Four Dukes and a Devil

Slightly lacklustre romance anthology

3 Stars

THE IRISH DUKE by Cathy Maxwell

Pretty Susan Rogers is a 26 year old spinster who helps the young ladies of the ton find suitable husbands – so long as they are not Irish Dukes. So who should appear at the beginning of the season to find a wife but an Irish Duke, Roan Gillray, who seems to have set his sights on Susan herself.

This was a sweet story but lacked believability due to the short length. It was still an enjoyable, well-written story that will make you smile.

THE DUKE WHO CAME TO DINNER by Elaine Fox

Gray Gilliam has come to sleepy Wellfleet, Massachusetts to spend a summer changing her life. But that’s before she goes skinny dipping, a dog called Duke steals her clothes and her hot neighbour, Sam Gregory, sees her stark naked!

This was a good, fun-loving story with good characters and a cute dog. I couldn’t really decide the purpose of the ghost in the story but apart from that I enjoyed it.

DEVIL TO PAY by Jeaniene Frost

Blake Turner has been possessed by an evil demon and the only way to get rid of it is to die. But now he’s met gorgeous vampire Elise, he suddenly realises he desperately wants to live.

I am really not into vampire/demon stories and this one didn’t change my mind. It was interesting with a good ending but it really wasn’t a romance story.

CATCH OF THE CENTURY by Sophia Nash

When John Varick, Duke of Beaufort nearly runs down Miss Victoria Givan in the middle of a country road, he has no idea that by offering her and her teenage charges a lift to their destination, he might be risking his bachelor status.

I enjoyed this story and the characters in it but towards the end the story started to brim with characters from previous Nash books. Having never read her before, I found this annoying and spoiled the story for me somewhat.

CHARMED BY HER SMILE by Tracy Anne Warren

Miss India Byron is being plagued by the unwanted attentions of a rather insipid suitor. So she enlists the help of Quentin Marlowe, Duke of Weybridge to pretend to pursue her in the hopes of deterring the love-struck lad. But is it really pretend after all?

I could have lived with the tried and true plot if it had a little magic but it was actually quite bland and boring. I also didn’t believe that it was anything more than infatuation and lust between the couple. Disappointing.

The good thing about this anthology is that it has a wide selection of very different types of story. Unfortunately, personally I didn’t find any of the stories particularly thrilling and although a few of them were fairly interesting, I don’t think I’ll be going out of my way to read any of the stories again in a hurry. 3 stars.

Bedtime for Bonsai by Elaine Fox

Feel good contemporary romance

5 stars

Now that Penelope Porter’s marriage is over and she’s still without the child that she always longed for, she does the next best thing and gets a puppy. Mr Darcy is an adorable ball of fluff – if only he would stop running off and over to the shop across the street. The shop owned by the sexy bad boy, Dylan Mersey.

Dylan hasn’t had many dealings with the society types – especially none that are as hot as Penelope. But nobody should name a dog Mr Darcy so he decides the puppy’s name should be Bonsai. Both dog and owner are too difficult to resist but Dylan has secrets from his past that threaten his fresh start, Penelope and whatever he might feel for her. And there’s also Penelope’s ex to consider. Soon they have to decide whether they are a mis-match or a match made in heaven.

Penelope, who, if you’re a fan of Elaine Fox, you might remember from previous books Guys and Dogs and Beware of Doug, is a likeable, engaging character without any of the stereotypical characteristics that many would put on an upper class, divorced society character. I loved how she was believable and yet confused over her feelings for Dylan. Dylan was a deep, tortured hero who, despite his past, had such a good heart that it was so sweet to see him get some happiness!

The story was interesting, engaging although perhaps not as light in nature as Elaine Fox’s previous novels. I still found it very entertaining and I love how the style of writing and way of telling a story leaves you with a nice, happy glow at the end.

If you’re looking for an entertaining contemporary romance with likeable characters and a good, happy ending then I would recommend this book to you. 5 stars.

Christmas Spirit

Magical Christmas Anthology

4 Stars

A set of three Christmas stories where each of the characters find true love with the help of some ghosts of Christmas past, Christmas present and Christmas yet to come.

Bah, Humbug! – Leigh Greenwood

Advertising Executive Nate Jerome spends his whole year making Christmas commercials so he really hates the holiday season and plans to escape by flying to Aruba. But his plans change when he meets his beautiful neighbour Milly Thurston who adores Christmas as she shows him that there’s much more to life than work.

This was an okay story but nothing special and I actually found it too long and drawn out. The characters changed their feelings at the turn of a page and I didn’t think they spent nearly enough time together for me to believe in their happily ever after.

Christmas Present – Elaine Fox

When Susannah Murphy comes home for Christmas she is sure she will hate every minute of the small town life that she tried so hard to escape from. Things don’t start well when she crashes her car and has to rely on Joe Cameron for help – the one man in town that could turn her life around.

This was a sweet story with plenty of Christmas cheer and romance. The love story felt realistic and the man helping the couple on their way to true love was a nice festive touch. Very enjoyable.

Blue Christmas – Linda Winstead

Jess Lennox is determined to spend a quiet, calm Christmas on her own in her flat. When musician Jimmy Blue invites her to spend the holidays with him she refuses as she has vowed never to date another musician. Alone in her flat that night she is visited by a Christmas Spirit who shows her just what will happen unless she learns to open her heart.

This was a delightful story which had a nice ‘Christmas Carol’ feel about it. I really loved the concept of seeing into the future and then changing the present and how the imperfect is sometimes the most perfect. It sounds quite cheesy but this really was a sweet, sensual and festive story that I very much enjoyed.

Overall this is an enjoyable set of stories each with a magical twist. The last two stories really stand out and make this anthology well worth picking up if you’re looking for a quick read during the hectic Christmas season or at any time of the year.

Hello Doggy by Elaine Fox

Upbeat, sexy and fun novel

5 stars

Keenan James has made his name telling women what men really want. He wrote a tv show, filmed a tv special, hosts weekly lunch meetings with love-lorn women and he's even decided to write a self help book. They don't need to know that he himself has never been able to commit to just one girl.

Just as his life seems to be on track he gets lumbered with his mother's crazy dog who just happens to go by the name Barbra Streisand. Also his publisher tells him that he must write his book with a co-author, shy yet opinionated psychologist Tory Hoffstra.

Tory is sure that Keenan is just using his weekly meetings to pick up women so she joins the group under an alias to prove it. But as the pair get to know each other they begin to realise that maybe Barbra Streisand isn't so crazy after all and their wise advice can't really help them as they start to fall in love.

Elaine Fox has written another winner with this book and it really is a delight from beginning to end.

The characters are fresh, vibrant and people you can really identify with and their interactions with each other are so well-written that you easily believe them. I loved Tory despite all her flaws and of course Keenan was a suitably wonderful hero. Their chemistry was excellent and the sex scenes nicely sexy.

The actual story was very funny and at times had me laughing out loud. And the whole story was so fresh and upbeat that you couldn't help but smile as you read. It was also nice to see Brady and Lily (from Elaine Fox's previous novel - Beware of Doug) make a brief appearance. Despite that, this books stands alone and is not part of a series.

Fast paced, fun and sexy - if you're looking for a contemporary romantic novel to pass away a few hours then you really can't go wrong with this book. Highly recommended and very worthy of 5 stars.