short story.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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