Tag: Edelweiss

Review: Lord Dashwood Missed Out by Tessa Dare

Posted January 11, 2016 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Lord Dashwood Missed Out by Tessa DareReviewer: Rowena
Lord Dashwood Missed Out by Tessa Dare
Series: Spindle Cove #4.5
Also in this series: Do You Want to Start a Scandal
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: December 8, 2015
Pages: 144
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three-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

A snowstorm hath no fury like a spinster scorned!

Miss Elinora Browning grew up yearning for the handsome, intelligent lord-next-door…but he left England without a word of farewell. One night, inspired by a bit too much sherry, Nora poured out her heartbreak on paper. Lord Dashwood Missed Out was a love letter to every young lady who’d been overlooked by gentlemen—and an instant bestseller. Now she’s on her way to speak in Spindle Cove when snowy weather delays her coach. She’s forced to wait out the storm with the worst possible companion: Lord Dashwood himself.

And he finally seems to have noticed her.

George Travers, Lord Dashwood, has traveled the globe as a cartographer. He returned to England with the goal of marrying and creating an heir--only to find his reputation shredded by an audacious, vexingly attractive bluestocking and her poison pen. Lord Dashwood Missed Out, his arse. Since Nora Browning seems to believe he overlooked the passion of a lifetime, Dash challenges her to prove it.

She has one night.

I heart Tessa Dare. I also heart her Spindle Cove series and I didn’t know much I missed her characters from that series until I read this novella.

The women of Spindle Cove are preparing for an author’s reading at the library and they’re all excited. You see, the author is a young woman named Miss Elinora Browning who wrote a book called Lord Ashwood Missed Out. It’s a story about a young lady who fell in love with the dashing Lord Ashwood and he left without farewell and broke her heart. Her story became quite popular and now she’s got speaking engagements and is traveling around, making quite a living as a young authoress.

She’s on her way to Spindle Cove when the weather takes a turn for the worse and the only coach available is a private coach with someone already on board…and that person is none other than Lord Ashwood, I mean Lord Dashwood. The villain in her story. Haha. It’s like karma is out for blood because not only is she stuck on a coach with a very pissed of man, they fall into a ditch and the wheel breaks and so they have to find some place to hide out TOGETHER until the morning and the weather clears, so they can fix the wheel and continue on to Spindle Cove. To say that things got real interesting, real fast is an understatement.

As entertaining as the main romance was, I’ve got to be honest and say that I was much more interested in what the old characters were doing, namely – the men. Holy cow, I didn’t realize how much I missed Colin Sandhurst until he started talking in this book. I laughed like a crazy person every time the men came onto the scene. When they go out in the bad weather to track down the author and escort her to Spindle Cove, I could not stop laughing. The name they came up with for themselves? Holy cow, I laughed so much.

I’d definitely recommend this book to fans of the series and to fans of Tessa Dare in general. She’s a fantastic writer and though this isn’t my favorite book by her, it’s still a treat. Colin’s book is on my to be re-read this year list. I can’t wait!

4 out of 5

three-stars

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Review: Falling into Bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath

Posted October 27, 2015 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Falling into Bed with a Duke by Lorraine HeathReviewer: Rowena
Falling into Bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath
Series: Hellions of Havisham #1
Also in this series: The Earl Takes All, The Earl Takes All, The Viscount and the Vixen, When the Marquess Falls
Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins
Publication Date: October 27, 2015
Genres: Historical Romance
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

In the first in a dazzling new series, New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath introduces the Hellions of Havisham—three charismatic rogues destined to lose their hearts...

After six unsuccessful Seasons, Miss Minerva Dodger chooses spinsterhood over fortune-hungry suitors. But thanks to the Nightingale Club, she can at least enjoy one night of pleasure. At that notorious establishment, ladies don masks before choosing a lover. The sinfully handsome Duke of Ashebury is more than willing to satisfy the secretive lady's desires—and draws Minerva into an exquisite, increasingly intimate affair.

A man of remarkable talents, Ashe soon deduces that his bedmate is the unconventional Miss Dodger. Intrigued by her wit and daring, he sets out to woo her in earnest. Yet Minerva refuses to trust him. How to court a woman he has already thoroughly seduced? And how to prove that the passion unleashed in darkness is only the beginning of a lifetime's pleasure?

What a great freaking book. I know that I can pretty much count on Lorraine Heath to deliver the goods but I’m never prepared for how much I will enjoy her books.

I really enjoyed this book.

Minerva Dodger is filthy rich and has been through six seasons. She comes from a family who married for love and she doesn’t want to settle for less than that in her own life. Her dowry has brought in marriage proposal after marriage proposal but none of the guys that have proposed marriage to her can say that they like her. No, what they really like is all of the money that she’ll bring to the marriage. She knows that she’s not the prettiest girl in London because everyone has said as much about her and to her face but none of that changes the fact that she refuses to marry someone for money.

She’s grown used to the fact that she’ll probably never marry since nobody seems to like her and she’s mighty curious about relations between the sexes so with the help of her best friend (and sister in law), she goes about having an adventure just for herself and the guy she loses her virginity to and that’s when she meets the Duke of Ashebury.

Ashe is one of the Hellions of Havisham. When his parents were killed in an accident, Ashe and two other orphans (Grey and Edward) were shipped to live with their fathers friend, the Marquess of Marsden. Once they got there, they met the Marquess’ son, Locke and together, they became little hellions that ran wild because the Marsden was grieving his late wife (Locke’s Mom). He was rumored to have gone crazy when his wife died and it was true. He kept to himself, let the boys run wild and raise themselves and he stayed close to home and just missed his wife.

Once the boys were old enough to go out on their own, they did and they continued their hellraising. They traveled to different places, had exotic adventures and they did as they pleased.

Now, they’re back from a safari in Africa and looking for a bit of sexy time fun at Nightingale and that is where Ashe meets the mysterious Lady V. It was her legs that caught his attention but it was her personality once he got her alone that intrigued the hell out of him.

Watching the two of these guys come together was such a treat. I adored the both of them. I loved how strong and fierce Minerva was and I absolutely loved seeing Ashe fall for her. Their romance was sweet and it was passionate and it was everything that lovers of romance novels love. This book had great characters (old and new) and it was funny, it was sweet and I ate every word up.

Minerva’s insecurities about her looks was very believable but her innate kindness even to those who hurt her feelings made me really like her character. One of my favorite scenes in this book was between Lord Sheridan and Ashe in their club. I loved that Ashe took exception to what Lord Sheridan said and didn’t let him get away with it. I loved that even though he didn’t know Minerva, he still took up for her.

I thought it was interesting to see a historical hero have a passion for the arts. I loved seeing him so invested in his photography. I loved how honest his feelings for Minerva were and he made me absolutely melt when he met with Minerva’s parents in the end.

happy sigh

This book was good and I’m mighty interested in the books that will follow this one. I’m wondering if Grey will get a book, if the incident concerning Edward will come out and what will happen with that story and I’m very interested in getting to know Locke some more. I seriously can’t wait for more from this series.

Dear Lorraine Heath, MORE PLEASE??!!

I definitely recommend this one.

4.5 out of 5

four-half-stars

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Review: Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines

Posted August 28, 2015 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Until Friday Night by Abbi GlinesReviewer: Rowena
Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines
Series: Field Party #1

Publication Date: August 25th 2015
Genres: Young Adult
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

The first novel in a brand-new series—from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Abbi Glines—about a small Southern town filled with cute boys in pickup trucks, Friday night football games, and crazy parties that stir up some major drama.

To everyone who knows him, West Ashby has always been that guy: the cocky, popular, way-too-handsome-for-his-own-good football god who led Lawton High to the state championships. But while West may be Big Man on Campus on the outside, on the inside he’s battling the grief that comes with watching his father slowly die of cancer.

Two years ago, Maggie Carleton’s life fell apart when her father murdered her mother. And after she told the police what happened, she stopped speaking and hasn’t spoken since. Even the move to Lawton, Alabama, couldn’t draw Maggie back out. So she stayed quiet, keeping her sorrow and her fractured heart hidden away.

As West’s pain becomes too much to handle, he knows he needs to talk to someone about his father—so in the dark shadows of a post-game party, he opens up to the one girl who he knows won’t tell anyone else.

West expected that talking about his dad would bring some relief, or at least a flood of emotions he couldn’t control. But he never expected the quiet new girl to reply, to reveal a pain even deeper than his own—or for them to form a connection so strong that he couldn’t ever let her go…

Abbi Glines writes the kinds of books that drive me crazy. Her love interests start off as complete pricks but if you can get past their punk ass attitudes and shitty behavior in the beginning, they really turn their shit around. That was the case with West Ashby.

Maggie Carleton doesn’t talk. She hasn’t said a word in years, communicating through pen and paper. She hasn’t talked since her father was put away for killing her mother. A murder she witnessed. As you can guess, that whole situation has traumatized her and she survives by not speaking. She doesn’t want to talk about that night, she just wants to move on and she doesn’t want to become a burden to anyone so she keeps to herself. When she moves in with her Uncle and his family, she knows that her cousin (who is the same age as her) isn’t going to like having her tag along everywhere he goes. He’s a total dickhead to her when she first comes around and Brady (that’s his name) really got on my nerves throughout a whole lot of this book. He warns his friends off of his cousin but mostly because she’s “not right in the head” as he tells them. There were so many freaking times when I wanted to punch Brady’s lights out.

West wasn’t safe from my rage too. When we first meet him, he’s a complete asshole and his father having cancer and him being scared about all of that didn’t excuse his behavior for me. Oh hell no. I’m not even sure why I continued reading this book but more than anything, I was curious. I was curious to see when and how and why Maggie would start talking again and I wanted to see how far Logan would grow on me.

Abbi Glines did a great job of turning things around because I was invested from beginning to end…even when I was pissed to high heaven at West for being such a complete jerk. Brady too.

I liked that despite not talking, Maggie is portrayed as strong. She’s a survivor and her story was one that pulled at my heart strings. I loved the connection she formed with West and I loved seeing her stand up for herself when things between her and West weren’t to her liking. I loved seeing West grow from the asshole jerk in the beginning to the guy he was in the end because he ended up being a real one.

There’s a lot of growing in this book and I’m glad that I finished it because this book made me mad, it made me sad and it made me laugh. All things that I love while reading a book. This is a book that stayed with me after I finished the book and I’m crossing my fingers that we’ll get more from this group of characters. I’m looking forward to seeing the other boys stories, especially Brady.

Grade: 4 out of 5

This book is available from Simon Pulse. You can purchase it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

four-stars

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Review: Make Me by Tessa Bailey

Posted August 26, 2015 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Make Me by Tessa BaileyReviewer: Rowena
Make Me by Tessa Bailey
Series: Broke and Beautiful #3
Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins
Publication Date: August 11th 2015
Genres: New Adult
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Construction worker Russell Hart has been head-over-work boots for Abby Sullivan since the moment he laid eyes on her. But he knows a classy, uptown virgin like her could never be truly happy with a rough, blue-collar guy like him. If only she'd stop treating him like her personal hero—a role he craves more than oxygen—maybe he could accept it.

With the future of her family's hedge fund on her shoulders, Abby barely has time to sleep, let alone find love. And her best friend Russell acting like a sexy, overprotective hulk any time their Super Group goes out in public definitely isn't helping her single status. But after a near-tragedy lands Russell in her bed for the night, Abby's suddenly fantasizing about what he looks like shirtless. Chest hair and tattoos—who knew?

As Russell struggles to keep Abby at a safe distance, she begins to see through his tough-talking exterior—and acknowledge her own feelings. Now she's ready to turn the friend-zone into foreplay…and make him lose control.

I’m really late to this party because by the time this series made it to my radar, it was because of this book. The last book in the series. Sigh.

Better late than never, right?

So, this is the final book in the Broke and Beautiful series by Tessa Bailey and it follows two parts of the Supergroup as they make that journey toward true love…with each other. Russell and Abby are friends. Best friends even. But Russell is in love with Abby and he’s firmly stuck in the Friend Zone, which is exactly where he’s going to stay because in his eyes, Abby is too good for him. He’s got nothing to offer her and she deserves the world. They come from different worlds and Russell won’t let himself go there with Abby.

Abby is oblivious to Russell’s feelings for her but nobody else in their supergroup is. Abby has her own issues that she’s trying to work through. The main one being taking over her father’s billion dollar company. She’s stressed out all of the time because taking over her father’s big ass company at age 24 and making executive decisions about everything is starting to get to her and who could blame her? She’s so freaking young.

Russell is stuck in the friend zone until Abby wakes up and realizes that she wants him…and then she goes after him and Russell knows he should stay away but can’t because, it’s Abby.

I’m all about New Adult books and this book had a lot going for it. I enjoyed the dynamic between everyone in the supergroup. They were all coupled up anyway so it was only a matter of time before Russell and Abby got together too…especially since Russell had it so bad for Abby. I liked that. I liked that it was Russell that was pining for Abby and not the other way around. I also liked that once Abby became aware of Russell like that…she didn’t shy away from him. Even with all of her inexperience, she was upfront with Russell.

Russell, on the other hand kind of drove me nuts. Don’t get me wrong, I adored him. He was hot and he was a great guy but all of that hot and cold shit he threw Abby’s way pissed me off. I kept waiting for him to get his shit together.

My issues with Russell were the exact same issues that Abby had with him, when everything is out in the open. I loved that she stood up for herself and let Russell know that he robbed her of decisions he had no right to rob her of and I loved that she made sure he understood that she wouldn’t tolerate that shit from him. I loved that she wanted him to accept ALL OF HER and not just the stuff he was okay with.

Despite my issues with Russell and the way he handled Abby, I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed getting to know the other characters from the previous books. I enjoyed seeing both Russell and Abby grow and learn and just come into themselves. I thought Bailey did a great job of writing Abby and Russell’s story. It was an entertaining way to spend a few hours and I’m going to get the other books and start this series from the beginning.

3.5 out of 5

This book is available from Avon Impulse. You can purchase 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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Review: When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare

Posted August 24, 2015 by Rowena in Reviews | 4 Comments

Review: When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa DareReviewer: Rowena
When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare
Series: Castles Ever After #3
Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins
Publication Date: August 25th 2015
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

On the cusp of her first London season, Miss Madeline Gracechurch was shy, pretty, and talented with a drawing pencil, but hopelessly awkward with gentlemen. She was certain to be a dismal failure on the London marriage mart. So Maddie did what generations of shy, awkward young ladies have done: she invented a sweetheart.

A Scottish sweetheart. One who was handsome and honorable and devoted to her, but conveniently never around. Maddie poured her heart into writing the imaginary Captain MacKenzie letter after letter . . . and by pretending to be devastated when he was (not really) killed in battle, she managed to avoid the pressures of London society entirely.

Until years later, when this kilted Highland lover of her imaginings shows up in the flesh. The real Captain Logan MacKenzie arrives on her doorstep—handsome as anything, but not entirely honorable. He's wounded, jaded, in possession of her letters . . . and ready to make good on every promise Maddie never expected to keep.

Tessa Dare strikes again!

I knew that I was going to enjoy this one and I wasn’t disappointed. Tessa Dare delivers yet another historical romance that touched my heart, made me laugh and made fall in love with both the hero and the heroine. She’s proven time and time again that she deserves to be on my auto-buy list and she proved it yet again with this one.

Miss Madeline Gracechurch is shy. Painfully shy. So much so that being in a crowd gives her anxiety and when she’s of age to come out and have her season, she’s terrified. She doesn’t like attention and being in crowds makes her want to vomit so it doesn’t come as a surprise that she lies to get out of attending balls and participate in her season. The lie? Oh, only that she already met the man of her dreams, her future husband, Captain Logan MacKenzie but he’s fighting in the war so she can’t marry him right now. She’s going to wait for him. To keep up pretenses, Madeline starts writing letters to Captain Logan MacKenzie and what started off as something to get people off her back turns into a huge lie that goes on for years. The lie gets to big that it takes on a life of its own. She gets a castle for her efforts in keeping up the charade but when Captain Logan Mackenzie shows up at her castle door and wants to make good on the promises they made to each other…Madeline is confused and terrified at the same time.

Captain Logan Mackenzie has waited years to find out who the lying Miss Gracechurch is. He pictured her as a plain, bratty young woman but the woman he was expecting was not the woman he got. Even though he’s never laid eyes on this woman, she’s got something he wants and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it.

Including marrying the lying little wench.

Being in the army wasn’t easy for Logan and it wasn’t easy for the men that he led into battle. Everything that they were promised upon their return to their home of Scotland was not waiting for them after the war and in an effort to take care of his men, he takes them to Madeline’s castle and takes up residence.

Seeing these two battle wits at the same time that they were battling their own battles made for an entertaining read. I loved seeing Madeline and Logan come together. It wasn’t love at first sight. Their love grew over time and overcame a whole lot of obstacles and I enjoyed every minute of their story. Their romance was fun and steamy and everything I’ve come to love from Tessa Dare’s books and I just really liked it all.

I loved both Logan and Madeline but I also loved the secondary characters as well. Madeline’s Aunt was great fun and so was Logan’s men. They were all fleshed out characters that stood out and they were fun to get to know. I’m really thirsty for more from this series and I hope we’ll get some more. This series is great!

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

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

four-half-stars

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