Tag: Jade Lee

Guest Review: One Rogue at a Time and Rich as a Rogue by Jade Lee

Posted August 25, 2016 by Whitley B in Reviews | 1 Comment

Reviewer: Whitley
One Rogue at a Time by Jade Lee
Series: Rakes and Rogues #2
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: December 1, 2015
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
two-stars
Series Rating: two-stars

USA Today bestselling author Jade Lee continues her saucy, vibrant Rakes and Rogues Regency romance series with a high-society outsider who may have met his match…

A brown-eyed bastard with nothing to lose

As the illegitimate son of a duke, Bramwell Wesley Hallowsby grew up tough, on the fringes of society, learning to hide his hurt and cynicism with charm and Town polish. He’s carved out a place for himself as a mercenary, serving as bodyguard and general strong arm for the peerage. Bram has nothing to lose… and he’s exactly what Maybelle “Bluebell” Ballenger needs.

Meets his match in a blue-eyed beauty with everything to hide

Maybelle needs a mentor to teach her to speak and act like a lady, so she can claim the place in society she was denied. As they team up to take on the ton, Bram knows she’s hiding something even from him. Despite the deception he sees behind those sparkling blue eyes, Bram wants to believe that Maybelle’s love is no lie. But it seems fate has served him up his just desserts in the likes of this determined damsel.

One Rogue at a Time started off cute enough. I really loved Bluebell’s wit and her ability to turn a situation in her own favor, the relationship she had with the others in her village, and the portrayal of village life in general. They had a nice mix of supportive and “gotta do to survive,” and everyone was very practical about it, and just I loved that place, I wish we’d seen more of it. It was a nuanced attitude that I’m not relaying very well, sorry.

I even liked Bluebell and Bram together at the start. They had some nice banter and cute moments. But then Bram got…well, rapey. He literally straight-up says “I’m going to sex that girl until she’s ruined and her intended husband will have nothing to do with her and then leave.” It was just a really, really disturbing line that gave me so many creeps and the book never quite recovered from that. He went on to force her into kisses and intentionally manipulate and seduce her, and all the while his thoughts on what constitutes a “lie” were…well, extreme is probably too mild a word for it. This guy had issues, and not the fun kind that you can at least pretend will be cured by love. For most of the book he was unacknowledged villain material, and I didn’t like it.

But I kept on with the series and read As Rich as a Rogue, because I was in a Regency mood and it was handy. It had a similar heroine, but Peter was a much better hero, and all around I’m very glad I kept reading. Like Bluebell, Mari is sharp and witty and able to turn things in her favor, and she has ambitions that are period appropriate. I think I liked that most about her character; her logical approach to finding a husband wasn’t demonized. It was recognized that being a wife in that period was a job, or could be if done right, and she wanted to work. So she had to find a husband whose life and career would give her the challenge she needed, and that was a good thing within the book. I love that; it’s an aspect of the time period that doesn’t get appreciated enough.

This book was also practically meta with one theme that’s common in Regency romance: a woman’s passions being suppressed by society but when she lets them out (with the help of the hero) she becomes a more complete person. Which is fine, and I totally get why that’s a popular theme (coughcoughdamnpatriarchy) and I’m not even complaining about it here. Just I was very aware of it on a meta level because it was very, very frankly discussed. So, for me, that was a smidge distracting. Not sure if it would be for anyone else.

Rating: 2 out of 5 and 4 out of 5

two-stars

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Guest Review: What the Groom Wants by Jade Lee

Posted April 2, 2014 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: What the Groom Wants by Jade LeeReviewer: Tracy
What the Groom Wants by Jade Lee
Series: Bridal Favors Series #4
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Format: Print ARC
Genres: Historical Romance
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: three-stars

 

An honest love…

Radley Lyncott has been in love with Wendy Drew as long as he can remember. When he went to sea, she was too young to court. Now that he’s returned to take up his Welsh title, he is appalled to find that debt has ruined the Drew family, and—even worse—Wendy is being courted by another man.

Or a dangerous attraction?

Family comes first for seamstress Wendy Drew, who is forced to settle her brother’s debt by working nights at a notorious gambling den. But her double-life hasn’t gone unnoticed—she has captivated none other than Demon Damon, a nefarious rake who understands Wendy’s darkest desires and is hell bent on luring her into his arms.

Radley Lyncott has been at sea for years. Now he’s back in London and wants nothing more than to court and marry Wendy Drew. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen like he thinks it will. When he gets home he finds that due to a small pox outbreak he is now a duke. Growing up with a mother who gave him dreams of one day being duke he’s not quite as “street” as he could be but he’s in no way prepared to be a duke. He just wants to live his life and marry Wendy!

Wendy is a seamstress who has a brother who got in deep from gambling. He went to Wendy and now she’s working off her brothers debt by dealing in the “slum lord’s” gambling hell. She thinks she’s now free of Demon Damon – but what she comes to realize is that she may never be done with the man as he’s obsessed with her.

Radley does his best to deal with his new responsibilities and still try to court Wendy but she’s not being completely truthful with him and she knows that she can never marry him because of Radley’s new station in life. She’s also well aware that once Radley finds out Demon Damon is the man who’s controlling her life he’ll get himself killed.

What the Groom Wants was an entertaining read. Parts of the book were good and others not so much at all.

The story itself was a bit all over the place, I have to say. Usually stories go along and though different things happen there seems to be one main focus. This book didn’t have that and unfortunately it made me wonder what I should be focusing on. Was I supposed to focus on Wendy’s issues – of which there were many? Should I focus on Radley’s issues? Demon Damon? IDK, it was just a very odd historical romance.

That said there were parts of it that I liked. I liked Radley in general. I loved the way he stood up to his mother, and everyone else for that matter when they wanted to not only change how he dressed but how he lived. He knew he had to do things differently but he wasn’t the type of person to now ignore all of his friends from the poorer part of town. I highly admired the man for being who he was.

Wendy was a good person too but she was just a confused woman. She didn’t seem to know what she really wanted and then when I thought she did it would change in a minute. I did like her but wanted her to get her head on straight.

Overall a bit of a disconnected story but entertaining.

Rating: 3 out of 5

three-stars

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What I Read Last Week

Posted February 10, 2014 by Tracy in Features | 2 Comments

Nothing too exciting happening in Tracyland. I got a horrible head cold last week that turned into a sinus infection.  I woke up Friday sounding like I smoke 4 packs a day.  I wish is sounded a sexy husky but it sounds more like a teen who’s voice is changing. Yikes. lol

I think I told you that my youngest was going to start playing bells at church with her older sister?  Yes? No?  I can’t remember.  Anyway, they played yesterday which was the youngest’s first performance and I missed it as I was coughing a lung up.  Nice.  Anyway…I heard they did a great job.  Someone taped it for me so as soon as I have that I’ll pass it on.

On to what I read last week:

I started with Reaper’s Legacy by Joanna Wylde which is book two in the Reapers MC series.  It was a good one, lemme tell ya.  Sophie and Ruger were great together and I loved seeing all the characters from book one back in this story.  You can read my review here. 4 out of 5

Next up was Avenger’s Heat by Katie Reus.  This is book 4 in the Moon Shifter series.  The story revolved around Erin and Noah.  This is Erin’s first case as an Enforcer for the Council and of course she wants to do a good job.  Unfortunately the case brings up some emotions from the past and dealing with them while on the case is difficult.  Good thing Noah’s there to soothe her hurts. 🙂 You can read my review here. 4 out of 5

Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover is a free book I downloaded from Amazon.  This is a YA book in the Hopeless series – of which I’ve read none.  YA normally isn’t my thing but this sounded so good and it was!  I loved the characters, their personalities, the story – just everything.  Makes me want to go and read the other books.  5 out of 5

Feral Heat Jennifer Ashley is a novella in the Shifters Unbound series.  Jace who is part of the Las Vegas Shiftertown heads to Austin to be the guinea pig when they try to remove the collars that all shifters wear.  He doesn’t plan on meeting Deni but when he does he knows he can’t live without her.  The story was engaging and I liked the pair together. 4 out of 5

What the Groom Wants by Jade Lee is the story of Radley who gets back from sea with the intention of now becoming a captain but he soon finds out that he is now a duke.  He was raised in a poor part of town so he’s certainly not prepared for all the stuff he needs to do and the way he needs to act.  He certainly isn’t prepared to let go of the woman he loves who is a seamstress.  This was a decent read.  3 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

To Tame His Mate by Serena Pettus is the story of Sarah who has run for 6 years to be free from living in a pack.  She runs into Erik and they soon discover that they’re mates.  She’s not quite sure that’s what she wants but she’s up for trying.  It was a really cute story that maybe just needed to go a little slower and flesh things out a bit more. 3.75 out of 5

Once in a Lifetime by Jill Shalvis is another wonderful book in the Lucky Harbor series.  Aubrey is fixing up her aunts book store and trying to make amends to people she’s hurt in the past.  Ben is back in LH after being away for 5 years – the 5 years after his wife dying.  Ben and Aubrey have some electricity running through them when they’re together but they tend to get in their own way when it comes to relationships.  Great story.  I’ll post my review of this one next week. 4 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Forged in Steele by Maya Banks

Happy Reading!!

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What I Read Last Week

Posted March 5, 2012 by Tracy in Reviews | 8 Comments

Hello there!
How the heck are ya? I’m good. Tired. I’ve been all over my city at what seems like a gajillian appliance stores looking at refrigerators. Our fridge died back on Feb. 20 (luckily we had one in the garage so saved most of the food) and this is the first weekend we’ve had to really start the hunt. Going to places, seeing what we like, then going home to check out reviews and consumer reports, etc. My God it’s exhausting. Then after all of that my brain is so fried I just want to say, “point to one and we’ll get it.” lol Besides finding one we like that doesn’t have a crappy rep, we currently have what’s called a counter depth fridge because of the way the previous owners of our house remodeled it. It looks great but with counter depth models you get less refrigerator for more money. It’s completely asinine but there it is. So then we have to decide do we want to pay the money or do we not care if it sticks out farther. There’s room for it but will it bug the crap out of me? IDK. (and this after the furnace broke down 2 weeks before that!)
And now YOU know more about fridges than you ever wanted to learn! lol
The girls were gone all weekend at different friends’ houses and I should have had a relaxing weekend and lots of reading done. Not. lol
This is what I read last week:
Wedded in Scandal by Jade Lee was my first read of the week and I read this one for The Book Binge. The story follows a woman who is an Earl’s daughter but because of a huge scandal with the father the daughter and mother are left penniless. The daughter, Helaine, starts her own dress shop and is trying to get it off the ground. One of her clients is sister to a Viscount and he falls in lust with Helaine. It was a good book with some great dialogue. I loved the banter between Helaine and Robert but I did have some issues with it. You can read my full review here. 3.5 out of 5
Next up was Winging It by Deborah Cooke. This is book 2 in the Dragon Diaries series and it was really good. The series is YA and involves the children (who are now teens) of the dragon shifters from Cooke’s Dragonfire series. I really enjoy how Cooke really makes this about the kids and doesn’t involve the adults. Would regular adults normally have stepped in after everything that goes on in the book? Probably but this IS fiction! lol The story is again told from Zoe Sorensson’s point of view. She’s having issues with secrecy. She can’t tell her best friend about her dragon side and it’s causing problems with her friend. Then there’s the problem with her powers that seem to be non-existent and she’s supposed to be the Wyvern who is supposed to have special powers. The story follows Zoe and her dragon friends as they try desperately to save themselves and other shifters against evil mages. The book was so much more than I expected and I really liked it. I can’t wait for the next book. Do I really have to wait til June? I know it doesn’t seem that far off but still… lol 4.5 out of 5
The Price of Innocence by Susan Sizemore was the story of a woman who was kidnapped and kept as a slave or sorts but she fell in love with her captor and never wanted to be released. When she meets up with him 9 years later her anger is driving her and she wants nothing to do with him. Or does she? You can read my review here. 4 out of 5
Hair of the Dog by Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James was my next read. This is about Ezra who was bitten by a werewolf….they prefer Lycans…on his way home from his father’s wake. He is then visited by the pack alpha, Callum, told he is a werewolf and then shuffled from his home. He is then inserted into pack society and he’s fumbling a bit. The alpha is trying to find out what is making they Lycan’s go a bit crazed and thinks it’s a disease until they discover that it’s really someone making them this way. Then there’s the lust between Callum and Ezra that’s almost out of control. I liked the writing in the story but I wasn’t sure about the story. I liked the suspense part but it definitely took over the book. The relationship portion of it wasn’t told as in depth as I thought it should be and I was a bit let down. I’ll be reviewing this one so I’ll let you know when that review posts. 3 out of 5
Last for the week was Taking the Shot by Jaci Burton. This is the 3rd book in the Play by Play series and it’s about the Riley sister, Jenna, and hockey player Ty Anderson. Wow. Hot. lol I’ll review it this week. 🙂
My Book Binge reviews that have posted since last week:

Happy Reading!

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Guest Review: Wedded in Scandal by Jade Lee

Posted March 5, 2012 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Tracy’s review of Wedded in Scandal by Jade Lee

For his whole life, Robert Percy, Viscount Redhill, has worked hard to maintain a sterling reputation. And while it’s socially acceptable to seduce delectable dress designer Mrs. Mortimer, Robert learns too late the heartbreaking truth about who she used to be.

Mrs. Helen Mortimer, aka Lady Helaine Chelmorton daughter of an Earl, has become a dressmaker. Five years ago her drunkard father created a scandal so huge that Helaine and her mother would be forever ostracized from the ton. Luckily Helaine had only attended one ball and wasn’t well known so was able to start a dress shop along with her friend Wendy without her true identity becoming known.

She has finally gotten an order for a trousseau that will put the shop, A Lady’s Favor, on the map, but she needs to be paid in advance as she doesn’t have the coin to purchase the needed material. The bride ordering the trousseau, Gwen, daughter of Earl herself, had stated that she would pay up front. Unfortunately the accountant handling the families money isn’t so keen on paying up front because it just isn’t done. Helaine is forced to request payment from Gwen’s brother, Viscount Redhill who then basically tells her she’s a con artist and almost calls the constable. The Viscount, Robert, soon shows up at Helaine’s shop and tries to find out what the situation is with Helaine as he doesn’t trust her. Robert and Helaine soon start verbally sparring and Robert finds that he wants to be around her more and more. Yes, he likes her for her looks and body but he likes her mind as well – a definite point in Robert’s favor.

Robert is desperate for Helaine and soon asks her to become his mistress. While the reputation that Helaine created for herself states that she was someone’s mistress already, the truth of the matter is that she’s not ever been kissed much less bedded. Helaine eventually acquiesces but she knows that the relationship can go no further as she’s just a dressmaker and Robert’s a Viscount.

This is my first read by Jade Lee and I definitely enjoyed the book. I got into the verbal sparring and witty banter that Helaine and Robert exchanged – it made me smile. I really liked the fact that Helaine didn’t give in to Robert’s request right away. In fact she turned him down flat on more than one occasion and I loved that she had the strength to stand up for herself like that.

Robert was a great guy as well. He was thoughtful and giving and would do almost anything for his family and I loved that about him. What I couldn’t figure out was the money. He didn’t have a ton of it and it was spread far and wide with all of his good works. He stated on several occasions that he didn’t know where he was going to get the money for this or that but he’d find it. Then he was offering to set Helaine up in a house with a monthly allowance. It didn’t make sense to me. There felt like a lack of consistency in this matter as well as several others in the book.

The story is entertaining but the ending really was too contrived for my liking. Also, the HEA came so late in the story we didn’t get to find out how the heck it was all going to work. The sheer logistics of the relationship was something that I just couldn’t figure out. If Robert wed Helaine then she would become a lady and does a lady run a dress shop? No. And she wouldn’t give up her shop for anything…or so she stated. I would have liked more information so that I could figure out all the twists and turns.

I think I will be reading the next book in this series as the excerpt for it at the end of Wedded in Scandal was definitely intriguing.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

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

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