Tag: The Book Binge

Guest Review: Nobody’s Lady by Annabelle Anders

Posted May 15, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Nobody’s Lady by Annabelle AndersReviewer: Tracy
Nobody's Lady by Annabelle Anders
Series: Lord Love a Lady #1
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Publication Date: May 2, 2018
Format: eARC
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 300
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Dukes don’t need help, or do they?

Michael Redmond, the Duke of Cortland, needs to be in London—most expeditiously—but a band of highway robbers have thwarted his plans. Purse-pinched, coachless, and mired in mud, he stumbles on Lilly Beauchamp, the woman who betrayed him years ago.

Ladies can’t be heroes, or can they?

Michael was her first love, her first lover, but he abandoned her when she needed him most. She’d trusted him, and then he failed to meet with her father as promised. A widowed stepmother now, Lilly loves her country and will do her part for the Good of England—even if that means aiding this hobbled and pathetic duke.

They lost their chance at love, or did they?

A betrothal, a scandal, and a kidnapping stand between them now. Can honor emerge from the ashes of their love?

Michael, the Duke of Cortland, is set upon by highwaymen while on his way to London.  He and his coachman and outriders set out, barefoot, for the nearest inn but that takes most of the day.  When they finally arrive at an inn, they are soaked from the rain and covered in mud.  Of course the innkeeper doesn’t believe Michael’s a duke, but a voice from Michael’s past pipes up and vouches for him.  The voice belongs to Lilly Bridge, the woman he fell in love with and the woman who left him to marry another man.  He tells himself he’s over her but he’s not sure that’s true.  He’s engaged to another woman, however, and despite what his deep-down feelings for Lilly are, he can do nothing about them.

Lilly hasn’t had a great life since leaving Michael at the house party.  She felt betrayed by him and felt that he didn’t truly love her – he just abandoned her after they had made love!  Lilly had spent years married to Baron Beauchamp – her dead sister’s widower – and he’d made her life miserable.  Now he’s dead and Lilly is trying to secure a good match for her niece/step-daughter, Glenda.  They are on their way to London for the Season when they run into Michael.  Lilly never got over the man but when she finds out he’s engaged she determines that she’ll stay as far away from him as she can.  Things don’t always work as planned.

Lilly and Michel, despite the extended separation, never stopped being in love.  Now Michael is trying to do the honorable thing by keeping his promise to marry Lady Natalie but he wants no one but Lilly.  Lilly just wants to be free from the pain of her life and figures once she marries Glenda off she’ll get a small cottage and live in peace, on her own terms.  Of course life has its ups and downs and, as Lilly knows, life doesn’t always work out the way you plan it.

This was a sweet story that I enjoyed reading.  I loved reading about Michael and Lilly when they were younger. For about half of the book it has alternating chapters in the present and the past.  This did get a little old but once the whole past story was out the book stayed firmly in the present.

Both Lilly and Michael felt betrayed by the other but neither had the full story about what happened.  Michael had a very good reason for not contacting Lilly but I also understood Lilly capitulating to her father as he insisted that she be well taken care of.  He was dying and wanted her secure – too bad he didn’t know what a bastard Baron Beauchamp would be to his daughter.

While I loved reading this story and about how much Michael and Lilly loved each other, there were times when their declarations of love got a little too cheesy for my liking.  It was heart-warming, but I found myself laughing as well when it got to be a bit too much. When the “villain” in the book does something near the end of the story it was a little over the top and contrived.  The villain had been mostly silent during the book so for him to make the move he did made me roll my eyes a little.

Overall it was a nice historical romance.

Rating: 3.5/3.75 out of 5

three-half-stars

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What I Read Last Week

Posted October 14, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 2 Comments

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a nice weekend. Mine was busy but good. The church that I work at and attend had its 50th Anniversary celebrations this weekend which were great. There was a dinner on Saturday night where one of the founding members of the church talked about how it all began and the early years of the church. It was wonderful to hear the stories – some were quite humorous – and see the fabulous media presentation that was constructed. Then on Sunday we had a great service where my old boss preached and it was exciting to have her there once again. As much as I like my new boss I miss my old one terribly. sigh Oh well. 🙂 Anyway, between this weekends activities and driving my kids around hither and yon I read very little this week – I think I’m starting to go through withdrawals! lol

Here’s what I did manage to read:

First up was Torn by Kim Karr. This is book 2 in the Connections series and continued the story of River and Dahlia. I can’t tell you really anything without giving away huge spoilers, especially if you plan on reading book 1 and haven’t yet, but I will say it had both its good and bad moment. 3.75 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Next up was a short story called Bewitching the Werewolf by Caroline Hanson. The story was about Rachel who is hired by an Alpha werewolf to cast a spell to find his mate. The pack is giving him grief because he hasn’t found his mate yet and so he plans on hurrying things up. Of course Rachel is his actual mate (saw that coming from a mile away) and they all live HEA. This was my first read by this author and I must say I really liked her style. Her writing was engaging and humorous and I was loving the story but then it just ended. It’s like they had sex and that meant everything was A-ok, even though Rachel had said she had issues and wasn’t interested in a relationship. I understand this was a free read but I still would have liked a little more. This won’t stop me from reading more by this author but I must say that was a bit frustrating. 3 out of 5

How to Wed an Earl by Ivory Lei is the story about Lucas, the Earl of Ravenstone, who must finally claim his bride – a woman he’s been engaged to for 22 years and has never met – just so he can receive his inheritance from his father. Penelope is not thrilled to have Lucas show up. She had pinned her hopes and dreams on him just to be disappointed when she was ignored. Now she wants something different but falls in love with Lucas anyway. To say the least she’s not happy when she finds out WHY Lucas finally claimed her. It was a decent read and had some really great parts to it. 3.75 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Another short story was A Bit of Bite by Cynthia Eden. This had police officer/special paranormal investigator Ava looking into murders that are made to look like the werewolves are the guilty parties. Alpha Julian and Ava once spent a hot night together and neither can forget it. When it looks like Ava is in danger Julian steps up to protect her. It was a cute story that I enjoyed – I always like Eden’s writing. 3 out of 5

Last for the week was the first in a serial called The Inheritance by Olivia Mayfield. The first book The Inheritance: The Will is about Maggie who has attended her very rich grandfather’s funeral and now comes the reading of the will. Maggie, her brother Robert, he ex-best friend who was her grandfather’s girlfriend (by the looks of it), Bethany and Maggie’s ex-boyfriend Andrew are all present. They must find out what happened to Maggie and Robert’s sister, Cassandra, who disappeared one night 8 years earlier. I’ll post my review of this one later this week.

My Book Binge reviews that posted this week:
All of You by Christina Lee

Happy Reading!

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What I Read Last Week

Posted September 17, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 3 Comments

Hey there everyone! How are you? Life here is…interesting. I won’t get into details but I’ll say there’s never a dull moment. lol

Giveaways:

I currently have a few giveaways going on the blog…
A digital copy of Protector by Joanne Wadsworth – book 1 in the Magio-Earth series. (YA)
A print copy of Steam Bath: Sweaty Gay Erotica – an anthology of m/m short stories edited by Shane Allison. (this giveaway is US Only)
**My 2013 5 Star Read Giveaway – a list of my 5 star reads (so far) and you can win 1 of them in digital fro the book seller of your choice. 
**And…I’ll have another one coming up this week so check back!

Also, the winner of Blue Hydrangeas by Marianne Sciucco was Crystal C-B – Congratulations! Crystal I’ve already passed your email address off to Marianne so you should get your book soon if you haven’t already.

On to what I read last week:

First up was a novella in Elder Races series by Thea Harrison called The Wicked. The story was about an Owl shifter who was working on security while a group of magical librarians got ancient tomes off of Carling Severin’s island. It was a really good novella. 4 out of 5

Next was Steam Bath: Sweaty Gay Erotic edited by Shane Allison. This was an anthology of short stories all centered around bath houses. Lots of sweat, and lots of sex. 🙂 You can read my review here. 3.75 out of 5

Rumors That Ruined a Lady by Marguerite Kaye was historical romance based around a woman, Caro, who is married and has left her husband. Her hubby then spread rumors about her that were NOT true. Her “friend” Sebastian helps her and saves her life and they end up falling in love. It was a much darker book than expected but really great. This one comes out next month and isn’t to be missed. 4 out of 5 (Is it just me or does the lady on the cover look like Annette Bening??)

My next read was one of the free reads that All Romance eBooks put out in their Fall in Love series giveaway called Tied and True by Marie Harte. The story is about a woman who hears her coworker spouting off that he has a “money shot” of her. She breaks into his house to get the pic but ends up tying him to the bed for most of the weekend to have her way with him. It was a decent short story – and it was free! lol 3 out of 5

The Volatile Amazon by Sandy James is book 4 in the Alliance of the Amazon series. This book follows Sarita the water amazon and her pretty much star crossed relationship with a highlander named Ian. It was a pretty great book and a great end to the series. I’ll post my review of this one next week. 4.25/4.5 out of 5

Edenbrooke (A Proper Romance) by Julianne Donaldson was a great little historical that follows Marianne Daventry as she heads off to Edenbrooke to visit with her sister who’s also visiting there. She meets Philip one of the sons of Edenbrooke but she has no idea that this is the man that her twin sister Cecily has her eye on. The romance is very sweet and I loved watching Philip and Marianne together. 4 out of 5 

(Never) Again by Theresa Paolo is a New Adult story about a girl who is in her first year of college when she meets up with her ex-boyfriend who broke her heart. The book is about her dealing with him, her current boyfriend, her virginity, her brother and others. It was a decent read but I did have some issues with Liz and her manic way of dealing with her life. 3 out of 5 (read for Book Binge)

Lycan’s Mate by Chandler Dee is a short story about a woman/alpha of her pack who is gearing up for the “chase” that will decide who her mate will be. The story is strange and short and kind of leaves you hanging. I was just feeling like it might be something I could get into and then it stopped. Odd, very odd. 1 out of 5

Last for the week was Runaway by Sandy James. This is book 2 in the Safe Havens series. The story is about heiress Cassie Shay who saves 2 men from death – death that her uncle ordered. Those two men, Ty Bishop and Jake Curtis then help Cassie escape from her family who wants her to marry a evil abusive man twice her age. Ty and Cassie fall in love on their way back to White Pines, Montana but the welcome they get in White Pines from Ty’s adopted family isn’t all hearts and butterflies when they find out that Cassie belongs to the Shay family.  I’ll post my review for this one this week.

 
My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
Fighting Fate by Linda Kage
Not Planning on You by Sydney Landon
The Untamed Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley

Happy Reading!

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What I Read Last Week

Posted September 9, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 2 Comments

Another week has gone by. We had a pretty quiet week with a fun weekend. Waterslide and potluck at church and my youngest especially had a wonderful time.then my oldest had some friends over for jumping on the trampoline, swimming and some LOUD games on the Wii. Fun…and exhausting. 🙂 Here’s my youngest doing a somersault on the waterslide.

How was your week? Do anything especially fun?

So I started out the week with Against the Ropes by Sarah Castille. I had a like/hate relationship with this book. The story is about Makayla who meets Torment, the owner of a gym where they have unsanctioned fights. She’s immediately attracted and he is as well. He’s just a regular guy who is very cool. She works at a hospital in admitting but has her EMT certificate. She’s incredibly low on cash and agrees to work at the gym doing first aid during fights to earn extra money. The two hit it off and I liked where it was all going. Torment however is actually a millionaire named Max who becomes…well, kind of an asshole with serious control issues. Yes, during the book we find out why he has those issues but still – wow. Makayla has an event from her past that haunts her and Max’s need for control in the bedroom sets her off and scares her. IDK, the story was decent but I really had problems with the characters at different times. Makayla at times was just TSTL and Max was at times nice and then a controlling bastard. I think this is one you have to read for yourself and decide how you feel. 3.25 out of 5

Next up was Foxy Lady by Marie Harte. Book 3 in the Cougar Falls series and this is about the town Sheriff, Ty, heading off to help Julia out of what he believes is a sticky situation. The problem is that some rednecks think they own the town and the oldest son wants Julia for his own. Julia and her family are also hiding a deep dark secret. This was a good one with lots of ins and out and action. 3.5 out of 5

Dear Rockstar by Emme Rollins. This is a New Adult story about a girl who is obsessed with a particular rock star so when his younger look alike walks into her school she’s floored. She decides that she likes him for him though, and not because of who he looks like. The book is about Sara dealing with her family, her issues with her obsession and her relationship with her boyfriend Dale. I really liked this story a lot. Dale had his own secrets that he never shared with Sara which I thought he should have shared but he had his reasons. I think there’s another book either out or due to be released that will follow up with them – I’m looking forward to it. 4 out of 5 

Rules to Catch a Devilish Duke by Suzanne Enoch is almost a year old. I bought it when it released and I’m ashamed to say it sat there for almost a year. (Of course I have many others that I’ve bought and ignored but we won’t get into that.) Anyway, this story is about Sophia who is the daughter of a lady’s maid and a duke. She has secured her independence by working at the Tantalus Club but her “father” got word of this and went to see her (for the first time in her life). He said that she was an embarrassment to him and she would go marry a vicar in Cornwall or he would use all of his power to shut down the Tantalus Club. Sophia agrees as she knows he’s powerful and she doesn’t want the club closed down. A lot of other women had found their independence there as well and she wanted that to continue. She accepts an invitation to a Christmas house party given by the Duke of Greaves. She knows she’s only invited as the shock factor but one thing leads to another and she finds herself with the duke for 2 weeks before any of the other guests arrive. Of course they fall in love. Ok, this was an awesome book. I loved Sophia so damned much. She was wonderful and I couldn’t get enough of her. I really liked Adam as well, even though he had his moments where I wanted to punch him to get his brain functioning properly. This is definitely a book that I recommend. I closed the book with a huge satisfied sigh and a big smile on my face. 5 out of 5

Last for the week was Tethered by Meljean Brook. This is book 2.5 in the Iron Seas series and follows, once again, Archimedes Fox and his now wife Yasmeen Corsair-Fox. The story is about the pair being forced into a dangerous rescue by Archimedes’ old partner, Miles Bilson. I really liked the way the book was set up and of course getting to read more about Yasmeen and Archimedes and their adventures. Good book. 4 out of 5

 

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
The Switched Baby Scandal by Theresa Meyers

Happy Reading! 

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What I Read Last Week

Posted July 4, 2013 by Tracy in Features | 3 Comments

Hey there

I bet you didn’t think you’d be seeing this post this week, did you? I was kind of wondering myself, to be quite honest. Lol But here I am – yay! Lol

So let’s see, last week was pretty good. I’ve been going to physical therapy for a rotator cuff issue and that’s been quite painful. Luckily it’s getting better so that’s good.

On Saturday morning I sent my oldest off on a youth group mission trip for a whole week. I think she’s having fun – hopefully she is.

After I dropped her off I then drove with my youngest to Rancho Cucamonga where I met some Southern California bloggers for lunch. I met with Wendy, Rosie, Holly, Nikki, Renee and Lori and we had a great lunch and a great talk. I love getting together and talking about books! We just don’t do it often enough and I always get such great book recommendations! We were all nuts and neglected to get a picture, but oh well. We’re dorks. 🙂

As you can see I’m helping to host the 2nd annual digital first read-a-thon and it’s been great. All month I’ll be having excerpts and giveaways for digital first books so check back daily to check out the books.

So on to what I read last week:

I’m really behind on my Book Binge review books so I’ve been trying to catch up lately. My first read for the week was One Night Rodeo by Lorelei James. This is book 4 in the Blacktop Cowboys series and it’s about Celia and Kyle. They get married in Vegas one drunken night but then end up agreeing to stay together for 6 months so that Celia can help Kyle with the ranch he inherited. I really liked the story and thought it was a good addition to the series. You can read my full review on Book Binge here.4 out of 5

Next up was Freefall by Jill Sorenson. This was a great book about Sam Rutherford who was in Aftershock, the first book in the Aftershock series. Sam ends up helping Hope Banning who is a park ranger who is determined to catch a killer and save her sister at the same time. During this time Sam and Hope end up falling for each other. A really good story that I really enjoyed reading. You can read my full review here. 4 out of 5

My next read was Love and Other Scandals by Caroline Linden. This story is about Tristan who is a bit of rake. He tells his friend that he will look after his sister while his friend is out of town. Tristan is only ready to do his duty and visit a time or two but the more time he spends with Joan the more he likes her. The story was very sweet and I loved seeing the wallflower come out of her shell. 4 out of 5
Finding Billie by Priscilla Brown is the story of a man who comes back to the town he lived in up through high school and ends up meeting up with his good friend Billie who runs the only gas station in town. Billie and Zac are very attracted to each other but Zac is still dealing with the death of his family a couple of years ago and Billie is dealing with some stuff in her town. The story had a good idea but I didn’t care for the writing at all. You can read my full review here. 2 out of 5

The Ever Knight by Georgia Fox is a short novella about Jisella who is determined to get out of the convent that she’s been in for years. Her intended husband is about to come get her and she’s not willing to be there when he arrives. She picks out her knight from some warriors who are at the convent and seduces him. When she finds out that the knight, Remy, is there to get her to take to his half brother, Renard, she’s not deterred from her mission. When Renard shows up to escort his bride himself and Remy tells him what happened Renard’s not as upset as one would think – he just joins in. Now this could so easily have been a completely cheesy story but I thought it was done well for as short as it was. I would love to see what happens to the trio later after they left the convent. I’ll have to hope that happens. Lol 3.5 out of 5

Last for the week was the Wagered Wench by Georgia Fox which is a novel about a earl’s daughter who is wagered, along with her father’s land, in a game of cards. She’s not sure she wants to comply but is attracted to the Saxon warrior. The problems really start when the neighbor, who believed that HE would get the girls hand in marriage decides to try stake his claim. The story was another good one. I didn’t care for the neighbor so seeing him with the woman was a bit uncomfortable. I didn’t find him a sexual character so when the menage started it was more awkward to read for me than erotic. The rest of it was good though. 3.5 out of 5

My Book Binge reviews that posted last week:
The Secrets of Mia Danvers by Robyn DeHart
A Rural Affair by Catherine Alliott

Happy Reading!

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