Tag: Lost Lords of Pembrook Series

Review: Lord of Wicked Intentions by Lorraine Heath.

Posted May 16, 2013 by Rowena in Reviews | 6 Comments

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins

Rowena’s review of Lord of Wicked Intentions (Lost Lords of Pembrook #3) by Lorraine Heath.

Hero: Lord Rafe Easton
Heroine: Miss Evelyn Chambers

Lord Rafe Eason may be of noble blood, but survival taught him to rely only on himself and to love no one. Yet when he sets his eyes on Miss Evelyn Chambers, and earl’s illegitimate daughter, he is determined to have her, if only as his mistress.

After her father’s death, Evelyn Chambers never imagined she would be sold to the highest bidder, yet circumstances give her little choice except to accept the lord’s indecent proposal. Rafe is wealthy, as well as ruthless. Yet his coldness belies deep passion and deeper secrets. If she must be his, Evelyn intends to lay bare everything the Lord of Pembrook is hiding. But dark discoveries threaten to destroy them both until unexpected love guides the last lost lord home.

This was the final book in the Lost Lords of Pembrook trilogy.  Rafe is the last Easton brother to get his happy ending and I’ve got to say that Rafe is my favorite Easton brother.  Throughout the series, we see how distant he’s made himself from his brothers.  We see that he holds a whole lot of what happened to him against both of his brothers but in those previous books, we don’t know why…until this book.

Rafe has really built an empire for himself.  He’s one of the most dangerous men in London because he’s made his business to be.  He’s not the weakling that his brothers left behind all those years ago and he’s built a wall around himself to protect him from lesser things, like feelings.  Feelings gave you weakness and Rafe was anything but weak.  And when Evelyn comes into his life, things are irrevocably changed.

Evelyn is an illegimate child of an Earl and when he dies, her half brother feeds her to the wolves.  Literally.  He puts her up on the block to be purchased as someone’s mistress and she’s up there smiling, thinking that she’s going to snare herself a husband.  It’s not until she lands herself at Rafe’s house that things become crystal clear to her and then the humiliation sets in.

Watching both Rafe and Evelyn grow closer was such a great way to spend a few hours.  I really enjoyed this story and I really enjoyed seeing Rafe come to terms with his brothers, what happened in the past and finally looking toward the future.  The romance between him and Evelyn was slow to build but I loved it.  I loved seeing Rafe thaw out over the course of the book and I really loved seeing Evelyn come into her own.  She came so far from the beginning when she’s a sobbing mess being turned away from the home that had been hers ever since she could remember.

I loved seeing the Easton brothers in action together.  I loved seeing them come together for Rafe after seeing them band together for the other two brothers.  I loved seeing that even though so much time had passed, both Sebastian and Tristan were a force to be reckoned with and even though their relationship was strained, they came out in force for Rafe.  This was such a great book, a fantastic romance that I definitely recommend this one.  I’m kind of sad that this series is done, I’ll miss these characters!

Grade: 4.75 out of 5

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

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Review: Lord of Temptation by Lorraine Heath

Posted October 23, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Lord of Temptation by Lorraine HeathReviewer: Rowena
Lord of Temptation (The Lost Lords of Pembrook, #2) by Lorraine Heath
Series: The Lost Lords of Pembrook #2
Also in this series: Lord of Wicked Intentions
Publisher: Harper Collins, Avon
Publication Date: September 25th 2012
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Three young heirs, imprisoned by an unscrupulous uncle, escaped—to the sea, to the streets, to faraway battle—awaiting the day when they would return to reclaim their birthright.

Once upon a time, he was Lord Tristan Easton—now he is Crimson Jack, a notorious privateer beholden to none, whose only mistress is the sea. But all that will change when exquisite Lady Anne Hayworth hires his protection on a trip into danger and seduction.

Desperation brought Anne to the bronzed, blue-eyed buccaneer. But after the Captain demands a kiss as his payment, desire will keep her at his side. She has never known temptation like this—but to protect her heart, she knows she must leave him behind. Yet Tristan cannot easily forget the beauty—and when they meet again in a London ballroom, he vows he won't lose her a second time, as fiery passion reignited takes them into uncharted waters that could lead the second lost lord home.

This is the second book in the Lost Lords of Pembroke series and it’s another enjoyable book from Lorraine Heath.

Lorraine Heath is fast becoming one of my go to authors for historical romance. She’s always writing stories that I fall head over heels in love with and introducing me to characters that I come to love and this book was no different. I adored the first book in this series and while I enjoyed this book as well, I think I enjoyed Seb and Mary’s book more.

This book follows Sebastian’s twin Tristan as he finds his happy ending. His happy ending is wrapped up in Lady Anne Hayworth. Tristan’s story is pretty similar to Sebastian’s story where he was shipped away from his home because his uncle was trying to kill them to take over Sebastian’s title and lands, etc. Sebastian went to the military, Rafe went to the work house and Tristan went to the sea. While he was at sea, he became Crimson Jack and more than ten years later, he finds that being back in London and a part of the ton isn’t for him so after he and his brothers get the title back to Sebastian, Tristan goes back to the sea.

When Captain Jack touches down in London again after years at sea, he’s approached by Lady Anne Hayworth to take her to Sucrati so that she could see her fiancé once more before she finally moves on for good. Her fiancé’ was shipped over to Sucrati four years ago and their relationship is over. Her family wants her to move on and find another husband but she needs to do this first. She feels a sort of responsibility for what happened to their relationship and she needs to say her goodbyes before she can move on to the next guy. She wants to hurry up and get it over with so regular passage on a ship traveling to Sucrati is out of the question so her plan B is to hire a captain of a private ship to take her.

Enter Captain Crimson Jack.

Of course Tristan takes her on her trip and of course things got interesting on the way over there and of course they got closer and closer together. This is a romance! It is on this trip and what happens when they got back from their trip that I just ate right up. I really enjoyed getting to know both Tristan and Anna. They were such different characters, from different backgrounds and yet, they couldn’t stay away from each other. The passion they had for each other, the desire that wouldn’t go away (no matter how much they wanted it too) was too much to walk away from and really, I thought it was quite lovely.

Tristan never came to grips with what happened to them when they were younger and he had all of these walls thrown up to protect himself and the anger that he had for his uncle was hidden deep down inside of him that he was unwilling to let anyone close enough to hurt him again (even his brothers) and I really enjoyed seeing him come to depend on Anna. I loved his character and really enjoyed his story.

Anna was one of those heroines that kind of gets swept up in the danger and romance that Tristan brings with him and I thought she was such a strong heroine. She was perfect for Tristan, she was exactly what he needed in his life for him to move on and completely let go of the past. She kind of did what she wanted to do and to hell with what her father and brothers had to say. She knew her own mind and she always did what she thought was right. She didn’t always make the best of decisions but hell, neither did Tristan but I was okay with their bumbling ways because I was interested in their characters and I came to love them the way that I love my friends and family.

At the end, everything comes together and the journey was enjoyable. I was a fan of this book and am very much looking forward to Rafe’s book. There’s a lot of shadows surrounding the youngest brother of Pembroke and I’m mighty curious to see what his issues are. Does he hold his brothers responsible for what happened to them as kids? Who is his heroine? I’m really, really curious to see how his story comes together.

Overall, this book had everything that I enjoy in a romance and when I finished it, I was a happy camper. I’m glad that I read it and I thought it was a great addition to an enjoyable series and I’m thirsty for more. Kudos Lorraine Heath, kudos.

Grade: 4 out of 5

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

four-stars

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Review: She Tempts the Duke by Lorraine Heath.

Posted January 31, 2012 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins

Rowena’s review of She Tempts the Duke by Lorraine Heath.

Hero: Sebastian Easton
Heroine: Lady Mary Wynne-Jones

Three young heirs, imprisoned by an unscrupulous uncle, escaped—to the sea, to the streets, to faraway battle—awaiting the day when they would return to reclaim their birthright.

Sebastian Easton always vowed he would avenge his stolen youth and title. Now back in London, the rightful Duke of Keswick—returning from battle a wounded, hardened, changed man—cannot forget the brave girl who once rescued him and his brothers from certain death.

Lady Mary Wynne-Jones paid dearly for helping the imprisoned young Lords of Pembrook, and she remembers well the promise she made to Sebastian all those years ago: to meet him once more in the abbey ruins where they shared a bold, forbidden kiss. While Mary is now betrothed to another, a friendship forged with dark secrets cannot be ignored. Unexpected passion soon burns dangerously between them, tempting Sebastian to abandon his quest for retribution and fight for a love that could once again set him free.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a historical but I’m glad that I picked this one up. I haven’t been in the mood for a historical but this one ended up to be a real treat. Not that it surprised me that this book ended up being a treat because duh, this is a Lorraine Heath and she introduced me to some of my favorite brothers not too long ago.

This book started with a big bang! I mean, three young boys trapped in a tower after their Dad dies by their mean Uncle? Oh yeah and then a fair maiden comes plowing in to rescue them? Yeah, this is what romances are supposed to be made of. Lorraine Heath always does a bang up job of making me come to care for her characters. She has a way of explaining things that makes me all happy and gooey inside from too much sighing all over the hot damn place. This book was no different.

There are three Easton boys and this is the oldest Easton boys book. His name is Sebastian and he’s the heir to the family Dukedom. It was his livelihood that his uncle wanted to steal from him and it was his father that his uncle killed. Being only twelve years old when his uncle killed his dad, there wasn’t much that he could do to keep the title and the lands, or protect his brothers. So when his best friend, Mary Wynne-Jones came barreling and released the Easton brothers from the tower and it sets them all free.

It’s been twelve years since that dark night and Mary has missed Sebastian so much since he left. They were close childhood friends and she cared for him, she wasn’t counting on caring so much about him now that he’s back. She’s engaged now to a man that is good and solid and she’s getting married soon but when Sebastian blows back into town, she can’t help but drawn to him. Over and over again.

She’s worried about Sebastian and his brothers because she knows about what his Uncle tried to do them when they were little boys and she knows those boys like they were her own brothers and above all else, she cares about them. But most of all, she cares about Sebastian. Only Sebastian isn’t the boy she once knew. He’s not the same boy that she used to run wild with over the forests when they were kids. He’s a hard man, a serious man with scars both inside and out but try as she might. she can’t help but worry about him.

It was a real treat seeing Sebastian and Mary get reacquainted with each other. Time and distance had taken the two of them in different directions and seeing each other now makes them both feel, different.

When they parted as children, they were friends. Sebastian doesn’t see Mary as a friend anymore. He sees her as a woman but isn’t fooled by what she sees when she looks at him. He’s got the wounds and the battle scars to prove what he’s been through. He knows that he’s not the same good looking chap she knew when they were younger and his emotional reaction to his looks was different in the heroes that I’ve read in a while.

Sebastian didn’t have a prayer of loving anyone if he couldn’t love himself and he didn’t love himself. He had too much duty and guilt and grief over the way that his life turned out. Guilt at leaving his brothers when they needed him the most, grief over losing his home, his family and his heritage on the same day that he lost his father. All things that made him grow up much too soon then he was ready. Seeing Mary come back into his life and seeing them grow closer and closer together made for an enjoyable tale of two friends finding love after losing so much.

Heath did another fabulous job of sweeping me into the lives of her characters. I thought this book was too cute for words and I’m glad to have read it. I think fans of her stories will find this book delightful and sweet, the romance was steamy and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I definitely recommend this to lovers of historical romance.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

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

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