Eleven Scandals to Start to Win A Duke's Heart by Sarah MacLean

Enjoyable romance and good end to the series

4 stars

Juliana Fiori may be the sister to a powerful Marquess but that doesn’t mean she’s a simpering English miss. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth as trouble and scandal seem to follow her wherever she goes and the ton delights in making her the subject of their gossip.

Simon Pearson, the Duke of Leighton doesn’t have room in his perfect, ordered life for scandal of any kind. He is too focussed on his reputation, title and keeping his secrets well hidden. But Juliana presents a temptation that he can’t quite resist and when she promises to show him passion – he might just find he’s not as above love as he first thought.

This is the third and final book in MacLean’s Love By Numbers trilogy and one that I’ve been very much looking forward to. I don’t suppose it needs to be read in order but I think you would understand more of the back story (and be aware of Juliana and Simon’s history) if you’ve read the first two books – Nine Rules to Break When Romancing A Rake and Ten Ways To Be Adored When Landing A Lord.

From the first page I was hooked by this book. I loved Simon and Juliana from MacLean’s first two books and couldn’t wait for them to get their own story. Juliana was the feisty Italian that I came to expect and Simon was even more of the disdainful, arrogant duke than he first appeared.

The story kept me interested and I couldn’t put the book down. Until about the middle. Then, for some reason, I became a little disenchanted. Simon and Juliana seemed to be on a neverending cycle of her doing something scandalous, him being disdainful and neither of them ever bending, learning or changing. It picked up again towards the end and I liked the ending although, if I’m honest, I didn’t feel that I ever got to completely understand the characters, their love or their motivations.

I’ve still given this book 4 stars because I’ll admit that since I was so looking forward to this book it probably could never have lived up to my expectations. Add to that the fact that it could never beat the exceptional Nine Rules to Break… and I’ve probably given worse books more stars.

Overall I still really liked this book and would recommend it to someone who enjoys a good ol’ Regency romance. It’s well written, engaging and I’m sure you will enjoy it. I’ll also eagerly be waiting for MacLean’s next book and the start of The Fallen Angel’s series, A Rogue By Any Other Name.

Second Time Lucky by Debbi Rawlins

Readable but ultimately forgettable romance

3 stars

Hot shot lawyer, Mia Butterfield, has decided to pack in her high flying career to open her own business. But before she settles down to the hard work and lack of money, she and her friends are going to have one final spring break in gorgeous Hawaii.

Mia’s boss, David Pearson, is determined to get Mia back so he can land a lucrative account. So he follows her to Hawaii – quite a departure for a workaholic like him. But is he really going to win Mia back for the firm, or for himself?

I liked the premise of this story and it was executed fairly well. However…the story wasn’t thrilling and really lacked any real sparkle or magic.

I liked both David and Mia but their relationship was a little bit strange. It felt as though the author couldn’t quite decide what the power dynamic between the couple was supposed to be. This made David especially seem at times quite weak and at other times a real alpha male – it was quite odd. There was the usual heat for a Blaze romance but nothing that gave me goosebumps.

And the twist – you could have seen it coming a mile away but when it actually arrived it was a little pointless and unbelievable.

Overall this was a good enough book to read on a rainy afternoon. It wasn’t overly exciting and it, if I’m honest, was a little forgettable but not wholly bad. I suspect that Mia’s two friends Shelby and Lindsay will have their own stories soon making this the first in a trilogy of stories.

Caught on Camera by Meg Maguire

Enjoyable wilderness romance

4 stars

Survival television star Dominic Tyler (Ty) and his assistant, Kate Somersby are in the middle of filming their series finale – a week long trip surviving in the wilds of Canada – when a freak accident and storm forces them to take shelter in a remote cabin. The accident forces Ty to take some drastic action – Kate will no longer be working with him on future series.

Kate is stunned by the betrayal of her best friend but when Ty tries to take her mind off her problems then she can’t resist helping to stay warm the good old fashioned way!

I wasn’t sure if I would like this story being that it’s a bit more outdoorsy than I generally like to be! But I was hooked from almost the first page and found I couldn’t put it down. Kate and Ty were likeable characters and fit brilliantly together both as friends and then as lovers. There was a lot of heat within the book despite it being set in snowy Canada and I really liked the pair’s interactions.

I know we’re supposed to suspend belief in these kind of stories but I did have a little issue with the pair going at it outside in the forest in the middle of a snowstorm! Maybe I’m being overly cautious but I would assume that at the temperatures they would have been facing things might have fallen off which is probably not very sexy!

I’ll admit to always being a little worried when either the hero or heroine aren’t American in these kinds of books because their “accents” more often than not are clichéd and cringe-worthy. In this book Ty was Australian but I’m pleased to say his lingo wasn’t overly embarrassing or stereotypical.

I really enjoyed this book and it kept me entertained from beginning to end. It’s not the best or most romantic story ever but for something to keep you occupied for a couple of hours then you can’t go wrong. 4 stars.

Bad Boys Next Exit by Shannon McKenna, Donna Kauffman & E.C. Sheedy

What a waste…

2 stars

MELTDOWN by Shannon McKenna

Jane Duvall is a great headhunter and she’s determined to snag her next client even if it means stealing him away from hotel CEO, Michael “Mac” Mcnamara. Mac plans to find out what Jane’s really up to even if that means he has to seduce it out of her.

This story started of well but pretty soon turned into absolute trash. Mac was such a bully that it was uncomfortable to read. I like an alpha male as much as the next girl but Mac’s treatment of Jane was emotionally abusive and I was horrified that anyone would class this as romance. Dreadful.

EXPOSED by Donna Kauffman

All Delilah Hudson wants is to get home for Christmas – too bad she’s stranded on a train in the middle of a blizzard. As soon as photographer, Austin Morgan, spies Delilah he’s interested in capturing her in more than just a shot. Perhaps they can heat up the holidays together.

This was a fairly bland story with characters I didn’t empathise with, identify with or particularly care for. The sex within five minutes of meeting each other seemed seedy rather than sexy and the thought of a stranger taking naked pictures of me gave me the creeps rather than turned me on!

PURE GINGER by E.C. Sheedy

Ginger Cameron is fed up with being judged solely on her looks. So she decides to change her look to something a little more dowdy. Cal Beaumann needs to hire Ginger to do PR work but he doesn’t believe that this girl is as straight laced as she appears. So he sets out to uncover her secrets one by one.

Easily the best story of this anthology, I still couldn’t identify much with Ginger. It was all a bit ridiculous and the silly conflict at the end of the story was a bit high school for my tastes. Still the best but still not so great.

This book has been sitting on my shelf for years waiting to be read. I’m actually beginning to wish I’d left it there to gather dust because I really didn’t enjoy it. I’ve previously read other books in the ‘Bad Boys’ series and by these authors and enjoyed them so this book was a little bit of a waste. There are much (much) better romantic anthologies out there and I would recommend you give this one a miss and try one of them. 2 stars and the extra star is only for E.C. Sheedy’s tale which wasn’t too bad.

A Little Bit Sinful by Adrienne Basso

Engaging but unremarkable

3 stars

Eleanor Collins knows that it will be her sweet and beautiful younger sister that takes the ton by storm. So when confirmed rake Sebastian Dodd, Viscount Benton, starts to pay Eleanor attention rather than her prettier sister, she’s a little taken aback.

Sebastian’s plans for revenge include the seduction of Eleanor – a task that he’s not reluctant to take on. But as he becomes consumed with Eleanor and the passion that surrounds them he begins to wonder whether he’s got his priorities right or whether love is more important than revenge.

This is a stand alone book but it appears that it is linked in with many other of Adrienne Basso’s books. I would imagine that Sebastian appeared in the book that featured his best friend which is the one before this one (How to Seduce a Sinner). I haven’t read that book and although this one seemed to stand alone I think I would have had a better grip on the characters, especially the secondary characters, if I had read the previous one first.

The book itself was a good read. I was interested and at no time did I get bored or not want to continue with the story. Both Eleanor and Sebastian were likeable characters and I liked their story and interactions. However, neither they nor the story were particularly memorable and they also didn’t have much depth which left the whole story seriously lacking in emotion. This really made it difficult to invest in the characters and I didn’t fall in love with them or really believe that they fell in love with each other.

This book did hold my interest so it’s a little disappointing that I feel I can only give it 3 stars. I’ll give Adrienne Basso another read because I liked her writing style but this book did little for me, I’m afraid.

Another Wild Wedding Night by Leslie Kelly

Three perfect, sexy stories

5 stars

Following on from Kelly’s Play with Me, we once again meet up with Amanda and Reese – this time at their wedding – where we get three stories about people attending their wedding and finding their own happily ever afters.

First Kiss

Bonnie Campbell is sick fed up with always being a good girl and even more so now that she realises everyone thinks of her as practically a virgin. So she’s determined to make the most of the wedding reception and all the hot men. But first she has to tell off hot movie superstar, Drew Erikson, who has managed to snag the honeymoon suite.

This was a sweet and surprisingly believable story that I really enjoyed. Both Bonnie and Drew were likeable and non-stereotypical characters and I liked their happy ending.

Halfway There

Jocelyn “Jazz” Wilkes had never been shy and had left a string of broken hearts in her wake. But her colleague, Blake Marshall, didn’t seem to be the same type as her normal guy. So why is he always in her thoughts? And why does he make her want to give up her single life and settle down. With him.

This was another great story that just oozed with chemistry between the main characters. I liked the fact that the characters had been dancing around each other for weeks and the wedding was the culmination of their feelings – even if they don’t want to admit them to each other!

Last Call

All Abby Bauer wants is a man who she can have a passionate relationship with. Unfortunately for her, despite how much she loves him, it seems that that man is not Keith Manning – her fiancé. Keith is astounded when Abby dumps him but he’s determined not to let her get away and is determined to prove he’s man enough for her.

I adored this story. It was a mixture of sweet and sexy with enough emotion packed in to make it really enjoyable. For me, I could have read this story over and over and never got bored.

Kelly did a similar thing with Overexposed and One Wild Wedding Night and it works just as well second time round. If you’re looking for short, sexy snippets then I would recommend this as the perfect example of Blaze romance and one I really enjoyed. 5 stars.

The Naughty List by Donna Kauffman, Cynthia Eden & Susan Fox

Mixed bag Christmas romance

3 Stars

This is Brava’s annual Christmas story anthology featuring three authors and three different stories all focussing on romance, heat and Christmas time.

Naughty But Nice – Donna Kauffman

Irishman, Griff, is in small town Hamilton to head up a corporate town-wide makeover. Baker Melody has given up her high flying career and now simply wants a quiet life so the pair are bound to cause sparks when they meet up.

This must be part of a series by Kauffman and I remember having similar problems with another of her stories in a previous anthology. It was so bogged down in detail about other people and back story that I got very bored very quickly. And Griff’s “Irish” accent was cringe-worthy in the extreme. Not good.

All I Want for Christmas – Cynthia Eden

Christie Tate is fed up with always being the good girl. So at the office Christmas party she decides to ask Santa for what she really wants – a really good time. But that’s before she realises that Santa is Jonas, her brother’s best friend and the guy she’s had a crush on since childhood.

This was a sweet, enjoyable and romantic story that’s perfect for this kind of anthology. It’s light and frothy with enough heat to keep you warm on a winter night. I liked both Jonas and Christie and it had a sweet happy ending.

Charlotte “Charlie” Coltrane is back in Whistler after promising herself she would never return. She’s immediately captivated by hot contractor, L.J. and is surprised to discover he’s the geeky kid she remembers from high school.

This was a sweet and slow paced story about a couple of misfits that find love. It wasn’t earth shattering but I enjoyed it and was happy at the outcome.

This book had, for me, one great story, one good and one bad. It’s a good read for a cold winter night or just for taking a break from things but nothing extraordinarily special or romantic. Only the middle story was the light, fluffy romance that I was expecting but the last story was still enjoyable while the first was just bad. Still, worth a look if you like Christmas romance despite the festive content being at a minimum. 3 stars.