If you’ve been following Maureen’s Books, you’d know that I love Christmas, and I love Cowboys. So a Christmas Cowboy story is something I simple can’t resist. So when I received a review request for ‘Home for a Cowboy Christmas’ I got my Netgalley copy and started reading as soon as possible. In ‘Home for a ...KEEP READING »
When I first read the book description of ‘A Duke In Time’ I knew this was a book I wanted to read. Luckily for me I got a Netgalley widget, and was able to start reading as soon as I could.
In ‘A Duke In Time’ we meet Katherine. Katherine was married a year ago but her marriage was anything but perfect. But due to her marriage Katherine was able to start her own business and make the best of things. When her husband suddenly dies, Katherine learns her husband married two other woman as well. Her husband having three wives could destroy everything Katherine worked for, so she is determined to find a way to make things better. But when she meets her husband’s brother Christian, the Duke of Randford, things get even more complicated. Because Christian is definitely not someone you can easily forget.
From the moment I started reading ‘A Duke In Time’ I was hooked. I loved the main character Katherine. For a woman living in the regency era she is definitely very tough. She works hard, has her own business and doesn’t rely on her husband for anything but his name. She had a great work ethic which I loved, but she was also really kind. I definitely loved everything about her character.
Christian’s character was also a great one. I loved how enchanted he was with Katherine, and how he acted around her. He definitely was charming, and as a reader he sure charmed me as well. With two of these fun characters, the chemistry was definitely flying of the pages.
I also enjoyed the originality of this story. I definitely haven’t read a book set in the regency era with this kind of love angle. It was fun and I really enjoyed it. Sure there where a few things I wished where a little different. For example the parts about the ‘other’ wives. There where a few moments where we read about how the other wives are doing, and in the end we don’t read about them as much at all in the end. I get why, because we are probably going to read their story in a next book. But it just felled a bit off to me.
‘A Duke In Time’ was definitely a fun read I really enjoyed. I look forward to reading more books in this series.
A few months ago I received a review request for an ARC of ‘The Princess and the Rogue’. Although I haven’t read any of Kate’s previous books, I do love Historical Romance novels, and this book sounded really good, so I didn’t have to think long and accepted the request.
In ‘The Princess and the Rogue’ we meet Princess Anastacia Denisova, or Anya. Anya has been forced to fake her own death and fled to London to escape a very dangerous traitor. In London, Anya is forced to disguise herself and pretend to be someone else. But when Anya meets the handsome Bow Street agent Sebastien Wolff, Earl of Mowbray it gets harder to keep her secrets. Especially when Sebastien is forced to protect her.
This book was one I really loved right from the start. I thought I would like the book after reading the book description, but I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. I simple devoured this book and read until deep in the night just to finish it. Why? Well because this book is not your average Historical romance, it also had this very unique spin with the whole Russian Princess bit, and I simple loved it.
The chemistry between Anya and Sebastien was amazing, and definitely flying of the pages. I loved how easily Sebastien forgot his ways from the moment he first met Anya. And although Anya is pretending to be only a simple ‘assistant’, her real personality comes to the front a lot. She is definitely a tough female, especially for her time and I really liked her. There were also some pretty fun and hot moments and I simple loved these two together.
Next to the romance, this book also kept me in suspense. The traitor who is trying to find Anya isn’t one to give up easily, and those suspenseful moments kept me sitting on the edge of my seat. I also loved the little Russian traditions we get to read about throughout this read.
Overall ‘The Princess and the Rogue’ was a great read that made me want to read more from this author. Especially the previous two books in this series.
When I received a review request for ‘All Scot and Bothered’ a view months back, I immediately got excited. I never read a book by Kerrigan Byrne before, but I love Historical Romance. And a story about a fierce lord and an orphan girl who inherited a gambling establishment sounded really good. So when the time came, I dived in and started reading.
In ‘All Scot and Bothered’ we meet ‘Lord Chief Justice of the High Court’ Cassius Gerard Ramsay. Ramsay has dedicated his life to investigate London’s most notorious gaming hell. And he is very good in his job. But when the owner of the gaming establishment is Cecelia Teague, things get complicated. Cecelia sparks his interest right from the start. But Ramsay doesn’t trust woman, and especially not someone like Cecelia.
Cecelia has seen some terrible things in her life. And although she lives in a time where woman are supposed to do what men tells them to do, Cecelia has been able to do her own things. And when Cecelia inherits an gambling establishment she is determined to make it great, and do all she can to make sure the woman in her care are safe.
‘All Scot and Bothered’ had a very slow start. We read a little about Cecelia’s childhood, and then we start with a view moments when Ramsay and Cecelia meet. Although it was nice to read about those moments, I thought they didn’t really add a lot and I just thought it didn’t quiet work that well. But thankfully after those first view chapters I began to like this story more and more.
There was way more to Ramsay’s character then I first expected. And I loved how intense he felt for Cecelia. He fought it right from the beginning, but it was clear early on that he really liked Cecelia. But overall he just was kind of an jerk for the most part. He just kept thinking the worst of Cecelia without any prove. It didn’t bother me to much though. Because Cecelia’s character made up for it. She was definitely unlike any other female character I read about in a Historical Romance novel. She was tough, but really kind and I liked how independent she was for her time.
The romance between Ramsay and Cecelia took a long time to develop. I enjoyed their romance, but I just wish there was a little more of it. It seemed to be way more about Cecelia and her struggles with her inheritance. And although it was fun to read.. I simple like a little more romance.
If you know me and my blog, you probably know I’m definitely into Historical Romance novels. There’s just something about the etiquette of that time which really works for me and I’ve read several Historical Romance novels that I absolutely adored. So when I was asked to read and review ‘Wild Wild Rake’, I was immediately super excited. Although this book is the sixth book in the series, it can be read as a standalone. ‘Wild Wild Rake’ is my first book by Janna MacGregor.
In ‘Wild Wild Rake’ we follow the story of Avalon. Avalon lives with her ten year old son after being widowed ten years ago. Her marriage was horrible, and she is grateful every day that her husband isn’t around anymore. Now Avalon does her best to help fallen woman, and be the best mom for her son. When Devan, the brother of Avalon’s son’s guardian shows up to spy on her. She is determined to make him leave. His reputation as a rake is something she is disgusted about, and she wants nothing to do with him. But soon Avalon and Devan learn that not everything they hear is true.
Although this book is a part of a series, I never once felt like I was missing out on stuff. Which is a great thing, and not something that happens a lot. Sure there are many books in series you can read as a standalone, and you still wonder if some stuff would be clearer if you read the previous books. This wasn’t the case with this book.
After I started reading, it took me a very long time to really get into this book. I was determined though to keep on going. So I did. But things moved really slow in this read. The romance between Avalon and Devan, not only took them a long time to figure out.. I also didn’t ‘feel’ their attraction to one another for a long time. And when the book came to its conclusion, I enjoyed their romance but didn’t love it.
The character of Avalon was one I definitely liked. She was strong and independent. And she really made what of herself despite her horrible marriage and her parents sort of selling her off. I admired her, and the way she stood up to man especially since this wasn’t all that common in that day.
Devan’s character was mysterious, and it took me a while to figure him out. But the reason he was a known as a rake was a little strange to me.
Overall I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t love it. It was a fun read, but I wished for more.
Hi there!
I'm Maureen
