MY REVIEW of
When a Marquis Chooses a Bride
by Ella Quinn
Kensington Books /Zebra Shout
Romance
Pub Date: 30 Aug 2016
E-Book: $3.99
Available at:
Amazon ~ iBooks ~ Google ~Kobo ~ B&N
Description:
Ella Quinn’s bachelors are clever, charismatic–and determined to remain single. Yet one by one, they find that fate–and certain irresistible women–cast doubt on even the best laid plans. . .
Thanks to their large extended family and unconventional courtship, the Worthingtons have seen their share of scandal and excitement. But nothing has prepared them for this…
The Dowager Lady Worthington isn’t quite sure what to make of country-girl Dorothea Stern. As the granddaughter of the Duke of Bristol, Dotty is schooled in the ways and means of the nobility. But her sharp wit and outspoken nature has everyone in a tizzy. Especially their cousin, Dominic, the Marquis of Merton.
Prematurely stuffy, Dom was raised by his cheerless uncle to be wary of a host of things, including innovation, waltzing, and most perilous of all: true love. Still, there’s something about Dotty, beyond her beauty, that Dom cannot resist. But the odds are against him if he intends to win her as his bride. Will he choose loyalty to his family—or risk everything for the one woman he believes is his perfect match…
My Thoughts:
This is a very good and well written book from Ella Quinn. Although I have not read the first book of this series(this is book #2) I would say that “When a Marquis Chooses a Bride”can easily be read as a stand alone.
The characters are engaging and the story line is well thought out.
I would give this book 4.25 stars and wish I had not missed reading the first book in this series as I’m certain it is probably as good as this one.
I received a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Groom’s Gamble
A Novella
by Jade Lee
FREE For a Limited Time at:
Amazon ~ B&N ~ iBooks ~ Kobo
An original novella linked to Jade Lee’s hot new Regency bride series, a prequel to “What the Groom Wants”.
Caroline Lyncott, great grandaughter of the Duke of Bucklynde, has a secret. Years ago she was attacked and still bears the terrible scars. To escape the scandal and the reminders, she left everything behind to become housekeeper to a Scottish brother and sister.
Gregory Murray, the Earl Of Hartfell, has a secret as well – he harbors a deep attraction to his housekeeper, Mrs. Lyncott. He knows she has a past, but doesn’t know how to fix the pain that still haunts her. His investigation leads him to the darkest London gaming hell and a villain too powerful to destroy.
Can his love overcome her desperate past? Can she risk her heart despite the evil that still haunts her nightmares?
The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne
Rescued from Ruin Book 1
by Elisa Braden
$0.99 at:
Amazon ~ B&N ~ Google ~ Kobo
The night that changes everything …
Life for Victoria Lacey should be perfect. And it is—perfectly boring. Agree to marry a lord who has yet to inspire a single, solitary tingle? Why, of course. Smile as though this is not the thousandth time he’s mentioned hounds and hunting? It’s all in a day’s work for the oh-so-proper sister of the Duke of Blackmore. Surely no one would suspect her secret longing for heart-racing, head-spinning passion. Except, perhaps, a dark stranger … on a terrace … at a ball where she should definitely not be kissing a man she has only just met.
The obsession that leads to ruin …
Hatred, not love, drives Lucien Wyatt, Viscount Atherbourne, to tempt the “Flower of Blackmore” into sin. Her brother has done unthinkable damage to Lucien’s family, and he intends to exact revenge in the only way left to him: Ruining his enemy’s sister, then stealing her from Blackmore by making her his own.
The woman who will set fire to her husband’s heart
As Lucien carries out his ruthless plan, tutoring his new bride in the finer points of pleasure, her surrender leaves him breathless … and soon a new obsession awakens—a scandalous fascination with his irresistible wife.
The Panther and The Pearl
by Doreen Owens Malek
Digital List Price: $2.99
$0.99 Until Sept. 4th, 2016 at Amazon
25,000+ downloaded in 10 days
The American Beauty:
When an innocent excursion to Constantinople took an unexpected twist, Sarah Woolcott found herself a prisoner in the harem of young and virile Kalid Shah. Headstrong and courageous, Sarah was determined to resist the handsome foreigner whose arrogance outraged her– even as his tantalizing touch promised exotic nights of fiery sensuality.
The Turkish Prince:
Never had he encountered a woman who inflamed his desire like the blonde Westerner with the independent spirit. Although she spurned his passionate overtures, Kalid vowed to tempt her with his masterful skills until she became a willing companion on their journey of exquisite ecstasy!
* * * *
REVIEW: by Patricia S. (edited for space)
“Oh no, not another blonde sold to a pasha story!” Well not exactly. This book is more like Katherine Hepburn meets Spencer Tracy in a harem. If you like books where there is a clash between intellectual equals, I strongly recommend this one.
Sara Wolcott is a Boston school teacher visiting her cousin James in Constantinople during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. Sara is curious about life in the royal palace, and she becomes a temporary tutor for one of the princesses. Sarah accompanies the Princess Roxalena to a state dinner in honor of a local pasha, Kalid Shah. Kalid, upon seeing Sarah, is smitten and makes the corrupt Sultan an offer he can’t refuse. Sarah is sold into Kalid’s harem. She is plunged into the lavish opulence of a strange world, but Sarah is determined to resist its luxury and the charms of the man who claims to own her.
Kalid Shah is the product of a Western mother and an Ottoman father. He has a British public school and university education, is an enlightened despot. Khalid is used to getting what he wants, so when he sees Sarah, he summarily buys her. But he is determined to woo Sarah into accepting her new position as the ikbal, the favorite. Despite his best efforts and to the astonishment of Kalid and the palace staff, Sarah refuses to be won over by his charm, her envied position as the favorite, or the fabulous riches at her disposal. She feels Kalid views her only as a pretty possession instead of as an independent woman who deserves the right to determine her own life.
Sarah is forced to rely on inner strength, intelligence and an occasional right hook to hold her own in a situation unlike any she’s ever known. Her humor, guts and grit win her the admiration and respect of those in the palace as she thwarts Kalid at every turn, even while she falls in love with him.
Handsome, witty and charming, Kalid has never had to work to get any woman he wants. She is an enigma to him, a woman who demands equality. Initially attracted to her beauty, he finds himself fascinated with her mind and relishing their battle of wills even as she drives him toward the cliffs of insanity.
But it is the climactic confrontation that makes this book a keeper for me. As their marriage ceremony takes place, information that Kalid tried to suppress to keep Sarah with him is revealed and Sarah learns that maybe Kalid hasn’t changed his views on women. Did I devour this almost 400 page book in one sitting to find out? The answer is definitely yes.
The secondary characters are just as wonderful as the two leads. There is Kosem, Kalid’s 82 year old grandmother, Memtaz, Sarah’s servant, who isn’t happy unless Sarah is wearing enough finery to cover the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center, Achmed, the khislar who is as baffled as his master, and a cast of thousands who have never seen any woman quite like Sarah.
In the best Hollywood style, wry one-liners fly as two determined wills spark against each other. The period detail is convincing without being distracting and the action goes to the wire before Kalid and Sarah can make admissions and compromises to achieve the “happily ever after” ending they deserve. I urge you to grab some popcorn and settle in for a wonderful time
An Unwilling Bride
The Company of Rogues Series, Book 2
by Jo Beverley
Digital List Price:
$4.99
$0.99 For a Limited Time at:
Amazon ~ Google ~ iBooks
The Duchess of Belcraven committed a folly, and bore her husband another man’s child. But Lucien was a third son, so all was patched over.
Then the two older boys drowned, leaving disaster.
Now, over twenty years later, the duke learns he has a legitimate daughter—Beth Armitage, a child of his blood—and he compels Lucien and Beth to marry.
Lucien, now the arrogant ducal heir, is devastated to learn he is not his father’s child and that the only way to his fortune is through his unwilling bride: an independent schoolteacher raised in the principles of the Rights of Women.
Can there be any common ground?
AWARDS:
Romance Writers of America RITA Award, Winner
Best Regency Romance, Romantic Times
REVIEWS:
“…vivid and mesmerizing characters . Top notch Regency reading pleasure.” ~Romantic Times
“…reading about these two intelligent, strong people was such a treat.” ~All About Romance
ABOUT Jo Beverley:
Jo Beverley is one of today’s top authors of historical romance, and one of only twelve members of the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. She sets her bestselling novels in her native England, and has a degree in English history.
Her 40 novels have won just about all the awards in romance , including 5 RITA awards, the top award in romance, and 2 career achievement awards from Romantic Times. Reviews regularly include words like masterful, thrilling, and even sublime.
She writes historical romance novels and novellas set in her native England in the middle ages, the Georgian period, and the Regency, often with mystery and adventure elements, and sometimes with a little magic. Readers have been known to argue about which of her main series is best –the Malloren series, set in the 1760s, or the Company of Rogues books, set in the Regency. The Company of Rogues series begins with An Arranged Marriage. The Malloren series begins with My Lady Notorious. Most of her novels can be enjoyed as stand-alones.
You can learn about all her books here. http://bit.ly/16e0FOe
To learn more about upcoming books. http://bit.ly/1FaLRmq
Remember to sign up for her newsletter.